No one builds a successful insurance agency alone. Whether you're launching independently, through a franchise, or joining a captive carrier model, the right support systems can be the difference between early frustration and scalable success. But what support do you really need? And how do the options differ between business models?
This article outlines the critical categories of support every new agency owner should consider—spanning training, tech, staffing, servicing, and mentorship—and helps you assess how much help you’ll need based on your goals and experience level.
Licensing and Onboarding Support
Why It Matters: Understanding your state’s licensing requirements, choosing the lines of insurance you want to sell, registering your business, and getting appointed with carriers (if choosing an independent model) is complex. Mistakes here delay your launch.
Support You Might Need:
- Licensing prep materials or providers (Kaplan, ExamFX)
- Entity registration help (LLC, EIN, business name)
- Carrier onboarding packets or coaching
Independent agents typically handle this solo or hire consultants. Navigating the paperwork and timelines independently can be overwhelming—especially for first-timers.
Franchise models often include this in their onboarding, offering a step-by-step process and dedicated onboarding advisors. Most franchise models also provide compliance support.
Captive agents usually receive direct onboarding from the carrier, including licensing support, product training, and in some cases assistance with state appointments. However, onboarding may be narrower in scope, limited to the carrier's systems and products.
Carrier Access and Appointment Help
Why It Matters: You can’t sell anything without products. And carriers can provide training, support and resources, like co-marketing opportunities for agents. Getting appointed with carriers is difficult for brand-new agencies with no track record.
Support You Might Need:
- Warm introductions to underwriters and local marketing representatives
- Access to a market network or aggregator
- Credentialing support (E&O, CE, production forecast) and/or a business plan
- Tools to manage multiple carrier portals or a quoting rater
Independent agents often use clusters or aggregators, but this can mean revenue splits or membership fees. If you fail to meet minimum production requirements, you risk losing appointments. You’ll also be solely responsible for getting individual carrier appointments.
Franchisees usually gain carrier access through the franchisor, with streamlined credentialing and centralized relationships with local, regional, and national carriers. While carriers may still evaluate each agent individually, the franchisor’s backing provides guidance and support that makes the process smoother and more achievable.
Captive agents are appointed directly by the parent carrier and typically have immediate access to proprietary products. While this reduces complexity, it limits product variety and cross-shopping for customers if the carrier isn’t writing certain product lines in your state.
Source: How to Get Appointed with Insurance Carriers
Technology and Infrastructure
Why It Matters: Streamlined systems for quoting, policy management, customer relationship management (CRM), email and marketing automation, and phones keep you productive and compliant. The industry has embraced digitization as a need to keep up with changing consumer needs and demands.
Support You Might Need:
- AMS (Agency Management System) and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) setup and training
- Quoting tools for multi-carrier comparison
- Integrations for marketing and social media automation as well as e-signatures and document management
Independent agents must choose and integrate these systems themselves, often piecing together different vendors. This can create gaps, redundancies, and steep learning curves.
Franchise models sometimes include them in their tech stack. Some even offer a proprietary, unified platform that reduces time spent troubleshooting and managing multiple vendor contracts. Having an all-in-one platform can greatly increase cross-selling activities, speed to quote and automated quote follow-ups.
Captive agencies use the carrier's proprietary tech stack, which may include quoting, service, and lead management systems. These are integrated but usually not customizable.
Source: 8 of the Best Online Tools for Insurance Agents
Marketing and Lead Generation
Why It Matters: Your pipeline drives your paycheck. Generating leads takes strategy, tools, and consistency.
Support You Might Need:
- Website and brand development
- SEO, PPC, and social media campaign support
- Marketing and referral playbooks
- Referral tracking systems
Independent agents often experiment or outsource. Many struggle to track ROI or lack the time to develop a consistent lead funnel.
Franchisees may receive brand assets, creative help, playbooks, marketing automation for cross-selling, referral tracking systems and optimized templates that help them gain new business faster.
Captive agents frequently benefit from national advertising campaigns, company-generated leads, and ready-to-go marketing templates. However, they may have restrictions on modifying brand materials or running independent campaigns. Most are also charged a marketing co-op fee.
