Carrier strategies have multiple phases: from building a brand to using the right tools to selling your agency’s growth potential. In your new role, carrier access becomes a strategic asset of the agency, not just a place to submit business. Your appointments will influence what you can sell, potential for organic growth, your ability to recruit producers, and ultimately the value of the agency you’re building.
Here are the steps to building a strong carrier strategy:
Step 1 – Start by deciding what kind of agency to build
What is your agency’s mission, brand, and specializations? Once this is established, then you can identify the carriers that fit that long-term strategy. This approach helps to grow a deliberate book of business and identify accounts that can be served efficiently. Be comfortable passing on business that doesn’t align with your strengths or long-term vision.
Step 2 – Identify carriers that match the agency’s mission
Not all carrier appointments create equal enterprise value. Look beyond commission rates and evaluate profit-sharing potential, contingency income, growth incentives, and appetite stability. The right insurance company contracts should also consider your geography.
Step 3 – Capture carriers’ attention
Why should a carrier appoint you? Keep in mind, being a successful producer doesn’t automatically earn you direct appointments. Carriers typically want to see a new agency’s business plan, target industries and customer profiles, and growth potential, such as three-year production projections. Create a carrier pitch deck that tells a compelling story about how the agency will produce profitable business for the carrier. Lead with your growth strategy, not your past production numbers. Carriers are betting on the future agency, not just your personal track record.
Step 4 – Seek quality over quantity
New agency owners often want appointments with every carrier available. A better approach is to focus on industry-specific carriers for your niche, strong personal lines options (if relevant), wholesalers that support new agencies, or known brand names to attract clients. Too many appointments can dilute production and hurt carrier relationships. A concentrated strategy typically generates stronger growth, better profit-sharing opportunities, and greater carrier support. Consider if the agency can realistically produce meaningful premium volume with a carrier within 24 months. If not, the carrier might cancel the appointment, and it can be difficult to earn future contracts.
As your agency grows, carrier relationships become a major driver of enterprise value, not just annual revenue. Insurance companies will have production requirements and it is essential you are able to meet those goals. The biggest mistake new agency owners make is building a business plan around revenue that never arrives.
Get started with Launchpad
LaunchPad is the insurance industry’s comprehensive business-building program designed specifically for successful independent producers and former captive agency owners transitioning to independent ownership. Run by experts who have achieved significant success after leaving captive organizations, LaunchPad provides foundation establishment – mission, visions, values, goals – plus carrier strategy development and execution.
Learn more about LaunchPad at: MarshBerry.com/LaunchPad
Is LaunchPad right for you?
To explore how LaunchPad aligns with your goals, contact Christine Marciano, Vice President, Agency Development, FirstChoice, at Christine.Marciano@MarshBerry.com or 440.586.7069.
Coming Up in This Series
This is the second in a six-part series exploring what it takes to transition from successful producer to successful agency owner. Watch for four more articles, released sequentially, covering technology, financial management, team building, and creating long-term agency value. Or, check out our first article: Questions to Ask Before Launching an Insurance Agency.
