For independent insurance agents who want to improve their negotiating strength, sustain growth, and improve operational efficiencies, an aggregator group, or agency network, may be the solution.
The aggregator model should be a familiar one to anyone in the insurance industry. After all, the historical role of insurance has been to spread risk out over a community of individuals with common goals. It’s an industry built on the idea that small teams of people can gain greater security by pooling their resources.
Independent agencies that may not individually be equipped to generate sufficient volume for their carriers gain strength in numbers through membership in an aggregator group. The alternatives - cannibalization by a consolidator or becoming a captive agent - require an agent to give up autonomy. Members of aggregator groups, on the other, retain ownership and authority.
What would your independent insurance agency stand to gain through membership in an aggregator group?
If your agency is unable to generate enough volume to satisfy carriers, an aggregator group offers greater security through combined production volume.
As aggregation models have evolved, they’ve vastly improved processes for many independent insurance agencies. Some agency networks even provide members with virtual staff.
Agency networks open up access to a wider array of carrier options while providing independent agencies with more leverage in rates negotiations.
According to Channel Harvest Research’s 2016 survey of independent insurance agents, 88% of agents who belong to an aggregator feel that they gain some or a lot of added value, and the same percentage say that they’re unlikely to leave their aggregator organization.
Growing an agency from the ground up is a time-consuming undertaking, but being a member of an aggregator group can provide an independent agent with valuable support and knowledge.
Attempting to grow your independent agency requires a powerful, long-term marketing campaign. While larger agencies may be able to afford an in-house marketing team, many independent agencies don’t have the means to do so. That means that marketing either becomes the burden of one of your agents or is neglected.
AgenciesOnline makes marketing costs more manageable for independent agencies by empowering you to outsource those campaigns, effectively sharing the cost with other agencies. Give us a call today to learn how we can help improve your efficiency, build your business, and provide you with the support you need.