Leaving the nest

[AbeinGP]

I've been with an agency for a few years and have made the decision to go it alone. One thing (among many) that concerns me is being locked out of my account data in AMS. I'm looking for solutions on how to move my data into my newly formed agency's AMS. Anybody have any thoughts/personal experience?

[Big Dog]

The agency you currently work for owns that data. Copying, printing, whatever that data could be considered theft of intellectual property, which has severe legal implications. You should also have legal counsel review any current contract/agreement to see if there are any non-compete clauses.

[Libby1958]

Ditto what AbeinGP says. Unless you have contract stating those clients are yours, you'd be best to leave them alone. This is the reason successful agency people have a hard time leaving an agency, either to go to another agency or start their own. There is usually a 2-3 year non-compete clause where you basically have to start from scratch.

[yoyowordup]

If you own your business and your carriers honor the agency change, you should be able to do an initial download of the accounts into your new system. At least from the carriers that download. In the old days, we just took the file and left. That can definitely be a problem now. AMS should also have some solutions. If your current agency allows it, AMS can scrub the system for accounts assigned to you and transfer much of the information to the new system.