Back Appointments

Hi, Good afternoon to all of you on this saaid forum, I am a said new agent who is starting a new P&C agency and would like your said advice/input. I have discovered that it is hard to get a stated appointment from the standard insurance carriers without the experience. I am located in the great State of Texas, City-Houston. The question that I would like to pose to this forum is: Could you please steer me in the said direction of where and how to start out getting these appointments. Thanks a million. Regards, Jhon

Try working through an insurance Alliance and building your book of business with a carrier that way and then in a year or two you could probably get the appointment directly through the insurer. In the Northwest some new agents use the Pacific Insurance Alliance. I am sure there is a similar program in the south. If that doesn't work you could work as a producer somewhere and buy your book of business when you have enough to get an appointment. This way you would have the benefit of an agency's experience and have an opportunity to network with different insurers. It would also eliminate the beginning overhead that you would experience doing your own business. Jamie Rixie

Go to www.siaa4u.net click on locations and call the Strategic Master Agency (SMA) in the Houston area. SIAA has a great solution for you.

You can go to Combined Group, they have a local marketing rep and have been wonderful for me. We are up over 200% year to date already! Their rep in Houston is John Bruce. They represent Hartford, Safeco, CNA, Travelers, Liberty etc. Their brokerage division is also excellent and can work out of the box! Contact me on my private e-mail (jeffarnold68@yahoo.com) or call my cell phone at 575-644-9401. I will give you John's info and provide a reference after we make contact. The majority of standard markets, actually almost all, are not giving out contracts which makes CG such a valuable tool for me. Approx 80% closing ratio for us. Thanks and good luck, Jeff Arnold

You're most likely not going to get direct appointments with carriers starting out. Instead, use wholesalers that are looking for your business; look on these forums for wholesalers that respond to these messages with advertisements for their offices and use them. They're advertising here because they WANT new agencies to work with, so that's a great place to start. Hope this helps!

Along with obtaining markets for both commercial and personal lines an agency should also have financing options available for their insureds. Express Premium Finance has designed a premium finance program tailored to fit your needs. Competition and inefficiencies affect your production and profitability. We understand these challenges and are proud to offer you a premium finance program that delivers: Personalized customer service and quick turnaround Creative structuring-to help you write more business competitive rates Online software accessible anywhere in the world 24/7 A little information about myself is that I have been in the insurance industry since 1981. I am a licensed insurance agent and I have worked with insurance agencies both commercial and personal lines and I have also worked for US Risk as a Senior Underwriter Assistant for 5 years. Please email mary@expresspremium.com or call 832-766-7977 for more information.

Jhon, I'm nearby you here in The Great City of Austin TX lol. Im a territory manager for Superior Access Ins Services we are the nations largest online distributer of insurance. We have over 65 carrier and 95 lines of business. Many of our agents just use us as a stepping stone towards getting those Direct Appointments. Consider shooting me an email or calling me I would to discuss more. 949-268-1033 or tmobley@sais.com . Thanks and talk to you soon!!

Hello, We are a mono-line work comp MGA/Wholesaler with access to multiple A rated carriers on a national level. Offer pay as you go, no premium commitments and an online platform. You can register on our website at www.UnisourcePA.com Will be happy to answer any questions. Nancy Durrett Marketing Representative Nancy.Durrett@UnisourcePA.com 850-363-2839

Hello John, I was in the same boat 3 months ago.... I had really tough time getting market through wholesaler, then I decided to go through superioraccess.com and insurancenoodle.com. These companies have great markets and great ideas. SuperiorAccess.com has rater, which can give you instant quote, but, binding and getting actual policy, it takes forever. The process is like you get the quote and then submit the business to superioraccess / insurancenoodle and then their underwriter will look at it and then again respective carriers' underwriter will look at it and then issue the policy. If u/w from carrier have any question/s, they will let superioraccess / insurancenoodle know and then will let you know. It is not fun - you need something with direct talk with carriers' u/w to get speed up the process. ISU network provides direct access to carrier Good Luck

John, You have the guy's you need in your back yard. Select Insurance Markets, call them at 713-939-9899, ask for Robert, Shawn, Susan or Liz. Very good to work with. Virgil