The Insurance Agent Commission Structure at Firefly

Wondering how we do it? Let’s uncover Firefly’s business model by asking three important questions any agent should consider before signing up with an insurance aggregator or network. We think you’ll see that Firefly is the winning choice for insurance agents looking to grow their business over the long term.

How Most Insurance Aggregators Calculate Commissions

Most outlets are capable of a 90% commission or even higher but require you to qualify in one of two ways:

1. You have to cross a premium threshold to enter a new tier (like $500k or a million per carrier)
2. You have to pay a fee to bump yourself into a higher commission payout tier

These setups may start an agent at a commission rate as low as 70%, with the potential to increase to 90%. However, these commissions often don’t apply to your entire book. The higher commission only applies to carriers where you have a direct appointment. This usually limits your high commissions to the 4 or 5 companies you write the most business with. We’ll explain why.

3 Key Questions About Insurance Agent Commissions

2. Do insurance brokers allow agents more carriers without hitting production requirements?

The short answer is yes, but it comes at a high price to you, the agent.

Many networks solve the problem of production quotas with a brokering arrangement. For example, SmartChoice has SmartStart. SIAA has Access Plus. In both cases, an in-house broker/middleman helps you access the aggregator’s carriers without needing an appointment or meeting production requirements.

With brokering arrangements, the aggregator’s staff, who are appointed with the carriers, handle the quoting and binding. This process is often lengthy, which means you, the agent, have a relationship with the prospect but must wait on the middleman for essential tasks like quoting and binding.

• You get a much lower commission because the brokerage has to pay the middleman.
• You also get a slower turnaround time because you’re now relying on the middleman to bind business rather than doing it yourself.

 

3. How is Firefly’s Commission Structure Different?

Firefly’s business model eliminates both brokerage and expensive production quotas to give you a 90% commission split across the board.

If you are wondering how big of a difference a commission split can make on your long-term growth, use Firely’s insurance commission calculator to compare potential outcomes.

You’ll see that even a slightly lower commission split results in significant income loss over several years.