Client Servicing
Why It Matters: Renewals, claims, and questions don’t go away after a policy is sold. Quality service builds retention, and retention builds profit.
Support You Might Need:
- Dedicated CSRs or virtual assistants
- Shared service centers for endorsements and billing
- Service ticketing or CRM automation
- Email templates and compliance-approved communication tools
Independent agents may hire or outsource customer service reps. Outsourcing introduces new costs and complexity, especially during high-volume periods. Even though you’re not handling claims directly, customers often see you as their trusted advisor and may come to you with many of their questions.
Franchisees often benefit from centralized service teams or hybrid models that allow them to focus on sales while service is managed by a core support team including client portal self-service. Just like independent agents, you and your franchisor won’t directly be handling any claims, but they may come to you with questions.
Captive agencies typically rely on the carrier’s service centers for client support. Sometimes captive agents have to service their own renewals. This ensures consistency but can limit an agent’s control over service quality or timing and takes time away from selling new business
Sales and Business Coaching
Why It Matters: Sales ability and business acumen don’t come automatically. The right guidance saves time, boosts confidence, and prevents mistakes.
Support You Might Need:
- Sales playbooks or scripting guides
- Mentorship from corporate or regional sales leaders
- Business planning and cash flow help
- Accountability groups or 1:1 coaching
Independent agents may seek mentors informally or pay for coaching. Some find value in networking groups or industry associations, but these often require proactive effort and cost.
Franchise models often include structured coaching, progress dashboards, and dedicated success teams who offer milestone-based training and business planning.
Captive agents are usually enrolled in corporate training programs and may receive regular coaching from field sales managers. However, the coaching is often standardized and centered on meeting carrier-defined goals.
Community and Peer Support
Why It Matters: Building a business can be isolating. Having a network of peers to lean on for encouragement, tips, and problem-solving is invaluable.
Support You Might Need:
- Access to a community of fellow agency owners
- Virtual events or mastermind groups
- Support channels (Slack, forums, office hours)
- Regional meetups or conferences
Independent agents may need to build this type of network from scratch by joining local chambers or associations (like NAIFA or PIA). While those connections are valuable, they often take time to establish and even longer to build the kind of trust that makes sharing truly effective.
Franchise owners benefit from a built-in network of peers, allowing them to share experiences, learn best practices, and grow faster together than they would on their own. Franchisors also often host regional and national events that bring their network of agents together for training, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing that strengthens the entire system.
Captive agents often participate in internal sales groups, district meetings, and carrier-sponsored recognition programs. The structure is more formal and performance-driven but may lack the entrepreneurial exchange seen in peer-led groups. Collaboration can sometimes be more competitive in a captive model, since everyone is selling the exact same products in overlapping markets.
Compliance and Operational Guidance
Why It Matters: Insurance is a regulated industry. Mistakes around CE credits, documentation, or client disclosures can lead to penalties.
Support You Might Need:
- CE reminders and education tracking
- Templates for proposals and disclosures
- Audit preparation and document retention systems
Independent agents often learn these through experience or by hiring legal/compliance consultants.
Franchise systems may automate CE reminders, offer audit prep tools, and provide templated client documents—saving hours of research and reducing risk.
Captive carriers handle most compliance in-house. Agents follow strict policies and use company-generated materials. While this minimizes risk, it leaves little room for individual discretion or innovation.
Final Thoughts
As you assess your path to agency ownership, ask not just what you can do yourself but what you should do yourself. The smartest agents build support early, so they can focus on what drives growth: selling, serving, and scaling.
Use the checklist from this article as a reflection tool alongside Article 3 (Self-Assessment Tool). Revisit Article 1 (How to Start an Insurance Agency) to compare models, and Article 2 (Which Insurance Agency Model is Right for You?) for details on the differences between independent and franchise agency paths. The clearer you are about your strengths and gaps, the more strategically you can build the right foundation.
When you're ready to launch with expert support, Brightway’s franchise model offers a comprehensive system for training, servicing, and scaling—designed to give you a running start and long-term confidence. Click here to learn more about Brightway Agency Ownership.