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Starting your own independent insurance agency can feel both challenging and overwhelming — and it’s a leading reason many agents start in the captive world or as a producer in someone else’s agency. Many feel that the challenges of simply knowing how to start any business are daunting and simply don’t know where to begin.

Want to stand out from other agents and win more clients? Set yourself apart by approaching sales in a way that shows off your expertise and brings more value. Here’s how.

The insurance industry has a handful of unique situational challenges that can turn into opportunities over the next decade if these societal shifts are recognized and leveraged properly. Our industry’s lack of diversity has always been uncomfortably apparent with relatively minor evolutionary change over the prior decades. Yet, there is a revolution coming brought not by good intentions, corporate initiatives or diversity awareness programs.

Ready to put 2021 behind you and up your game in 2022? Education and professional development is the place to start. Here are ten ways you can use education to up your game and grow your agency next year.

I’ve heard them all so many times: the many reasons — dare I say excuses? — that P&C agents don’t sell or market life insurance. Based on how selling life insurance once was, I totally understand their rationale. Thank goodness those days and archaic processes are behind us!

Are you taking advantage of everything your Smart Choice relationship offers you? Whether it’s a cutting-edge agency management system, comparative rater, user-friendly website, discounted online CE, insurance leads, or a group errors and omissions program, we offer a full line-up of Business Savers critical to running your independent insurance agency.

Challenge yourself to sign up for something new, instead of simply meeting your mandated CE requirements each year. It could pay off big financially to expand your expertise into a new segment of the industry.

Many carriers have spent big on advertising — almost $7 billion in 2019 — and many of those messages said, "People who switched (to us) saved money."

Wedged between high-net-worth and mass-market, affluent customers need high limits of liability to protect their assets, but may not want to pay for white-glove service. Here are 5 coverages to offer them.

There are two basic types of problems that waste time. The first are mechanical problems such as the jamming printer. The second type of problem that wastes time is much more difficult to identify and solve.

Independent insurance agents see the potential of a rewarding career with high earnings. However, unlocking that potential can be tough. The truth is that there’s a lot of competition out there, and it can be difficult to gain access to the best insurance carriers and product lines. Success is possible, but you might need some support to find it — and some agents find that support in insurance clusters.

Independent agents who partner with a high-quality agency network experience better growth and close-ratio outcomes post-relationship. Retention of book of business, opportunities for higher commissions, no network fees, and flexibility to choose which network services to use facilitate agent satisfaction.