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What lines of insurance? How long have you been captive? What type of marketing do you plan on doing?
What state are you in?
I started captive then went independent. I am going to assume once you leave, you don't get to keep any of your renewals. Right or wrong, your real renewals are the experience you learned under that captive agency. They taught you how to sell, the basics of their product (but not the competition), how to schedule life around your work, how to prospect, and how to sell to those prospects and then support that sale. That is a lifetime payment for you that will earn dividends as you continue working independently.
What you lose by becoming independent: no one is going to stick a boot up your butt to get you to work anymore, so if you needed someone to do that, stay captive (unfortunately, almost everyone says they really didn't need that until they lose it; most people are a poor judge of their own work habits at the start). You lose the security of being backed by the strength and support of one omniscient insurance company, you lose their systems (although many can be adapted to your own use), you lose their training - freely given, and you typically lose the clients you've built a relationship with and have to start from scratch (check for a non-compete).
What you gain: freedom to not answer to anyone but yourself and your family, ability to diversify your portfolio to whatever you wish, you get to sell products that are more competitive, and you get to pick which type of people you sell it to.
In some ways, you start over, because you have to learn new products, new underwriting (when I first left my captive company, every life insurance I wrote the first month got rejected because I was so unfamiliar with other companies UW methods), new ways to prospect, and new support systems. In other ways, you aren't new, because you already know how to sell. The trade of selling isn't different from one company to another. Just honestly prove to the prospect you can give the prospect the best solutions to the problems they have, and you'll have yourself a nice career.
Hope that helps.
All good, and correct points.Pro's to being independent:
- making insurers compete for my clients business, instead of trying to "sell a rated case for the carrier".
- ability to be compensated based upon my production level and not some set company comp rate that applies to everyone.
- pick the office location and type of space I want.
- ability to say go-to-hell if a carrier makes systems,process, or product changes that are ridiculous and not in my clients best interest.