The information presented in this blog will review necessary steps in starting a career in insurance and opening your own insurance office. Now that you have made the choice to work for yourself—you have realistically reviewed your experience and resources. You have recognized your potential sales ability and have a positive reputation with other business professionals but have not worked in the insurance trade. You need to determine if you are interested in becoming an independent agent or working for an established national insurance firm such as Farmers or Allstate. If you opt to go into business with a national insurance company, you will find that they and will help you obtain your license and get the education you need. If you desire to be an independent agent, you have some hard work ahead of you; however, you are starting on an exhilarating journey and will be proud of your investment in the future.
Number One—Get Licensed! You can find out about the qualifications for becoming an insurance agent by contacting your home state's department of insurance. Each state manages the insurance market and its agents in order to maintain consumer protection and to delegate a fair competition among the state’s insurance professionals. In reviewing the state prerequisites then decide what type of insurance you want to sell. The types of insurance are personal lines, property and casualty, and life insurance. Personal lines are the most generally known and include non-commercial products such as auto and homeowners insurance. Property and casualty (also known as P&C) lines encompass advanced personal and commercial insurance like professional liability and commercial auto insurance. Life insurance is a good product to add to your lines because typically this kind of insurance clears the best payout.
As you begin researching sources for funding, consult your attorney, accountant, and other business experts as support in evaluating your needs and for aid in executing a focused business plan. The Small Business Administration in your region can offer excellent counsel on what you need to do to obtain capital for your new venture. If you are looking for financing, be ready to offer detailed information about your start-up expenses and any capital needs you may have. Financial institutions will review your objectives and assure you have a levelheaded business plan before they take on the risk involved in making a loan to you.
As a small business owner, it is reasonable to think about forming a limited liability company (LLC) or corporation in order to guard yourself from personal liability claims. Your counsel and/or accountant will be able to counsel you on this and help you in obtaining a state business license. By setting up a legal business entity, you can protect your personal assets and make your business more credible.
Be sure to secure protection for your business by obtaining a surety bond. A surety bond is comparable to insurance in that it pays the purchaser if a contractual service or agreement has not been carried out as agreed. You will also have to procure errors and omission (E&O) insurance. Most insurance companies that you work with will direct you to have an E&O policy in place.
Now you are primed to pursue the education and training necessary to obtain your license. Some educational resources accessible online include Kaplan University, AdBanker and WebCE. These organizations offer professional and continuing education sessions to help prepare one for licensing exams and to fulfill the state requirements for license renewals. Warning: if you decide on online classes, verify that the curriculum meets the requirements in your state. Most states order training in ethics and a concentration in a specialty area such as flood insurance. Call the department of insurance to discover what these requirements are in your state. Keep in mind that once you have obtained your license you need to meet continuing education requirements in order to renew your license each term.
Next as a licensed agent, you need to get appointed by insurance underwriting companies. As an independent agent, you will have to speak to the insurance carriers and sell yourself. Consequently, you will need to be ready to provide your business agenda and plans for growth so that they can make an informed determination. It is helpful if you have an inside association who can help you with the appointment process. This effort will probably be the most difficult obstacle you have come up against so far. If you have difficulty getting authorized by these companies, initially you may want to use a surplus lines broker or managing general agent (MGA) such as Insurance Noodle or Smart Choice. Typically, these MGA firms charge a membership fee and take a portion of your commission for supplying access to insurance companies that quote and guarantee your policies. Even though those fees raise overhead expense, it provides you versatility in the products you can offer and provides you time to build up clientele and knowledge. An alternate avenue for a start-up agency is to join a cluster, alliance or network group such as ISU Network which uses the authority of the body to obtain appointments.
Have your new website up and running from day one as this can be a premier part of your public relations strategy. Also look at the convenience of advertising your business via social networking sites like Facebook. By using these resources you can inform people about your new business and set the stage for referrals and building your client base. Be sure to keep these posts personal and casual with an occasional marketing ad-you don't want to be tagged as a spammer.
If you were once an agent for a captive or national insurance company, give consideration to any non-compete contracts with those companies before you solicit your previous client base. If this agreement exists, discuss the restrictions with your lawyer so that you do not disobey any state laws. If you are just starting out as an agent, bear in mind that picking the appropriate agency name can be an adept part of your business plan. Utilizing your name in the agency name builds recognition and assists customers to identify you more easily. Make sure to check out the local advertising channels such as your local newspaper or chamber of commerce depending on your target audience.
As you inspect your office management requirements, you need to check out your plan for retaining records and being familiar with information that can affect your business. Numerous insurance companies invest in various software systems such as insurance rating systems, agency management systems and customer relation software in order to be more efficient. You should place emphasis on obtaining an agency management software system to help in keeping accurate documents on your clients and their policies. As you familiarize yourself with the idiosyncrasies of the insurance industry, you will learn about ACORD, a global non-profit organization that develops standards and systems that benefit the insurance and related financial industry in the assimilation of information. They have developed consistent forms, known as ACORD forms, to automate the acquisition of data. In order to meet legal and standardized regulations you will need access to these forms. Many software companies offer assess to these forms so a thorough evaluation of ACORD licensed software systems will help you reach the most advantageous verdict for your office.
Yes, there’s a lot of homework to do but if you are prepared to roll up your sleeves and get to work, with lots of diligence you will be proud of the investment you have made in your future and the strong firm you have developed.
