If you’re a jiu-jitsu fan, you might know Leandro Rothier Rodrigues as the New York Open Champion or the 2020 Pan American Champion.
If you’re a homeowner or business owner in the Boston area, you might know him as the president of Rothier Insurance Corp.
Either way, you know Leandro is a true professional, fiercely competing to achieve his goals and serve his clients.
Starting an Agency While Grappling with a Pandemic
Leandro worked as an insurance agent for more than 15 years before opening his own agency in 2020. “I felt like I’d done everything that I could do for my previous employer, and it was time to start on my own,” he explains.
He had the experience, the relationships and the drive he needed to succeed – but his timing could have been better. The new agency was born just as the COVID-19 pandemic was sweeping the world.
Getting his business license took two months instead of the normal two weeks because he had to do everything by mail. To make matters worse, there was no one he could call to ask questions or get updates.
“A process that was supposed to be very quick and efficient was the complete opposite,” he says.
It was a minor setback, but it wasn’t going to stop Leandro. Thanks to the relationships he’d built with carriers while working at other agencies, he had appointments from day one. Things looked promising – until the insurance market hardened.
Refusing to Throw in the Towel
“When the hard market hit, my existing carriers were either avoiding new business or making it very difficult to write new business,” says Leandro. Like many agents, he was struggling to place business in such a challenging insurance environment, but he refused to give up. He just needed to find a new strategy.
He’d heard about a couple of aggregators, but he was hesitant to work with them.
“My understanding was that they would freeze your book of business and take over everything that you had already done,” he explains.
“That was not something that I was looking for. I was already doing just fine – I just needed access to more companies.”
Then Leandro met Cindy Prouty, Regional Director for Smart Choice. Cindy explained that with Smart Choice, Leandro’s book of business would always be his own. He also really liked the network’s fee and commission structure – mainly that there were very few fees, and it didn’t cost an arm and a leg to join. “Joining Smart Choice was an easy decision,” Leandro says.
Through the Smart Start program, he was able to access a personal auto carrier that – unlike many carriers at the time – was eager to write new business. With this new opportunity, he was able to grow back his book of business quickly.
“Smart Choice was that light at the end of the tunnel that kept the lights on for a good while,” he says.
Locking Down the Market
Today, Leandro sells home, auto and business insurance, with a focus on business – but this wasn’t always the case. When he first started his agency, he strictly wrote personal lines, but he quickly saw how limiting that was. “Once I reached a certain level, there was no place to grow,” he says.
Leandro knew he needed to expand into commercial lines, but that required carrier connections and meeting production requirements. Fortunately, Smart Choice was there to help him lock down the market by connecting him with carriers who write all lines of business.
“Smart Choice helped me gain access to carriers I couldn’t reach through my agency alone,” he says.
This is making a huge difference for his agency, especially when it comes to workers’ compensation coverage. “It’s so hard to get appointed with workers’ comp companies,”
Leandro says. “Through Smart Start, you can just upload the application, ask a few questions, and then you have access to some of the biggest carriers.”
Of course, submitting an application is only half of the challenge. Leandro also needs to deliver timely and competitive quotes for his clients. Some carriers don’t prioritize submissions from smaller agencies, but Smart Choice helps with that, too. “Because of the Smart Choice name, carriers respond so quickly,” Leandro says. “I get quotes back from several of the biggest carriers within 24 hours.”
Smart Choice also helps with the back-office work, streamlining the steps involved with placing coverage.
Sweeping the Competition
To succeed, Leandro needs the freedom to make his own choices. Some aggregators might have tried to control his strategy and processes, but not Smart Choice.
“With Smart Choice, I’m totally free to operate, compete and grow my agency in the ways that I feel are best. This freedom was a major deciding factor when I made the decision to work with Cindy and Smart Choice,” Leandro says.
With Smart Choice in his corner, backing him up whenever he needs it, Leandro has more time to focus on growing his business, and more free time to dedicate to his family and his jiu-jitsu matches.
Want to see how Smart Choice can help you become an insurance champion?