Options to Sell your Insurance Agency on AgencyEquity

AgencyEquity was founded as a central resource site for the executive level needs of insurance agency principals and executives, including selling your Agency. The site has always been about options and bringing the options to the Agency owner to help them decide on the best way to sell their agency. We do not transact with insurance agencies or earn any fees on transactions; we just provide the platform and resources to help you bring efficiency with selling your agency.

There are a number of methods to sell you agency and AgencyEquity has a platform for each. Below, the options are explained to help you decide which option is best for you. 

Place a Listing

Our listings options are the absolute best place to list an agency online. We have more targeted insurance agencies owners than any other site and unlike business broker sites, AgencyEquity is targets existing insurance professionals and almost all members are licensed. Some years ago, we put in place a system to help vet buyers:

1.     A membership system. Only paid members are allowed to reply to listings. Agency sellers are going to get many inquiries and those who needlessly get in the way waste your valuable time. We put the membership system in place to help reduce the number of tire kickers who may not be qualified or don’t have the resources to purchase an insurance agency.

2.     Access to a Buyer Profile. This option is for paid listings only. Our buyer profile gives sellers details about the buyer, such as if they currently own an agency and their source of acquisition funds. Here is a sample buyer profile.

While there is no fool proof way to vet someone before doing your own due diligence, the structure in place above cuts down on the number of unqualified people you will have to reply to. Keep in mind that placing a listing is a self-service option and this is good for those who are business savvy in selling their own agency and understanding the importance of using professionals, such as valuation experts and attorney to help you properly close this deal. Both of those resources are available on AgencyEquity. You may place a listing buy going to our Place a Listing Page. 

Reply to a Wanted Listing

If you don’t have time to sell your agency or don’t want to deal with placing a listing and dealing with all potential buyers, there are those on AgencyEquity who are looking to purchase an Insurance Agency. You can search for these buyers buy state and once you have registered on the site, it’s fairly easy to contact them. Please note as with placing a listing, this is a self-serve option and using professionals such as a valuation expert and an attorney is key to making sure the legal issues are properly addressed.  Here is a listing of those who are seeking to Purchase an Insurance Agency. 

Use a Business Broker

For those who don’t want to do the sell serve option, brokers will do the whole nine yards for you, including vetting buyers, negotiating the deal, and handling the purchase agreement for you. There are probably about a dozen or so business brokers across the country that specialize in Agency Acquisitions and these are the only type of business brokers you should ever use to sell your agency. An Insurance Agency has a unique business model and there are a number of intricacies involved. Those who transact with agencies at a regular basis have the knowledge of the difference issues that need to be addressed. They also have the qualified buyers in place and have an idea of the approximate selling price your agency may go for. They will also charge either you or the buyer a fee for their services, typically a percentage of the transaction. Those who transact insurance agencies typically charge less than business brokers. You are not only getting a specialist, but you will likely pay less. While using a broker may cost you more than listing it in your own, the value, work involved and expertise they provide you with is often well worth it. Here is a listing of Business Brokers who specialize in Insurance Agencies. 

Selling your Agency Internally

If you are considering to sell your agency to a family member, an employee or another fellow agency owner whom you have known, AgencyEquity has resources to help you make sure no mistakes are made. Even if you know the person well, anything can happen and often does happen if you make the wrong move. Do you want to live through your retirement years being shortchanged financially by legal and other issues because you wanted to save a few thousand dollars? This is basically risk management and often, it can save you tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands in legal fees and lost equity. Here are the type of professionals you should consult with:

Insurance Agency Valuation Professionals

Insurance Agency Acquisition Legal Services

Insurance Agency M&A Consultants 

Each Insurance Agency Principal is different and there are different options for selling your Agency to fit these different type of sellers, their agencies and their financial situations. We continuously invest in AgencyEquity to help make this the best platform for those looking to sell their insurance agency.