If you’re an insurance agency looking to recruit and support independent health insurance agents, you also need to understand the steps involved in how to become an independent insurance agent. Independent agents are a crucial part of any agency’s team, offering flexibility, a variety of products, and the ability to grow their own book of business.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps for recruiting, training, and supporting independent health insurance agents, with the added benefit of EMG Insurance Brokerage’s tools and resources to streamline the process.
Key Takeaways
- Independent agents work with multiple insurance carriers, offering a wide variety of policies.
- Agencies need a clear plan for recruiting, licensing, and supporting independent agents.
- EMG Insurance Brokerage provides tools and resources to help agencies recruit, train, and manage their independent agents effectively.
Why Recruit Independent Health Insurance Agents for Your Agency?
Recruiting independent agents offers yohttps://emgbrokerage.com/ur agency more than just additional team members—it provides flexibility, expanded product offerings, and a growing business. Independent agents can sell policies from multiple insurance companies, allowing your agency to offer a wider variety of plans and give clients more choices for greater revenue. In fact, in Texas alone, independent agents provide insurance for 80% of all businesses, with premiums amounting to about $9.6 billion.
Here are some key benefits of recruiting independent health insurance agents:
- Better Flexibility: Independent agents are not tied to one carrier. They can work with multiple companies, providing a broader range of coverage options to your clients.
- Larger Commissions: Independent agents often keep a larger portion of their commissions, which makes them more motivated to grow their book of business.
- Scalable Business: As your independent agents grow, so does your agency. You don’t need to hire more full-time employees—agents can scale up on their own.
- Nationwide Reach: Independent agents can work in multiple states, increasing your agency’s coverage area without geographical constraints.
Step-by-Step Guide to Recruiting and Supporting Independent Health Insurance Agents
As an agency, it’s important to guide independent agents through the steps of getting licensed and offering health insurance policies. Here’s how EMG can help your agency recruit, license, and support independent agents efficiently:
Step 1: Know Your Path & Product Mix
Before you start recruiting agents, decide what types of insurance products you want to offer. Some independent agents specialize in life and health, while others focus on property and casualty insurance or commercial insurance.
EMG’s Support:
- EMG offers access to a wide range of insurance carriers to help your agents offer a diverse product mix.
- By partnering with EMG, your agency can give agents more choices, making them more attractive to clients.
Step 2: Help Agents Get Licensed
Independent agents need to be licensed to sell insurance. Your agency can support agents by guiding them through the licensing process and ensuring they meet the state requirements.
EMG’s Support:
- EMG simplifies the licensing process by providing resources for agents to access pre-licensing courses and stay compliant across all states.
- We help ensure agents have the tools and guidelines to pass their exams with confidence.
Step 3: Partner with a BGA or IMO
Once agents are licensed, they need to get access to multiple insurance companies to sell their products. Partnering with a BGA (Brokerage General Agency) or IMO (Independent Marketing Organization) gives agents access to a wide variety of carriers.
EMG’s Support:
- As an EMG partner, your agency can offer agents access to multiple carriers and provide them with appointments in all 50 states.
- Through EMG’s e-complete portal, agents can easily submit business and manage their accounts.
Step 4: Provide Ongoing Training & Support
Independent agents need continuous education and support to stay up-to-date on industry changes and regulatory requirements.
EMG’s Support:
- EMG provides comprehensive training through its e-complete portal and offers tools that help track agent performance.
- Agencies can use EMG’s platform to onboard new agents, provide ongoing support, and maintain strong communication.
Step 5: Market & Grow the Agency Together
Once agents are fully licensed and appointed, your next step is ensuring they have the marketing tools to grow their business and offer policies to clients.
EMG’s Support:
- EMG provides marketing resources for agencies to help attract new agents and clients. From customizable brochures to email templates, we provide the tools to promote your agents’ success.
Step 6: Launch Your Sales & Marketing
Now that your independent agents are licensed and ready to go, it’s time to help them build their client base and grow their business. Effective sales and marketing are critical to ensuring your agents’ success and increasing your agency’s overall revenue. Here’s how your agency can support agents in launching their sales efforts:
EMG’s Support:
- Marketing Resources: EMG provides customizable marketing materials such as brochures, email templates, and digital assets to help your agents attract clients and build their personal brand.
- Training and Sales Coaching: Equip agents with ongoing training on how to market themselves effectively, handle objections, and close sales. EMG’s training programs help agents refine their sales skills and build client relationships.
- Local Networking Support: Encourage agents to tap into local networks and referrals. EMG helps agents create online profiles and social media strategies that can drive local visibility and generate new leads.
- EMG e-Complete Portal: This tool helps agents manage quotes, submit business quickly, and track client interactions. It simplifies the sales process and allows agents to focus more on client acquisition and less on administrative tasks.
Step 7: Grow & Sustain Your Agency’s Success
Building a successful insurance agency takes time. Once your agents are up and running, it’s important to focus on sustaining and growing your business over the long term. This means ensuring your agents have the tools, support, and guidance needed to maintain high levels of productivity and client satisfaction.
EMG’s Support:
- Ongoing Education: EMG offers continuing education resources to keep your agents up to date with industry changes, licensing requirements, and new products. We help ensure that your agents remain competitive and knowledgeable.
