Buying an insurance agency in Southwest Florida

• Most clients renew every year, and the agency can show you the numbers by line of business.
• Several policies per household or business. A client with home, auto and umbrella coverage in one place is much less likely to leave than one with a single auto policy.
• A spread of carriers, so one cutting commissions or leaving Florida doesn't gut the book.
• Commercial accounts spread across many businesses, not a few large ones that a competitor could take in one meeting.
• Licensed customer service staff who handle renewals and changes without the owner.
• Every client, policy, carrier and renewal date recorded in the agency's management software.
• Carrier contracts in the agency's own name that can survive a sale.

• Commission statements from each carrier for three years, matched to the agency's books.
• Renewal rates by year and line of business.
• Florida homeowners policies. In recent years carriers have pulled back or left, and many policies have shifted into and out of Citizens, the state-created insurer of last resort. Know how much of the book depends on that market.
• Each carrier contract: who owns the book, how it can be ended, and whether a sale needs consent.
• Errors and omissions insurance, and any claims that the agency failed to arrange coverage it should have.
• Agreements with producers (the agents who sell for the agency): whether they can take or solicit clients if they leave.
• Carrier bonuses, which can swing widely year to year.

• How many clients renew each year, and has that changed?
• How much of the book is Florida homeowners coverage, and how much is with Citizens?
• Who's your agent in charge, and will they stay?
• Which carriers must consent to a sale, and have you talked to them?
• Under each carrier agreement, who owns the book?
• How much of your commissions come from your ten largest clients?
• Have you ever had an errors and omissions claim?

This region covers Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Sarasota and Manatee counties on the Gulf coast and Hendry, Glades and DeSoto inland: Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples, Bonita Springs, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Sarasota, Venice, Bradenton, LaBelle, Clewiston, Moore Haven and Arcadia. The coastal economy runs on people who choose to live or spend the winter here: retirees, seasonal residents, and the construction, real estate, health care, financial and home services that follow them. Tourism, golf and boating add to it.

Inland, the economy is agricultural: sugarcane around Clewiston, citrus, cattle and vegetables, with Immokalee in Collier County a center for farm work. The building trades, pool, landscaping and pest control companies, property managers, medical and dental practices, and marine businesses tend to do well along the coast.

This is one of Florida's most seasonal markets. From roughly January through April, restaurants, shops and service companies run at full speed. Summers are slower, so look at monthly revenue, not only the yearly total. The coast has taken two major hurricanes in recent years: Ian came ashore at Cayo Costa in Lee County in September 2022, and Milton at Siesta Key in Sarasota County in October 2024. Rebuilding brought a wave of work for contractors that won't last forever, so ask how much recent revenue came from storm repairs. Insurance costs and flood zones weigh on every property.

Housing costs near the coast make hiring hard, especially around Naples. New communities east of Interstate 75 in Lee, Collier, Charlotte and Manatee keep service companies busy.