The Quiet Reason Many Agents are Selling Their Agencies
How Stress and Burnout are Contributing to Agency Sales There are many factors why an agency owner sells their agency, including: retirement age, financial gain, and the 3-Ds (Divorce, Disability, and Death). However, the undocumented but growing reason that we are hearing about is stress and burnout. In many industries, including insurance, the pandemic gave […]
Three Keys to an Internal Perpetuation
“What if one of your account managers or producers won the lottery at lunch and didn’t come back that afternoon? How would the agency manage?” asked keynote speaker Kelly Donaue-Piro of Agency Performance Partners at IACON 2024, the annual conference for the Ohio Insurance Agents Association (OIA). Start with a series of questions. What is […]
Help! I’m Getting a Divorce and My Ex Wants Half of the Value of My Agency. How Will it Affect my Agency Value, and What Should I Do Next?
Life happens and you are getting a divorce. As you are negotiating the settlement terms, your spouse’s attorney is requesting the value of your insurance agency because it is subject to the division of assets 50/50. While your personal life is being turned upside down, it is not ideal that you may have to pay […]
Tax Implications and Guidelines for Independent Insurance Agencies – Part 1
As an independent insurance agency owner, understanding the tax implications of your business decisions is critical, especially when considering a sale or transfer of ownership. Taxes can significantly affect the financial outcomes for both buyers and sellers. This article will explore the tax considerations for independent insurance agencies, focusing on goodwill versus capital gains tax, […]
Navigating Private Equity in the Independent Agent System: Strategic Insights for Agency Owners
The world of independent insurance agencies is undergoing transformational change transformational change as private equity (PE) continues to reshape the industry landscape. In a recent discussion, experts Jeff Smith and Jarod Steed from IA Valuations, along with Dan Girardi from Keystone Agency Partners and James Parker from BroadStreet Partners, explored how private equity’s influence is […]
Help! A Key Carrier is Cancelling my Contract – How will it Affect my Agency Value?
You just got one of your least favorite notices: one of your key carrier partners has given you the dreaded 180-day written notice to terminate your agency agreement. Whatever the reason given, it likely does not matter because it is damaging to your business on so many levels. It will impact your relationship with your […]
How the Election Outcome will Impact Insurance Agency Values
Now that the election is over, it is time to analyze how the results will likely impact the independent agency system, specifically insurance agency values. Since 2016, agency values have steadily risen over the past 8 years, regardless of who occupied the White House or controlled Congress. This time period largely paralleled the hard market, […]
The Camouflaged Contributor to Consolidation
Backdrop of Burnout It’s 7 in the morning, you crack open your email inbox to see if there are any work red-alerts before you take the kids to school. You get them to school and get to the office at 7:30 just so you hopefully have an hour of uninterrupted time to get your inbox […]
What is Private Equity in the Independent Agency System?
In today’s insurance agent marketplace, the phrase “Private Equity” or PE is quite the buzz phrase. The mention of PE causes a wide range of reactions from agency owners. Some owners seek to sell their agencies to PE backed brokers and others are avoiding it like the plague. No matter where you fall on the […]
Navigating the Complexities of Insurance Agency Acquisitions: Insights from Industry Leaders
The landscape of agency acquisitions is as challenging as it is rewarding, requiring a delicate balance between strategic alignment, financial prudence, and cultural fit. IA Valuations’ CEO, Jeff Smith, and Director of Business Planning and Valuations, Craig Niess, led a conversation with industry experts Missy Kahl (Bickle Insurance), Vaughn Troyer (Hummel Group), and Rob Smith […]