5 Compelling Reasons to Leave Your Insurance Broker-Dealer (and Where to Go Instead)

Insurance brokers are bound by rules that other financial professionals aren’t. Both individual firm policies and industry regulations can create significant challenges, especially if you dream of independence and the freedom to run your business the way you want.

But even if your past experience only includes working at an insurance brokerage, you don’t have to feel stuck. There are other independent brokerages welcoming financial professionals with insurance brokerage backgrounds. 

If you’re trying to figure out whether it’s time to make a move, consider whether you’ve experienced any (or all) of these five less-than-ideal situations at your insurance broker-dealer:

1. You’re forced to sell proprietary products. You know what’s best for your clients, so why should you be limited in the financial vehicles you can offer to them? 
2. You’re not allowed to do any marketing for your business (especially on social media). Regulation and insurance brokerage policies limit your creativity when it comes to marketing your business. 
3. Your compensation is reduced when you don’t sell enough products. A common practice in the insurance brokerage industry is to tie your compensation package to your production sales and commission. But why should you be punished if your clients’ goals don’t align with the products you’re selling? 
4. You have to pay an astronomical platform fee of 30-40 basis points on your business. High platform fees also cut into what you can earn. 
5. You stick around only to be sold to a private equity firm or another broker-dealer. Merger & acquisition activity is only going to increase. It’s common for insurance brokers to make several moves to various broker-dealers without being the decision-maker in the driver seat. 

At Silver Oak, these sticking points can be challenges of the past. We’ve built our business on a yes-first culture that welcomes innovative ideas and individual voices as powerful contributions to our own success.

Here’s how we differ:

1. You’ll never be forced to sell proprietary products. You have complete freedom to sell what you want. Plus, you have the option to run your business how you want and do what’s right for your clients. After all, you know them best.
2. We help our financial professionals with everything. From growth to establishing a brand to creating a succession plan and maximizing the value of their businesses, it’s our goal to help financial professionals along every step of their journey.
3. We offer high payouts. Increase your profitability when you join Silver Oak. 
4. Our platform fees are much more affordable. Our platform fee caps at 15 basis points.
5. We are financial professional owned. That means you and your business come first. It’s our objective to equip you with all the tools you need to reach your goals. Your success is our success.

Ready to talk about making a move to Silver Oak?

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