Understanding Aggregators and How They Help Independent Insurance Agents
Owning an independent insurance agency is no walk in the park. Not only do you focus on day-to-day tasks selling policies to the uninsured and underinsured, but you have to keep up to date with the industry's standards, invest in the latest business tools, and think through your strategies to better your agency. There's very little time for much else, let alone time to think about the long term.
However, the long term is worth considering, and it's not nearly as daunting as you may assume. Growing the reach of your independent insurance agency, achieving financial freedom, and magnifying your results in the years to come could be as simple as asking yourself one question: To aggregate or not to aggregate?
What Are Insurance Aggregators?
Simply put, insurance aggregators are a group of independent insurance agents that come together to combine their premiums, thus providing members with the rates and add-ons you could only find from a big brand-name agency.
Insurance aggregators are a way for individual insurance agents to reap the benefits of higher commissions, more incentives, fixed overrides, and profit sharing. Of course, it's important to note that not every insurance aggregator offers the same sort of benefits every time. Those benefits are unique to each insurance aggregator, and for this reason, individual aggregators help agents in different ways. By determining which benefits matter the most to you and your independent insurance agency, you're better able to decide whether or not to aggregate.
How Do Aggregators Help Insurance Agents?
Now that you have a better idea of what insurance aggregators do, let's take a deeper dive into the many ways that insurance aggregators can help independent insurance agencies like yours. Take note of which aspects have the highest overall value to your agency's success because this can help with your decision later on.
Greater Access to Larger Insurance Markets
One of the biggest appeals to joining an insurance aggregator is the increased access to improved markets. Indeed, this access to larger markets is the true key to long-term growth and better results for your independent insurance agency. It's this simple: The larger the market, the more access you give to potential clients, and the more reach your agency will have. Also, this larger market will be ready and available to you and your clients as soon as you become part of an insurance aggregator.
Without being part of an aggregator, independent insurance agencies would have to do a lot of work to establish this level of access and reach. With an aggregator, it's as simple as joining.
More Opportunities for Your Agency to Grow
Another large draw of joining an insurance aggregator is the ability to grow your agency much quicker. Even beyond the world of insurance, growth is an essential part of a fulfilling and successful career and the key to an attractive and thriving agency. There are many benefits to joining an insurance aggregator, from gaining exclusive rates to having increased access to valuable technology, data and analytics. The aggregator also helps your independent agency grow bigger and stronger while ensuring you never lose that independence.
A Chance to Meet New People in the Industry
While these outward growth opportunities are hard to pass up, it's also worth mentioning how insurance aggregators encourage inward growth. Insurance aggregators help your independent insurance agency by connecting you with people in the industry. You might have increased networking opportunities and annual conference meetings that let you meet new and familiar faces. You might also attend regular seminars or committees and interact with other agencies. The sheer number of chances to connect with a broader network of insurance agents truly is an underrated benefit of insurance aggregators.
Ability to Get Your Name Out There
With the help of insurance aggregators, independent insurance agencies can have their names sent out to clients who might not have ever heard of them. Think of it as bonus advertising and publicity. By aggregating with other independent insurance agencies from across your area, your state, or even the entire country, you give your agency a much-needed boost to bring in new clients from far and wide. This is an unmissable opportunity, especially for smaller agencies with a relatively small clientele.
Widening Your Agency's Income Stream
Perhaps most important of all is the opportunity for your independent insurance agency to widen its income stream. By becoming part of a more extensive network of insurance agencies through the process of aggregation, you open up to a larger network of customers. Not only is this a way for you to gain broader appeal, but it's also an ideal way for you to prove your results on a larger scale. In other words, it knocks out all goals of your agency's long-term plan: Grow the reach of your independent insurance agency, gain financial freedom, and magnify your results.
So: To Aggregate or Not to Aggregate?
We now have a good understanding of what an insurance aggregator is and how insurance aggregators help independent insurance agencies such as yours. An important question remains to be answered: To aggregate or not to aggregate? Considering the vast number of benefits and the sheer amount of positives associated with insurance aggregators, you might conclude it's hard to say no to joining an insurance aggregator. Couple this with the fact that you're still able to keep your agency's independence while enjoying the pros of aggregation, and it's practically a straightforward decision: joining an insurance aggregator is the way to go.
Getting in Touch with National Insurance Group
Now that the choice between aggregating or not aggregating is clear, the next step is finding out how your independent insurance agency can join an insurance aggregator. This is where the industry experts at National Insurance Group come in. Contact us today to get started on your journey.