Comparing MGA's / Aggregators - Your Experience is Welcome

[Texasproducer]

I will mainly be doing personal lines and am looking to get under an MGA/Aggregator

Here is the list I have looked over so far:

Insurance Noodle
IAA Network
SIAA
Smart Choice
Superior Access
Agent Secure
Roamnet
Networked

If anyone has any experience these companies that would be great.
My main points of concern are:
1. Direct Access to Carriers with binding authority
2. Book Ownership
3. Product Availability in Texas
4. Commission Split

Other factors are the ability to transfer servicing to the mga, e&o coverage, possibility to transition into my own direct appointments, etc...
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Networked (www.nlinksuite.com) seems to be mainly commercial since their PL carriers are pretty short in Texas.
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insurance noodle looks to be mainly commercial also

 

[sgriswold]

I went through the same agonizing process as you earlier this year. I narrowed it down to Iroquois vs. SIAA, and went with the latter. However, this is entirely going to be up to you and how you want to run and develop your business. One of the important things I learned is that there's no definitive "right" answer to "which MGA/Aggregator/Cluster should I go with?"

 

[bree4479]

Like he said go with SIAA or Iroquois. I went through Agent secure, Noodle, and Superior no luck to slow and painful. No upfront fee with Iroquois. I chose Iroquois.

 

[Texasproducer]

Like he said go with SIAA or Iroquois. I went through Agent secure, Noodle, and Superior no luck to slow and painful. No upfront fee with Iroquois. I chose Iroquois.

I read somewhere that Iroquois has a 2 year non-compete that you won't work with the carriers that they appoint you with. I want to use an aggregator as a stepping stone to get direct appointments. That doesn't seem a possibility with Iroquois. I am misunderstanding something?

 

[HighRisk]

Like he said go with SIAA or Iroquois. I went through Agent secure, Noodle, and Superior no luck to slow and painful. No upfront fee with Iroquois. I chose Iroquois.

I have owned a P&C agency for over 25 years. We hooked up with Iroquois to bring in a couple of companies who were not yet directly appointing agencies in our area. The advantage to iroquois is that policies are issued with your agency name, you are appointed with the carriers as their sub-agent and have binding authority, and place coverage direct with the carrier.

The downside is that the Iroquois contract and business model is set up to to strip your business away at any time . Any time you get in a disagreement with them (i.e. moving a substantial portion of the business placed with them to a directly contracted carrier), they will cancel your contract.

You will have 90 days to move everything (neeed to cancel and move mid-term) . After 90 days, they take over 100% of the commissions and don't service customers. In our case, they continue to issue policies with our name as the agent, the carriers refuse to let us service policies, and iroquois keeps 100% of the commission.

It is clear that they want to attract agents breaking away from employment in other agencies, who are not familiar with contracting issues. Once you demonstrate some savy and business awareness, they are not that interested in working with you, and want to end the relationship on their terms.

Their selling point to agents is that the policies are issued under your agency name and that you "own the expirations".

Their contract allows you to "own" the business only to the extent that you can sell it to another party, whom they approve in advance, AND the policies remain with Iroquois----this is a condition under which NO-ONE would ever pay to acquire business.

Concluding, if there is no other way to get started in business, use Iroquois and have an exit plan. Before signing their contract, pay a competant contract attorney to review it and also (more importantly) discuss it with someone you respect in the insurance business who is familiar with contracting issues.

Iroquois may offer a niche for some people to get started, however, we have found them to be amazingly insensitive to customer service issues, legal compliance issues, and above all they will sell any agent down the road to maintain relationships with one of their key companies.

Also, they have never, despite all of the promises I heard from them, contracted with a company that is not available 20 other ways in the general market. Granted, the other access method to these companies (Hartford, Travelers, CNA etc...have flaws as well).

Good Luck

 

[0b1kanobee]

Is this the same Iroquois as the Indian? My grandmother came right off the reservation.