Insurance Journal Forums

I am searching for any opinions regarding where to locate a new branch of an established Agency, including most important characteristics of a Agency location (e.g., a busy shopping area that families go to on weekends, on a corner or a busy intersection, around other professionals, proximity to potential clients home or business, etc.). What are your thoughts?

How about right next to whatever company/agency you have taken the most business from in the last 12 months?

Having additional agency branches is generally a thing of the past for smaller to mid-size agencies (essentially agencies that are not national or mutli-state), unless they are a non-standard auto agency that caters to a walk in clientele. What has changed over th last 15 plus year is the obvious, people interacting and paying online, agencies are able to email applications, producers are able to work remotely from home, etc. This has changed the entire landscape of the insurance agency, I have known a number of agencies that have closed branch locations because it no longer made sense to have additional branches (but agian, this is not the case if the agency caters to non-standard auto).

Have you tried using Google Maps? Kiddin. I think the online directory of Association of Online Insurance Agents (AOIA) would be helpful. It provides listings of agencies nationwide. Not quite sure if their database is updated and comprehensive.