Insurance Pro Agencies (IPA) launched an unprecedented agency program for 2021 featuring ownership, control, and freedom for its affiliated agency owners. The opportunity to start an independent insurance agency is designed for successful captive agents and independent producers who are getting crushed by the constraints of their current carrier or agency and are ready to break free and experience true agency independence for themselves.
A huge advantage of the IPA opportunity is that it helps a scratch agency look like a 30-year agency from day one. New agencies can craft their own lineup of the nation’s top carriers with direct appointments for both personal and commercial lines. Working with IPA comes with lower volume expectations from the carriers and that is what makes it possible for a brand-new agency to represent multiple carriers. The ability to offer more products at competitive rates is a win-win for the agency and its clients.
But how does IPA stack up against its competitors in the marketplace? When assessing any aggregator to potentially partner with, there are some factors that should be taken into careful consideration. Something that agents should be cautious of is that many networks have provisions in place in their agreement to exercise some form of control over the agency. These terms may appear in the form of a long-term contract, having the first right of refusal on the agency’s book of business when it wants to sell, unreasonable buyouts or no option to ever leave with the agency’s carriers. These conditions are intended to ensure that once an agency joins the group, their book of business will never leave the group. Agents may not enter a business relationship thinking that it is going to end badly, but what if it does? What if your life situation changes five or ten years from now and you need to go in a different direction?
What makes the IPA opportunity unique is that it allows the agency owner to always maintain control of its book of business. A month-to-month agreement with a fair carrier buyout option, and the ability to leave at any time, or sell or transfer the book to anyone that it wishes, assures that the agency owner has the flexibility to do what is always best for them. The agency operates in its own name and is free to choose its own technology, maintain additional carriers outside of the group as needed, and make its own decisions on how to run its business. All these factors make up true agency independence and that is the IPA difference.
Once an agent finally breaks the chains of captivity and experiences for the first time what it is like to have control over their business and their destiny, it is truly life changing. Chris Cretella out of North Haven, Connecticut, and a former Allstate agent, recently joined IPA and had this to say, “I would like to thank you for giving me this great opportunity to own my own agency. I am a little more than a month into it and I feel like I have made the best decision of my life.”
If you would like to learn more about the IPA opportunity, visit https://InsuranceProAgencies.com to watch the 4-minute overview video.
