Chicagoland SIA Blog

Starting your own independent insurance agency can be an exciting and rewarding venture. As an independent agency owner, you have the freedom to build a business that reflects your vision and offers tailored insurance solutions to clients. However, like any entrepreneurial endeavor, it requires careful planning, research, and leveraging the right resources. Here is an overview of the various steps needed to start an independent insurance agency from scratch, along with valuable online resources and technology suggestions to help you succeed.

The commercial lines insurance market is experiencing a period of hardening, characterized by tightening capacity, increasing rates, and stricter underwriting guidelines.

As an independent insurance agent, having a website that ranks highly in Google search results is essential for attracting potential clients and building your business. However, achieving a high ranking requires more than just creating a website; you need to employ best practices for creating a website that is optimized for search engines and your target audience.

In the insurance industry, the concept of book ownership holds significant importance for agents. Whether you're a captive insurance agent, an independent agent, or part of an insurance network, understanding what book ownership means and how it differs among these models is crucial.

In a hard insurance market, where insurance carriers face challenging economic conditions or increased losses, they may adopt stricter measures to mitigate risks and protect their profitability. One such approach involves closely scrutinizing insurance applications when claims arise. In some cases, carriers may use any errors, misstatements, or dishonest answers found on the application as grounds to deny a claim—even if the claim itself is unrelated to the information provided or would not have been affected had the information been accurate.

As an independent insurance agent, it's essential to understand the differences between branding, marketing, and sales. While they all contribute to the growth and success of your business, they have distinct roles and require different approaches.

As an independent insurance agent, taking full advantage of free tools and resources can help you stay competitive in the digital age. One of the most powerful tools available is Google, and their suite of free resources can help you reach more potential customers and build your brand.

Losing clients can be a difficult experience for any independent insurance agent. It can happen for a variety of reasons, such as poor communication, inadequate service, or simply due to competition from other agents. But winning back lost clients is not impossible, and there are strategies that can be employed to help you regain their trust and business.

Automation is rapidly transforming the insurance industry, and independent insurance agents can leverage this technology to streamline their operations, reduce their administrative burden, and free up time to focus on more high-value activities. However, before implementing automation technology into your agency, it's essential to develop a well-defined strategy to ensure the technology is deployed effectively.

As an insurance agent, you know that social media can be a powerful tool to help you reach new clients and build your brand. However, with so many different social media channels available, it can be challenging to know which platforms to focus on and how to use them effectively.