It's not my trampoline... it's my grandson's. I gave it to him for Christmas. He just keeps it here because I have a big yard...

Swymmer

Hi Rob. Many of these association plans limit coverage for "prior acts" and act like a "claims-made" contract without any tail coverage. That is one way for them to be less expensive. If you client is selling donuts it may be OK, but for an engineering firm that has years of prio...

Well, I guess that's why so many carriers are "spreading the risk" across all the vehicles evenly instead of rating each driver to a particular vehicle. When Safeco did this a few years back, I actually had an account that didn't change the price at all.... but "Dad's PT Cruiser"...

I know another guy that's had a similar experience with Banker's Life & Casualty. He went ahead and spent the money and purchased what turned out to be a better source of leads from a reputable vendor... and is doing a bit better, now. The leads BL&C provided had the exact same results that ...

Hey, gamecockindy... Scott is right about the introduction. Many small agency owners are interested in a perpetuation plan, and currently have none. Your attitude is great about working your way into the agency, starting as a "junior partner" and working your way up over a few years. If yo...

Having too much money in a trust account is not violating a tax code. If the agency is a sole-prop, LLC, partnership or Sub-S corp all the cash-flow is accounted for each April. If a C corp the business is allowed substantial cash accumulations as "retained earnings", particularly if they ...

yep.

swymmer

Outsourcing services like trust accounts and customer service needs is fine for the dot-coms and 1-800's out there, but in my little town ALL of my customers / clients expect and get the personal service I have always promised. Yes, it's a part of doing business, but I'll bet my bottom dollar that t...

Contact "The Cullen Agency" in Forks, Washington!

Johnny, my two cents is for you to find a local independent agency that you look up to, and that will allow you to build your practice there. Many agencies are looking for the right talent, as well as someone with aspirations of ownership in the future. Perpetuation of an agency is often more diffic...

It's happening all over. NAIFA, MDRT, The Big I, PIA, Various societies for CPCU, CLU, ChFC... you get the picture. If these groups were ineffective they would not continue. On a local basis, I think the local NAIFA and PIA / Big I meetings are excellent for networking. The attendees are mostly inte...

FLagent, if I read this right, you are looking for some sort of a base salary while trying to learn the "life" side of things, and while trying to also build a seperate business. There are not too many life companies out there that will pay a salary anyway. If they do, they'll assign you t...

We are a small agency and also use the team approach. On many occasions we will split an account, particularly when our personal lines producer is trying to learn the commercial side and brings in the prospect... and when the commercial producer is cross-selling and picks up a personal lines opportu...

I did exactly what you did... 12 years ago! I bought a small-town indy agency for 3.5X commissions (not something I'd recommend to others) and as part of that I kept the marketing rights to the gentleman's name and he stayed full-time for 6 months and part time for another year as part of the deal. ...

Hey kevinraz... I've been battling the AL Williams / Primerica system for years, so I obviously look at the organization from a different view than a new recruit would. That said, the company is owned by Citicorp and is an offshoot of the Traveler's Life Insurance as I recall. The company is still m...