How have you Benefited from your Cluster Membership?

[AgencyEquity]

If you are a member of a Cluster group (essentially any aggregator, including Alliances, Agency Networks and Franchises), what benefits have you seen from making this strategic decision? You can post your reply as well as vote below.

[broberts1963]

Would be nice to see a list of clusters/MIA's and have folks rate them. So opinionated on this topic. Surely there is a cluster that most have an overall positive experience with.

[AgencyEquity]

The best way to do a check out one of these organizations is to talk to current members, especially the longer term members. There are a few ways you can find out who is in their membership:

1. Check their website, many groups list their members
2. Check their Department of Insurance License on their state's DOI license lookup, for most states, these groups have to list their members as producers under their license, that is for the states that require it
3. Do a Google search, many members list their cluster affiliation right on their website

I would call about 5 agencies in each group you are considering membership and talk to their principals. Yes it can be a lot of work, but keep in mind, making good decisions takes work. You can find a state by state licensing lookup and a cluster directory (the largest online) on AgencyEquity.

[sacman]

Love, LOVE, SIAA.
They were a God send when setting up my IA after 17 years with FIG.
Helped me determine what carriers were competitive in my area and then got me appointed.
Helped with obtaining new E&O & EZLynz. Got me started on the right path, then got out of my
way and let run the agency without interference. They don't pester me with production requirements
or quotas and are only a phone call away if I need them.
My obligation is a couple of meetings a year and an annual production projection for the upcoming year.
That's it.
My first year I made more in bonus' than my entry fee. Since then my annual bonus' from them are several
TIMES the amount that I've paid in monthly fees. I never would have received those bonus' going on my own,
not to mention the higher commission rate I receive.

It is coming up 5 years since I left FIG. My agency continues to grow.
I have almost twice the book the that I did when I left FIG after almost 17 years.

My only suggestion is that each SIAA Master Agency is different and autonomous and not all are created equal.
Make sure that you feel confortable with them and that you are on the same page.

Best of luck.

[William Graham]

I want to Ditto what SACMAN had to say ---


I am a former FIG agent for 22 years, Farmers divorced me. I thought
briefly about staying away from Insurance business but I could not afford
to not work & I had put everything into my insurance skill set & business relationship
we went to SIAA after reviewing several options in Colorado
I found that it is impossible to get quality preferred Insurance carrier appointments
without a cluster type membership. My ego took a big helping of humility when
I found out how little 22 years of profitable business and skills counted if you
had no book of business.
At 62 my time frame to rebuild a successful business is limited so I could not
afford to start with a few non-standard carriers & work my way up. With SIAA
I became instantly a big player to the carriers they represent. The Cluster carries
the water on all those key elements the carrier wants to keep appointments and
earn contingent bonuses, we just go along for the ride.
So my vote is for carrier markets and relationships.

[JAM]

SIAA is one of the big clusters but not the only option. Their contract was too long for us so we joined premier . www.thinkpremierfirst.com. I also hear good things about PIIB. After being captive anything is better!!!

[William Graham]

Ditto Jam

It is good to have choices- Farmers thru its DM had turned
the agent contract into an employee position with none of
the benefits or legal protection an employee has.

Wish you well with Premier - for us the SIAA relationship
has only gotten better compared to the other choices we
could have made.

[robmejia]

I was able to connect with insurance industry partners and increased my prospects.