Independent insurance agencies are in a tough spot. Never has itbeen more difficult to run a successful, profitable agency. Clientsare more demanding, 4th quarter is a nightmare, additionalinvestments have to be made, and, on top of all that, commissionsare getting cut.

Agencies have never felt greater pressure to take control oftheir agencies and run them as the businesses they truly are.

However, instead of taking control, some of you are demandingsomeone else bail you out. You are making demands of yourlegislators, NAHU, or anyone with perceived influence to step inand save your rear end. You are demanding they somehow get you backto your previous levels of commission.

Making demands

Legality and practicality aside, these arguments aremisdirected. You are demanding one third party tell another one howto run their business and how much they have to pay you. Doesn'tthat go against the spirit of the “free market” you keepdemanding?

The commission genie is out of the bottle. The ACA gave carriersa permission slip to reduce commissions. If you truly believe inthe free market, you know that same market will ultimatelydetermine appropriate commission levels.

Oh, I get the demands at a certain level. I hear the argument,“Our clients are more demanding than ever. They need help, adviceand guidance in ways they never have. We need to be paid more toprovide the level of service and resources our clients need.”

Who's paying?

That's absolutely true. But the question you need to ask is,“Who should be paying for what?”

You deliver value in two ways, which means you need to be paidin two ways. You have always been paid for helping with insuranceneeds. But you know that isn't enough. It's why you've invested soheavily in “value-added services” (or non-insurance solutions, aswe prefer to call them).

However, instead of seeing the ROI potential of your newinvestments and charging fees for the additional value you nowdeliver, you give these services away for free. Therein lies myproblem with this “give us more commission” demand.

What's the money really about?

Commissions aren't about the value you deliver to clients, it'spayment for the value you deliver to the carriers. It's payment forthe job you do to help distribute and service their product. Yes,they have a responsibility to pay you fairly for performing thatjob, but that's where their responsibility ends.

It's not their responsibility to pay such rich compensation thatyou can go buy products from other companies and then give themaway for free, effectively on the carrier's dime.

Carriers pay you for distributing insurance. Clients should payfor the additional value they receive from your non-insurancesolutions.

I know some of you are in states where you aren't able to chargefees, and that needs to change. If you are going to demand helpwith anything, demand help getting the ability to charge fees forthe various ways in which you deliver value to your clients.

But when it comes to taking control of your business, that myfriend, is on you.

It's time to call “game on.”