Is It Probable to Be All Things?

[Clint]

I worked IT for a top 100 independent agency a few years back. Within the company there were four owners. Each had his specialized line. Bunny worked construction. Bob did business and high end P&C and Life. Bill was a top end Life and P&C - and Comm Lines. Ed did insurance specifically for nursing homes. In addition there were approximately 5 other salesmen/agents, and a boat load of CSR's. There was in this agency,s a PL dept. An Employee Benefits Dept. -which sold 401K's, life, group health, individual health, etc. The Commercial Lines dept which did practically all lines of business insurance with a few specialty niches of bonds and construction. etc. etc. This agency was started in '55 and has since grown leaps and bounds. It started as a P&C agency.

To that end, what are the challenges a new <SCRATCH> P&C agent/agency would face, to gather those specialty sellers, under the umbrella of a larger company to sell? Is it even possible to do anymore, or rather probable? Can one open a general lines agency? I know it's impossible to be all things to all people but how can a person make this work to his/her advantage as a general lines agency? Can a good leader and manager bring his expertise to the table (say life only), and 'share the wealth' by bringing in other experts in P&C or GL, Health, etc?

The way I see it: calling on a business?

I see the following opportunities: Individual Life policy(ies), Key Man Life, DI, CI, BOP, GL, Business Income Replacement, Fleet Insurance, and then offering Home, Auto, for employees.

I've been given in-roads to a successful realty company that will allow me to come in and pitch to the real estate agents. Provide insurance for Home at closing, etc. I then see it as in inroads to Auto, then Life.

Detractors? Naysayers? Reality Checkers? Comments welcome.

 

[Benefits Man]

You forgot pet insurance...j/k

It could work, it just depends if you know the products/process, and people like you.

 

[arnguy]

I don't know if it is probable, but it may be possible.

 

[Josh]

It's not really practical either. It also is a great way to be staring down the business end of an e and o claim because you're not expert enough in all things and flub up.

 

[retread]

It's not really practical either. It also is a great way to be staring down the business end of an e and o claim because you're not expert enough in all things and flub up.

That's exactly why I dropped disability insurance. Life and Health is enough on one's plate. Now if I had a couple of partners....

 

[sgriswold]

It is certainly possible to effectively sell all lines. There is a finite amount of knowledge required to do so, and I would say that most people of above-average intellect can pick up working knowledge within the span of 18 months. (This, of course, is with the caveat of being "jack of all trades, master of none." You won't be an expert in anything.)

Where you run into problems is the interaction of several lines with different industries, especially with P&C. As an all-lines agent, you will have a hard enough time keeping track of the dynamics of different carriers within a certain niche. Trying to be "All Things" to EVERYONE is not impossible, but a pursuit best left to the geniuses among us. But then again, if you have genius-level intelligence...what the hell are you doing selling insurance?

For example, my background is in life/health/disability. I can do annuities, group products, settlements, financing, buyouts, etc. in my sleep. Last year I added P&C to my agency because of client demand. I've had to learn it from scratch. Now I can whip out worker's comp, personal lines, CGL, BOP without too much issue but it takes me much longer when doing a full-blown coverage review for a client whose industry I am not familiar with. There's too many things that can go wrong.

As a result I've refocused our agency on one specific occupation and this is keeping me within the realm of sanity.


Would I recommend expanding to all lines? Probably not, unless you are a high-functioning autistic or your agency has a really narrow market focus. It gets incredibly messy and by comparison P&C is time consuming and not cost-effective in comparison to L&H. The majority of agents can probably do just fine by keeping with a couple lines.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

If you wanted to open a restaurant would you include Chinese, French, Seafood, American, and Italian fool on your menu in an attempt to maximize your business...or would you specialize.

And if you're looking for a great Italian meal would you go to an Italian restaurant or a Chinese restaurant that also offers some Italian dishes.

 

[scagnt83]

If you wanted to open a restaurant would you include Chinese, French, Seafood, American, and Italian fool on your menu in an attempt to maximize your business...or would you specialize.

And if you're looking for a great Italian meal would you go to an Italian restaurant or a Chinese restaurant that also offers some Italian dishes.

Excellent points. An agent should find a niche that fits them and stick with it.
Then cross sell with the old "oh, by the way, I can take care of that for you.."
But the "oh by the way" subject shouldnt be what initially captured their attention.

Better to be a master of one trade than a jack of all trades.



An agency on the other hand could potentially diversify into many areas by bringing on multiple experts to head up each "department". But the owner needs to have a lot of experience and general knowledge, because it all falls back on them.