Forms Boss offers an agency management system that allows you to track clients and prospects as well as allowing access to over seven hundred ACORD forms. Their website features several tutorial videos to help you learn this simple and easy to learn software program. Click here to discover more material about fillable ACORD forms.
Number One—Get Licensed! You can find out about the qualifications for becoming an insurance agent by contacting your home state's department of insurance. Each state manages the insurance market and its agents in order to maintain consumer protection and to delegate a fair competition among the state’s insurance professionals. In reviewing the state prerequisites then decide what type of insurance you want to sell. The types of insurance are personal lines, property and casualty, and life insurance. Personal lines are the most generally known and include non-commercial products such as auto and homeowners insurance. Property and casualty (also known as P&C) lines encompass advanced personal and commercial insurance like professional liability and commercial auto insurance. Life insurance is a good product to add to your lines because typically this kind of insurance clears the best payout.
As you begin researching sources for funding, consult your attorney, accountant, and other business experts as support in evaluating your needs and for aid in executing a focused business plan. The Small Business Administration in your region can offer excellent counsel on what you need to do to obtain capital for your new venture. If you are looking for financing, be ready to offer detailed information about your start-up expenses and any capital needs you may have. Financial institutions will review your objectives and assure you have a levelheaded business plan before they take on the risk involved in making a loan to you.
As a small business owner, it is reasonable to think about forming a limited liability company (LLC) or corporation in order to guard yourself from personal liability claims. Your counsel and/or accountant will be able to counsel you on this and help you in obtaining a state business license. By setting up a legal business entity, you can protect your personal assets and make your business more credible.
Be sure to secure protection for your business by obtaining a surety bond. A surety bond is comparable to insurance in that it pays the purchaser if a contractual service or agreement has not been carried out as agreed. You will also have to procure errors and omission (E&O) insurance. Most insurance companies that you work with will direct you to have an E&O policy in place.
Now you are primed to pursue the education and training necessary to obtain your license. Some educational resources accessible online include Kaplan University, AdBanker and WebCE. These organizations offer professional and continuing education sessions to help prepare one for licensing exams and to fulfill the state requirements for license renewals. Warning: if you decide on online classes, verify that the curriculum meets the requirements in your state. Most states order training in ethics and a concentration in a specialty area such as flood insurance. Call the department of insurance to discover what these requirements are in your state. Keep in mind that once you have obtained your license you need to meet continuing education requirements in order to renew your license each term.
Next as a licensed agent, you need to get appointed by insurance underwriting companies. As an independent agent, you will have to speak to the insurance carriers and sell yourself. Consequently, you will need to be ready to provide your business agenda and plans for growth so that they can make an informed determination. It is helpful if you have an inside association who can help you with the appointment process. This effort will probably be the most difficult obstacle you have come up against so far. If you have difficulty getting authorized by these companies, initially you may want to use a surplus lines broker or managing general agent (MGA) such as Insurance Noodle or Smart Choice. Typically, these MGA firms charge a membership fee and take a portion of your commission for supplying access to insurance companies that quote and guarantee your policies. Even though those fees raise overhead expense, it provides you versatility in the products you can offer and provides you time to build up clientele and knowledge. An alternate avenue for a start-up agency is to join a cluster, alliance or network group such as ISU Network which uses the authority of the body to obtain appointments.
Have your new website up and running from day one as this can be a premier part of your public relations strategy. Also look at the convenience of advertising your business via social networking sites like Facebook. By using these resources you can inform people about your new business and set the stage for referrals and building your client base. Be sure to keep these posts personal and casual with an occasional marketing ad-you don't want to be tagged as a spammer.
If you were once an agent for a captive or national insurance company, give consideration to any non-compete contracts with those companies before you solicit your previous client base. If this agreement exists, discuss the restrictions with your lawyer so that you do not disobey any state laws. If you are just starting out as an agent, bear in mind that picking the appropriate agency name can be an adept part of your business plan. Utilizing your name in the agency name builds recognition and assists customers to identify you more easily. Make sure to check out the local advertising channels such as your local newspaper or chamber of commerce depending on your target audience.
As you inspect your office management requirements, you need to check out your plan for retaining records and being familiar with information that can affect your business. Numerous insurance companies invest in various software systems such as insurance rating systems, agency management systems and customer relation software in order to be more efficient. You should place emphasis on obtaining an agency management software system to help in keeping accurate documents on your clients and their policies. As you familiarize yourself with the idiosyncrasies of the insurance industry, you will learn about ACORD, a global non-profit organization that develops standards and systems that benefit the insurance and related financial industry in the assimilation of information. They have developed consistent forms, known as ACORD forms, to automate the acquisition of data. In order to meet legal and standardized regulations you will need access to these forms. Many software companies offer assess to these forms so a thorough evaluation of ACORD licensed software systems will help you reach the most advantageous verdict for your office.
Yes, there’s a lot of homework to do but if you are prepared to roll up your sleeves and get to work, with lots of diligence you will be proud of the investment you have made in your future and the strong firm you have developed.
Forms Boss offers an agency management system that allows you to track clients and prospects as well as allowing access to over seven hundred ACORD forms. Their website features several tutorial videos to help you learn this simple and easy to learn software program. Click here to discover more material about fillable ACORD forms.
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