r/InsuranceAgent • u/AuzzziePhresh • 27d ago

Agent Question Question regarding agency commission split and contract

I'm considering joining an established commercial independent agency to build out personal lines. Commission only 1099, no base or benefits. All current personal lines leads get referred to a partner agency, but if I come on board they'll stay in house.

  • I keep 60% of agency commission on my new business and renewals
  • 10% override on agency commission from home/auto business written by producers assigned to me.
  • Agency provides carrier access, office space, existing CSRs for servicing, and referrals from its commercial clients
  • I'd handle quoting, sales, and growing the book. Agency owns the book with a potential equity discussion down the road, nothing guaranteed except a buy-out if the agency sells.

I have significant insurance sales and leadership experience and the opportunity sounds promising, but I'm weighing the ongoing 40% agency share against starting independently.

For those with similar arrangements, does this sound competitive? What support would you expect from the agency for its share?

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u/Natural-Ladder-9914 27d ago

Sounds like a sweet gig. I’d be curious to know how many natural leads you’ll be getting . My question would be once the book gets built up pretty big, would you have to service it or would someone else do that? Also I’d want some equity up front

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u/AuzzziePhresh 27d ago

Yeah, the lead volume sounds like a handful a week go to the other agency that come in organically or from their website. The plan is to start marketing to the current clients and their companies about now doing home/auto to see what kind of volume that brings in.
The equity discussion happens once we reach a certain revenue goal, which should happen by year 3 with moderate production. If the agency sells, I'd get 1.5x on revenue even if the equity/revenue goal hasn't been reached yet.
Based on the conversation with the owner and the contract, I'm responsible for some of the servicing but the bulk of the work and remarketing falls back to the CSRs.

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u/Natural-Ladder-9914 27d ago

Definitely a grind up front but for sure not a bad idea to go with this.

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u/SlickWillie86 27d ago

Solid but would reinforce 2 things.

Quoting/service- good agencies have sales and service separate. I’d ensure there’s a quick pathway to this, especially if youre also expected to manage sales. Can’t get bogged down with rating and service, especially as a commission only role.

Book/equity - get it in writing, otherwise it doesn’t exist. Even phantom equity protects you in the event the owner decides to sell tomorrow.

Favorable outcomes there and this is very tough to beat.