Michael Miller, State Director, Smart Choice®
You turn to Smart Start™ or your direct appointment carriers for standard personal and commercial lines risks. But if standard risks are the only business you write, you’re leaving a lot of opportunity on the table. By expanding your offerings to hard-to-place risks with our Express Markets™ program, you can eliminate your competition and make more money. Here’s why Express Markets™ could make 2021 your year.
First, the Perks
The Express Markets™ program is an incredible deal for your agency. You don’t pay any fees to participate, and Express Markets™ carriers pay 100 percent of the commission directly to your agency. The 30+ carriers in our Express Markets™ program have no production requirements for writing business through the program, and it’s easy and fast to become directly appointed with them.
The Express Markets™ carriers offer your customers coverage for hard-to-place residential and commercial risks, from mobile home and coastal home coverage to commercial fleet and liquor liability policies. Carriers include national names such as BTIS, Burns & Wilcox, CRC Wholesale & Specialty, and Hagerty as well as specialty carriers such as CannGen, Mexico Insurance Online, Sport Underwriters, and Wright Flood. Visit expressmarkets.com/excess-surplus-specialty-markets for a complete list.
Make the Most of the Leads You Buy
We’ve all tried quoting a policy for a lead we’ve purchased, only find out that they are a hard-to-place risk that your standard carriers won’t touch. In these cases, you can turn to your Express Markets™ carriers for a solution, increasing the number of purchased leads you actually close. A major advantage of working with Express Markets™ carriers is that you’ll make the most of the leads you buy for your agency.
Grow through Cross-Selling
Many standard carriers won’t touch smaller accounts with specialty risks. By offering specialty lines coverage, not only do you become a hero for a homeowner or small business owner in your neighborhood, you also get the chance to cross-sell your other products. Perhaps a manufactured homeowner has a small business or classic car they need to insure. Or, a local restaurant owner needs auto and home coverage and a life policy. Writing business through Express Markets™ can help you get your foot in the door.
Make Friends and Eliminate Competition
Who else won’t touch smaller accounts with specialty risks? That huge agency down the street that won’t write a policy with less than $100,000 in premium. By creating a niche as the go-to agency for small, hard-to-place risks, you can eliminate competition from the agencies in your area that only write large deals.
On the other end of the spectrum, by writing specialty lines, you can make friends with the smaller, captive agencies in your community. While the big name captive carriers own 51 percent of the overall market share, they own 0 percent of the excess & surplus market share, as none of them touch non-standard business. With direct appointments with Express Markets™ carriers, you’re a great resource for captive agents and their customers. You may eventually get the chance to cross-sell, too.
Find a carrier for hard-to-place risks
The Express Markets™ program can help you find a carrier for hard-to-place risks, including:
- Apartment buildings
- Bars, pubs, and taverns
- Breweries
- Classic vehicles
- Cleaning and janitorial services
- Coastal properties
- Condos
- Commercial fleets
- Electronics
- High-value homeowners
- Liquor liability
- Mobile and manufactured homes
- Non-standard auto
- Plumbers
- Rental properties
- Restaurants
- Roofing contractors
- Sports venues
- Vacant properties
- Window cleaners
- and many more!
Make 2021 your year with the Express Markets™ program
Your state director can show you how to get appointed with the specialty lines carriers who will help you earn more money and serve more clients this year.
The Independent Insurance Agent's Guide to Excess, Surplus and Specialty Markets
Over the last several years, the market has seen a dramatic uptick in Excess, Surplus and Specialty lines. As the standard market continues to adjust, the specialty markets will almost certainly continue to grow at a fast pace. This trend can be a highly opportunistic time for Smart Choice agency partners who have access to our Express Markets search tool in the Agency Business Center. See how this indicates a great opportunity for independent agencies in the 2021 Issue 2 of Smart Choice Magazine.