Last Updated on March 1, 2022 by Jacques Wong, B.Sc.
This is the 2nd tip in a multi-part series about how to become a successful insurance broker. The first tip was to find a mentor (<- click to read about that). In this post, we talk about what to look for in a brokerage and how to find a good one.
Now, you might be asking yourself, why do I have a picture of a car in this post, how is this relevant to insurance? Well, the advice in this post is to find a good brokerage. To explain why that’s important, I use the analogy of a vehicle (also because I like cars).
To be a good race car driver, you need a good racing car. No matter how good or skillful you are, you would not be able to win any races unless you are in a good car with a good pit crew and team behind you. The same applies to being an insurance broker (although it is an arguably less exciting job). You cannot succeed at being a good broker and delighting clients with a high level of service if you don’t have a good brokerage and support team behind you.
Becoming a Successful Insurance Broker Tip #2: Find a Good “Vehicle”
To the layman, all brokerages might look the same. After all, they all sell insurance and they all do paperwork. But if you peer under the hood (this will be the first and last car pun – I promise), you’ll notice some differences.
Number of Insurance Companies
The first thing you should look for is the number of carriers or insurance companies the company works with. Ideally, you want to join a brokerage that has contract with many of the top insurance companies in the areas of insurance you want to specialize in. For example, if you plan to do a lot of aviation business, you should find a brokerage that has relationships with aviation insurers. Make sure they at least have a few so you can shop around and find the best value for your clients.
Support & Training
Another thing that’s equally as important is the level of service and training they provide. If your brokerage provides their insurance brokers with licensing education, sales training or software/process training, that is a very good thing. It’ll help you get up to speed quicker and allow you to be better positioned to service your clients.
Good support for brokers also means a good turnaround time on paperwork. Clients might be in a rush (everyone procrastinates) or might be fielding competing offers. The faster you can provide service to your clients, without making mistakes, the better they’ll feel about you and the more business you’ll be able to win.
Colleagues
This is a sort of underrated criteria but I believe it’s important in the long-term. Just like car racing, insurance is a team sport. Nobody can be successful on their own. You need good supportive colleagues to lean on for support. Plus, you’ll be spending a lot of your time with them so they had better be people who actually like!
The Bottom Line / Key Takeaways
Just like car racing, insurance is a team sport. You need a good crew (your colleagues and brokerage staff) and a good vehicle (the brokerage itself) if you want to be successful.
If you have any other tips that you think helped you in your career, let me know by emailing info@pnclearning.com.