Understanding Your Agency Value in the New Year
To hit the ground running in 2024, it is essential to have a comprehensive understanding of your agency’s value and the strategic elements that can increase your agency’s value over time. Gathering the information necessary to critically evaluate your agency’s value will take time and it is best to be prepared to gather the needed […]
Challenges and Opportunities Owners Face When Selling an Agency
Being a seller in today’s red-hot M&A market provides owners a tremendous chance to cash in on their greatest financial asset. However, as the old saying goes, knowledge is power. Understanding the challenges and opportunities that owners will face along the way is vital to creating a successful experience. Like agencies in the industry, every […]
Is There an Optimal Age to Sell Your Insurance Agency?
It is hard to say, however, based on our analysis, we believe the optimal age is 58. Whether you are planning to perpetuate internally or sell externally, it is inevitable that you are going to sell your ownership at some point. In this article we explore whether there is an optimal age to transition ownership […]
The Five Factors that Have the Greatest Impact on Value at Sale
After years of owning and operating an independent agency, navigating the waters of selling your agency in the open market is a tall task. It raises many difficult questions, including: When is the right time to sell? What factors are third-party buyers looking for when it comes to acquiring an agency? What should an owner […]
The Effect of the Hard Market on Agency Values
For many insurance agencies, the hard market yields a double-edged sword as it relates to agency values. Some of the impacts of the hard market can have a positive impact on agency value, while others will work to depress values. Understanding these impacts will be key to helping you navigate these uncertain times. The Insurance […]
The Importance of a Strong Balance Sheet
The value of a balance sheet is a key component in the calculation of agency value. We encourage our IA Valuations clients to bolster their balance sheets, not only to increase their agency value, but also for a myriad of reasons that will have both short-term and long-term impacts on the agency. Agency Reinvestment Agencies […]
The McKinsey Report – 10 Years Later… What Actually Happened
It has been 10 years since McKinsey published The Agent of the Future: The Evolution of Property and Casualty Insurance Distribution Report. In that report, McKinsey predicted a bleak future for the local insurance agent, which translated into another doom and gloom message for independent insurance agents (IAs). As soon as the report was published, […]
Understanding How Revenue Per Employee Affects Your Agency Valuation
Staffing your agency with an effective, experienced, and professional staff is one of the most important components of maintaining and growing your agency value. It is a key risk factor in completing an agency valuation, and typically the first question a prospective buyer will inquire about when considering an acquisition. To better understand the impact […]
Being in the Driver’s Seat
As an agency owner, when it comes time to sell your agency or internally perpetuate, you want to be in the driver’s seat during the process. Now, what exactly does “being in the driver’s seat” mean as an owner? Simply put, you are in control during the sale, you know your numbers, you’ve done the […]
Narrowly- Vs. Broadly-Held Stock Ownership and the Impact on Agency Value
We have found that many agencies are on one side of the spectrum or the other when it comes to stock ownership. Whether they operate with narrowly-held or broadly-held stock ownership can have quite the impact on their agency’s value. We hope to highlight the major differences between the two in this article. Narrowly-Held Stock […]