Summary
Career or captive agents usually sell only the products of one insurance company, while independent agents handle the products of many insurers. A few major companies, such as Northwestern Mutual, Axa Financial, State Farm and New York Life, have maintained their career agent forces. But a number of others, including Allstate, have either jettisoned their captive/career systems or augmented them with an independent agent channel. Everybody has crossed the line, everybody is working with everybody else, said William "Twig" Branch, president of the Iroquois Group, a network of 1,400 independent agents in 30 states. Iroquois is attracting a number of former captive/career agents who have grown frustrated in their dealings with their companies, Branch said. Some of these agents just walk away from the carriers and become independent agents, while others negotiate independent agency contracts with their direct writers, he said. The transition to independent status can be tough for some, agreed Jamie Deapo, director of membership and sales for the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York. Others seem to make the change very easily, he said.
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Career or captive agents usually sell only the products of one insurance company, while independent agents handle the products of many insurers. A few major companies, such as Northwestern Mutual, Axa Financial, State Farm and New York Life, have maintained their career agent forces. But a number of others, including Allstate, have either jettisoned their captive/career systems or augmented them with an independent agent channel.
With these changes has eome some blurring of traditional agen...See the full content of this document
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