Case Studies

As a pilot, a heart transplant patient and the owner of a multimillion-dollar independent insurance agency, Sam Khair knows that the sky’s the limit. With Smart Choice network as his partner, he has survived challenging times. Now, he and his daughter are taking the Khairing Agency to new altitudes.

Chris Workman is the president of Workman Insurance Group, a Louisiana-based agency that he opened in 2016. In the years since he’s been in business, the Louisiana market has experienced an insurance crisis, as carriers move out of the storm-battered state. Thanks to his partnership with Smart Choice and access to excess and surplus, and specialty lines carriers, Chris has managed to thrive during difficult times.

As the owner of Carolina’s 1st Choice Agency LLC, Christian Gallardo strives to give his clients the best in terms of coverage choice and personal service. Christian’s agency is located in the southwestern part of North Carolina, and earns most of its business through referrals, thanks to satisfied clients and Christian’s extensive community involvement...

Kevin Krupka knows what it takes to grow an insurance agency. He’s the owner of Mountain Insurance Brokers in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Over the years, he’s learned that if he wants to achieve real success, he needs to give his clients what they want. By leveraging a network partnership, he’s been able to do just that.

After years of working for other agencies, Becky Cates founded Cates Insurance Agency, LLC, in 2021. Before doing so, she had to overcome the fear of not having a reliable paycheck – an uncertainty that stops many agents from pursuing their entrepreneurial dreams. Fortunately, Becky had the courage to make the leap...

Kim Winningham first opened the doors of Altamaha Agency in October 2020. Although she had more than a decade of experience in the insurance industry, she was building her agency from the ground up, and she was doing it in less-than-ideal times thanks to the Covid pandemic.

When you start a new independent agency from scratch, you’re probably going to need some help getting carrier appointments – no matter how long you’ve been in the industry. Letisia Aguirre, better known as Letty, is the president of Capital Insurance Services of Florida, Inc.

Chris Walters is the owner of Integrity Insurance Group in Charleston, West Virginia. Since opening in 2019, Chris has built a $4 million book of business, and the network support he received from Smart Choice has played a key role. 

For 13 years, Suzanne was the office manager at a local State Farm agency, until one day her boss retired. It’s a situation in which many insurance professionals find themselves.

Getting started as an independent agency can be challenging. Even once you’ve found success, navigating industry and market changes isn’t always easy. Allan Miles, founder of R. Allan Miles Insurance Agency, has leveraged a network partnership to help him navigate those changes and build a multimillion-dollar agency.

Mary Anne Connelly is an owner and broker at Connelly-Weiss Insurance Services. In fact, she’s the only broker, but an outsider would never know it. She is successfully growing her business, while also providing exceptional service and choice to her existing customers.

Martha Hernandez wants to provide her clients with all the insurance coverage they need, but finding the right match wasn’t always possible in the captive model where she started her career.