Why not bring in a benefits producer? There seem to be a ton of sole prop benefits guys out there that would like to come into an established P&C agency to cross sell your accounts and get paid on any of his accounts that you cross sell the P&C. Interview a few until you find the right fit.

I quote flood and umbrella on every account but list them separately from the home and auto.

NFIP has a lot of slick marketing material (all free to you) including sign off sheets and big stickers that can be attached to the dec page stating"this policy does not cover flood".

I am based in Sacramento so Flood is a big profit center for my agency. We include a quote with every HO and commercial property quote. 27% commission on low maintenance policies is a good thing. Marketing excess flood opens door to high end home owners that live near the water.

I have used PS4 for my entire insurance career for commercial clients with any level of complexity.

I cannot imagine losing that appointment being a big deal for any agency. They are not special or different in any way.

you probably have access to acord forms in your agency management system. They agency you are working for should have trained you how to fill out acord apps before turning you loose to interact with prospects and underwriters. Look around to see if INS 21, 22 and 23 if offered in your area. Those cl...

If you do a good job of remarketing their account (or explaining why staying with the current carrier is their best option) and you keep them in the loop starting 90-120 days out... you will retain the vast majority (mid 90's) of your clients. Communication is the key... if you are talking to them a...

I switched from FSC to Ezlynx 3 months ago and I could not be happier. They provide real time, accurate rates and offer live quotes on your website for no additional cost. I often had trouble getting rates to match up on FSC after I had bridged them over to the carrier website. Ezlynx is a superior ...

I suspect you will have little success gaining direct appointments with good carriers in your situation. If you do not have a book of business or extensive experience and a proven track record at another agency, direct appointments are tough to come by. Use the search function to research different ...

I am not a huge fan of their rating system but I use EzLynx so most of the information is populated and ready to go. Their auto rates are VERY competitive in CA for clean drivers and they have some nice selling features. Their HO rates are average at best but the Auto rates are low enough to allow t...

Wayne, I agree with your philospohy. My agents sell and service as well. My CL producers make well above market rate (50% new and renewal)... partially because they were established and needed a carrot to get them over here and partially because I feel like people want to deal with "their agent...

Thank you for your response. Judging production by policy count makes sense. Apparently his tip group only allows one P&C insurance professional and has been very good to him... so I am willing to gamble $1000 for the year to see if it works out. I felt the same way about online leads but he cla...

I am a new independent agency owner (18 months) and I am looking at bringing on my first personal lines producer. I come from a small/middle market commercial background and my other producers write the same type of business and have the same compensation structure in terms of commission splits. Up ...

I don't normally recommend aggregators like Networked or Agent Secure for experienced and established independent agents... but for someone like yourself they may be a good option. They will give you access to markets and protect you from yourself to a certain extent. Their service reps are used to ...