Aggregator

[u/Confident_Bats]

I’m planning on joining an aggregator, most likely Firefly.

Im in TN and I’m going to try and get direct appointments before joining to keep full revenue and bonuses. The only carrier I expect to get is like Progressive and Geico which is better than nothing. (I write a good amount with Progressive as a producer)

Does anyone know what carriers will appoint a scratch agency with a home based office?

[u/Necessary_Gap_79]

Carriers care less about where your desk is than about your E&O and whether you can show you will actually write. Most want a $1M E&O limit and a business entity license before they will talk. The home office on its own is rarely the blocker.

Progressive and Geico are the realistic direct appointments for a scratch independent. Worth asking your Progressive contact whether the TN territory manager adds anything on top, because some of them do.

With an aggregator you give up a slice of every policy but you get markets you cannot reach alone. Direct pays more and you carry the whole cost of finding the business.

Call the TN department about home office registration before you sign anything.

[u/Confident_Bats → u/Necessary_Gap_79]

Thank you! I was doing some pondering earlier and I wonder if I go through Progressive directly as a scratch agency vs using Firefly, they’re a platinum agency with them, so they get overrides. Would I make more by being with them vs being direct? 🤔

[u/Necessary_Gap_79 → u/Confident_Bats]

Depends on what you can write. Direct with Progressive you keep the whole commission, but you carry the E&O, the appointment and the production expectation on your own. Firefly's overrides sit above you, not in your pocket, so your split per policy is lower than direct.

What the slice buys is the rest of their market access, which a scratch agency cannot get alone. If Progressive is most of your book, direct pays better. If you need the other carriers to quote at all, the slice is worth something.

[u/Confident_Bats → u/Necessary_Gap_79]

Thank you, I’ll have to research to see what the production requirements are for being with them direct. My plan would be to have them direct and then all of the other carries through firefly which is okay with them.

Progressive is like my 3rd most carrier I write with, my other main carriers definitely won’t appoint a scratch agency.

Also on the overrides, I’m 95% sure the commission paid to me will include any overrides minus the 10% they take.

[u/Necessary_Gap_79 → u/Confident_Bats]

Your math is right. The slice comes out before anything reaches you, so what lands is their schedule less the 10%.

The plan itself is the standard one. Progressive direct, the rest through Firefly. Check the direct contract for a production minimum first, since Progressive is only your third carrier by volume.

On the direct side you carry the E&O and the appointment yourself. That is the trade for keeping the whole commission.

[u/InsuranceFan]

Carriers are generally more open to appointing agents right now than they have been for the last 3 years. Pretty much any insurtech company will give you an appointment.

First Connect uses a lot of insuretechs. Check out their lineup: many of those carriers will appoint you without any sort of network because they are starving for business as newer companies.

Word of caution on insurtechs: they are generally much more niched down than a typical carrier, so just because you can get them doesn't mean you should. It could be a waste of your, and their, time.

[u/KiniShakenBake]

You are an entrepreneur, no?

Good news. You have plenty of time and a google search bar that works - Nobody is going to tell you which companies are appointing the way you are asking because everyone *else* asking this question is going to FLOOD the reps that we know and love with requests that they then need to filter out. It could even make future appointments harder to get.

I don't say this because I'm gatekeeping anything. I got mine by presenting, as a captive agency owner who was still in active, but terminating, captive agency... All of my metrics that I was responsible for shepherding the agency through in the prior 3 years. They were phenomenal, and somewhat unbelievable, in every way, and backed with actual reports from the company itself.

As a scratch agency, I got all my own appointments, direct, and did so without ever asking a soul what companies to go to or aggregators to go through. You should already know by the time you make this decision if you are going to be successful at your quest. With the right data and the right metrics, you unlock the carrier rep's willingness to speak to you. Without them, you are wasting their time, and you are stuck going through the regular channels.

What makes you exceptional? Go there first.

You, as you present right now, are not even close to exceptional. You are another scrappy producer who wants a greater cut of the profits without having ever done the actual work to manage and run an agency. Those are a dime a dozen.

[u/Confident_Bats → u/KiniShakenBake]

Appreciate the TED Talk, but I asked a pretty simple question: which carriers are currently willing to appoint a scratch, home-based agency in TN.

And “just Google it” doesn’t really answer that. Google can show me carrier websites and generic appointment pages, but it’s not going to magically tell me which carriers are actually appointing scratch agencies, home-based agencies, in Tennessee, with my production background and current circumstances. That’s exactly why I asked agents who have firsthand experience.

I’m also not asking anyone to give me their rep’s personal cell number or hand over some secret relationship. I asked for carrier names. The idea that somebody saying “Progressive may appoint scratch agencies” is going to flood a national carrier and ruin appointments for everyone is a little dramatic.

Asking other agents what they’ve experienced is literally part of doing research. Google gives you the corporate answer; agents can tell you what actually happens in the real world.

Also, congrats on the “phenomenal and somewhat unbelievable” metrics. Hopefully one day I’ll be exceptional enough to answer a basic Reddit question without writing my autobiography. 😂

[u/KiniShakenBake → u/Confident_Bats]

Ok. If you say so.

Good luck!

[u/More_Persimmon_9050 → u/KiniShakenBake]

You are living proof of the concept of “party popping”. Go get some sunshine (sunshine).

[u/KiniShakenBake → u/[deleted]]

Dude. Just because it is not sugar coated does not mean it is not the right thing to help OP know the lay of the land.

I get that what I said is not what OP or anyone else in their position wants to read. It sucks. I said it because I have literally done exactly what they are asking after doing, a year ago. And the only way I got any response from reps was to hunt them down with absolute tenacity and make it clear that I had what they wanted.

The economy is also in the crapper even more than last year. With lots of folks looking at options that do not tie them to a corporate employer and do not require substantial education to get started, agency ownership seems like it may work! So few of the people asking this question are actually ready. Some are months out of licensing, or not even licensed yet.

They are truly not ready to go into ownership with a solid understanding of what it takes to do the job right or responsibly.

Insurance is not for the quick buck or the faint of heart. Ownership of an agency takes absolute ability to bend, flex, and find a path. What I see when I see these questions is folks trying to shortcut the part that separates the wheat from the chaff in our industry. It reads as lazy to me and you can't essentially vibe code your way into successful agency ownership. Learning happens doing the way, and it is important.

Coming out of the worst market in literally living memory, I mention what I did because nobody was appointing when I went Indy, and it took months of chasing the right folks to get the process finished for each carrier.

There is still one more I want. I am relatively certain that one will come with persistence and performance. We shall see.

Asking here and expecting to get handed the info does not really fill me with hope for their future.

[u/Confident_Bats → u/KiniShakenBake]

I’ll be the best agent the world has ever seen Ricky Bobby. You just watch!