Q & A with Hazel–An Insurance Agency Owner

Exit Strategy Q&A: Hazel of HB Resources

What’s the exit strategy for your insurance agency? What could be worse than building up a successful insurance agency and realizing you have no insurance agency perpetuation plan in place? Or what if you feel like you waited too late or passed the point of no return? Many agency owners start looking for agency perpetuation or acquisition solutions when its too late.

Choose the Right Partner

When you wait too long, and make rushed decisions, it more than likely turns out hurting you, your team, and your customers. In our experience, we’ve seen many agency owners settle for the wrong partner for the perpetuation of their agency. In fact, there’s an entire industry dedicated to take advantage of insurance agency owners looking to exit. What often happens is agency owners lose their freedom, their trusted brand, hurt their customers, and hurt their team in the exit process. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. And that’s what we want to share in Hazel’s story.

An Interview With an Insurance Agency Owner

We recently sat down with Hazel Bright, the owner of HB Resources, and asked her a few questions about her recent experience in selling her insurance agency. Hazel was looking for a perpetuation solution that would allow her to maintain the brand identity of her agency, and still remain connected to her employees and customers. Let’s see if Hazel’s story resonates with your particular situation.

What was a major concern when you were looking to sell your agency?

“My concern was really for my clients and employees. I wanted to make sure any kind of change I made, it was going to be a gain for them.”

What attracted you to work with Heffernan Network for your agency perpetuation?

“I did talk to a lot of different brokers, but what attracted me to Heffernan Network was the professionalism I saw, that you give a deeper bench of services that I was able to offer before, and you offered a solution where my employees could continue to work there.”

What would you tell someone who is considering working with Heffernan Network?

“You have to really understand what your prime motivation is, what’s important to you, and how do you want to see this play out. Then I’d say, look at all of the services that Heffernan Network offers, their portfolio, how you’re going to structure a potential transition, and just be very clear and communicate what your expectations are, what your needs are, and see how Heffernan Network can address them.”

What has it been like post-selling your agency?

“A lot of freedom! I went to Australia and New Zealand for five weeks. And I’ve had lots of freedom and travel. And I do a lot of volunteer work which brings me a lot of satisfaction.”

Any other information you’d like to share for someone thinking about selling or perpetuating their agency?

“I would like to just share how supportive Heffernan Network has been. I feel that I made the best decision for my agency and my clients. I feel like they are in very good hands and that brings me peace so it’s all very good.”

A PROVEN TRACK RECORD OF SERVING AGENCY OWNERS

Many agency owners have concerns for their clients and their team when they are thinking of selling their agency, and Hazel’s case was no different. Ultimately, Hazel sold the agency without affecting her current customers or employees, and all while keeping her agencies’ brand intact and continuing on with a new leader running the agency.

Hazel was in a situation where she was contemplating what she established, her employees, customers, and overall brand, but also weighing the different options like payment structures, partnership types, and finding what was best for her future. Heffernan Network was able to align the value and what’s important for Hazel and her agency in order for them to continue to do great work for her employees and customers.

Heffernan Network Insurance Services Offers Two Agency Perpetuation Solutions

At Heffernan Network, we offer two distinct solutions:

  • Perpetuation while keeping an existing brand
  • Traditional agency acquisition

We offer a unique opportunity for local and regional independent brokers to perpetuate or sell their firm while keeping agency name and brand, while also providing traditional insurance aggregator services. We either help promote a new leader from within, or can bring in an outside leader to run the agency. And we can also provide the opportunity to connect local agencies to a trusted national brokerage firm, Heffernan Insurance Brokers. You can learn more about our agency perpetuation opportunities here.

Let’s Connect to Discuss Your Options

If you’re ready to retire or walk away from your business, let’s connect. Or if you want to still retain some ownership and work for the agency, we have strategies and solutions you will definitely like. For Hazel we created an ideal solution based on her situation, and we would like to have the opportunity to do the same for you.

The independent insurance agency space is going to change significantly over the next decade, and we intend to serve great agencies just like yours. This is why we are offering our custom agency acquisition, perpetuation services, and other services to independent agencies. Whether you are looking to retire, be more hands-off in the agency, or some other kind of solution, we can help you. If you’re interested in perpetuation or our acquisition solutions, please contact us to start the conversation.

Learn More