Want to purchase an insurance agency?

What should you look for in an idea agency?

The primary aspects to look for are high retention and a specialization that matches your experience. If you are a commercial expert, then a commercial book should be your target. If you are talented at personal lines, then that’s the focus. You also want to seek out a healthy mix of policy types. This allows greater resilience to rate changes and other outside factors.

The ideal agency should also have systems in place with current staff that the customers can rely on. These strategies should be easily replicated and continued by you as the new owner. The existing agent should be able to offer a smooth hand off between agents. The transition should allow the new agent to easily build relationships with pre-existing customers. This relies heavily on how the hand off is made, and how well the traits of the two agents match up.

What size should you buy - Small or Medium Agency?

Small agencies (0-750 policies) provide a lot of advantages. This includes low risk of high dollar amount attrition. 90% off a small book can pale in comparison to 90% loss on a large book of business. Smaller agencies also have a low risk of systemic issues that are built into the client base and expectations. Where issues do arise, they are easily solved because you have fewer accounts to manage. A small agency purchase can also be an easier and cheaper entry point than jumping into a larger agency.

Medium agencies (750-1500 policies) also have their own suite of advantages. Larger client bases can be leveraged to generate quicker growth and help you build up to be a large agency. These agencies often have stronger systems in place for lead generation and turning those into converted sales. These agencies also frequently employ more staff who have stronger relationships with existing clients. Finally, these agencies can have very high revenue streams which will aid in paying off your initial investment and cover many of the other costs involved in agency ownership.

How do you find the agency you want to purchase?

We will identify agencies that are on the market and match those to your attributes to provide you with the greatest opportunity for success. Give us a call and we will begin pairing you with an agency today.