Case Studies

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.

Maria Del Mar Lopez, the owner and president of MDM Insurance Enterprise, has been in the insurance industry since 2006. Prior to starting MDM, she worked for a several different insurance agencies. She was very good at what she did, but she felt that her success was limited.  She knew she could achieve more … if only she could open her own independent agency.

Kyle McMackin is the owner of Main Street Insurance. The full-service agency offers personal insurance, commercial insurance and Medicare plans, as well as retirement planning services. The agency also  provides coverage for many high-risk accounts that  standard carriers are reluctant to sign. Network support from Smart Choice has helped Kyle navigate this challenging market.

Independent agency owner Todd Shafer spent decades training insurance agents and developing his own customer management system, but when he decided to launch an independent agency, he knew he needed help.

Gulraiz brought a lot to the table. He had experience as a claims adjuster and analyst. He spoke six languages and had done a lot to establish himself. So, he was looking for a place where he could use all his acquired skills and knowledge. When he heard Smart Choice® could help him set up his own agency, get his foot in the door with the carriers, and he didn’t have to pay anything, he said, “Great!”

“I knew from the very moment I met with Jeremy that he had that the “IT” factor that would absolutely make him successful not only in insurance, but any field he chose to be involved in. With that mentality, success will absolutely follow.” Rick Mathews, Smart Choice® Marketing Manager. And the success did follow. Jeremy Powers, a former captive, built his new agency from zero, to a book of approximately $1.6 million, within 18 months.

In 2008, Lee Ann Pridgeon became a first-time agency owner when she purchased the Smart Choice® agency she’d worked at for 15 years. She now owns eight agencies across the state, and six of them came to her through her local network of Smart Choice® agents.