- Cross-Selling Tools: Encourage agents to expand their book of business by cross-selling. EMG’s training and resources help agents identify opportunities to sell additional policies to existing clients.
- Performance Tracking: EMG’s e-complete portal helps agencies monitor agent performance, track sales goals, and identify areas where additional support may be needed. You can easily assess agent progress and make data-driven decisions.
- Client Retention: Support your agents in maintaining strong relationships with clients by offering tools that help agents track client communications, renewals, and follow-ups. EMG’s CRM tools provide agents with everything they need to stay organized and keep clients satisfied.
- Agent Retention: Providing ongoing support and professional development is key to retaining top talent. EMG offers mentorship, incentives, and performance-based rewards to help your agents stay motivated and engaged long-term.
Partnering with EMG Insurance Brokerage: The Key to Agency Growth
After discussing how to recruit, support, and grow your independent agents, it’s important to emphasize the role EMG Insurance Brokerage plays in helping your agency succeed. Partnering with EMG gives you access to the tools and resources needed to streamline operations, support agents effectively, and grow your business efficiently. Here’s how EMG can continue to be a valuable partner in your agency’s success:
EMG’s Key Support for Agencies:
- Nationwide Licensing: EMG is licensed in all 50 states, providing your agents the flexibility to work across the country.
- e-Complete Portal: Simplifies the agent onboarding and submission process, ensuring that your agents can focus on growing their business while EMG handles the backend.
- Marketing Resources: EMG offers customizable marketing materials, online tools, and digital assets that help your agents attract clients and expand their books of business.
- Training & Development: Continuous training and educational resources ensure your agents stay up-to-date with industry changes, products, and compliance requirements.
- Performance Tracking & Analytics: EMG’s e-complete portal gives your agency the ability to monitor agent performance, track sales goals, and identify areas for improvement. This allows you to optimize agent productivity and focus support where it’s most needed.
- Support for Multiple Carriers: Working with EMG gives your agents access to a broad range of insurance products, allowing them to offer competitive pricing and comprehensive coverage options to clients.
By leveraging EMG’s tools and support, your agency can optimize recruitment, enhance agent productivity, and ensure long-term business growth.
Common Challenges & How to Overcome Them
Starting and growing a team of independent health insurance agents comes with its own set of challenges. However, with the right support and tools, your agency can overcome these obstacles and build a successful team. Here are some common issues that insurance agencies face when recruiting and managing independent agents, and how EMG Insurance Brokerage can help you address them:
| Challenge | Solution |
|---|---|
| Delays in Licensing or Appointments | Start early and stay organized. Follow up on paperwork to speed up licensing and appointments. EMG’s e complete portal helps streamline the process so agents get licensed fast. |
| Slow Early Sales | Encourage patience in outreach. Build a clear value proposition for agents. EMG’s marketing tools and training programs help agents generate leads and improve sales. |
| Uncertainty Around What to Sell | Recruit agents with strong product knowledge. Guide them to profitable areas. EMG’s carrier network gives agents many products so they can focus on what fits clients best. |
| Overwhelmed by Business Operations | Use EMG’s agency tools like the e complete portal to track sales, manage renewals, and oversee agents. This improves overall efficiency. |
| Agent Retention and Performance | Support agents with training and development. Incentives and performance tracking help retain top performers and encourage growth. |
Ready to Help Agents Start Their Career?
Becoming an independent insurance agent offers an individual more control over the career, better income, and the opportunity to build a business own. It’s an exciting and rewarding path, and every journey starts with the first step.
At EMG Insurance Brokerage, we specialize in helping health insurance agents and agencies who plan to serve clients effectively and provide the right insurance products for their needs. We offer access to a wide range of insurance carriers, tools for managing policies, and ongoing support to help you succeed in the field.
Here’s what to do next:
- Fill out our quick agent form to get started
- Connect with our team for ongoing resources and support
- Begin offering insurance products that meet your clients’ needs, and start growing your book of business
You don’t have to navigate this path alone—partner with EMG and take the next step toward building a successful independent agency.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How can EMG help my agency recruit and onboard independent health insurance agents?
A: EMG offers resources like pre-licensing courses, appointments with multiple carriers, and access to our e-complete portal, which streamlines the onboarding process.
Q: Can my agents sell insurance in multiple states?
A: Yes, agents can sell across state lines with non-resident licenses, and EMG provides support to help agents obtain these licenses efficiently.
Q: How long does it take for my agents to become licensed?
A: It typically takes 4 to 8 weeks for agents to complete the licensing process, and EMG’s tools and resources help streamline the process for faster completion.
Q: What type of support can EMG offer my agents?
A: EMG provides ongoing support, including training, marketing resources, and tools to help agents manage their business and improve performance.
Q: How does EMG assist in tracking agent performance?
A: EMG’s e-complete portal allows agencies to easily track agent performance, monitor sales goals, manage leads, and identify areas for improvement, ensuring agents stay productive and on track with their goals.
Final Thoughts
Recruiting and supporting independent health insurance agents is essential to the growth of your agency. By partnering with EMG Insurance Brokerage, your agency gains access to the tools, resources, and expertise necessary to help your agents succeed. With our support, your agents will have the resources they need to grow their business, while your agency can focus on expanding and increasing sales.
Contact EMG Insurance Brokerage today and take the first step toward building a successful independent agency.
