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Hi Guys, I am an independent agent in PA. I am looking to start a new agency from scratch. Any suggestions would be really appreciated. Any new feedback on Smart Choice?
I am looking for something similar to what Insbroker has in his post from 2008

1. Will I have binding authority.
2. will I be able to service the policies?
3. Will I be appointed directly with the carriers.
4. Can I use my DBA
Smart choice or are there any other routes? Can you suggest other aggregators or clusters with no minimum production requirements?
Please advise.
Thank you.

Hi Jay10 -

One other option you may want to consider is hooking up with a general agency that can get you access to markets you don't already have. While our agency specializes in the Midwest, we do have authority with many of our companies in the state of Pennsylvania. For examples of what we have available, please see our website: www.thehelpfulpeople.com. If you are interested in seeing if we would be a good fit for you, please contact Susan in our marketing department: 800-869-2022 or susan@thehelpfulpeople.com.

Bill Korfker
Grand General Agency
800-869-2022

Have you tried Oli? They seem to have a new model for doing business. You become an affiliate gaining market access and can utilize some back office services that as a scratch agency may be very useful to you.

https://www.oliins.com/

Thank you bkor3, pita3333. I will check it out.