What is General Agency and How Did It Start at SelmanCo?
Selman & Company has been working as a Managing General Agent (MGA) across many relationships since the company’s inception more than 40 years ago; however, SelmanCo has traditionally focused more on product administration as an organizational growth strategy. After two significant acquisitions in the Employee Benefits space provided SelmanCo with key insights and experience into the rapidly growing Ancillary and Voluntary Benefits business, the SelmanCo team recognized an opportunity to bring their service and technological expertise to the broker market as a General Agent focused on life & health ancillary and voluntary Employee Benefit programs. While SelmanCo already manages more than 100 broker partnerships, the General Agency Services line of business was formally launched on January 1, 2024, with a significant national partnership. It provides brokers with the relief of administrative processes that distract from the time spent on acquiring new business and fostering client relationships. SelmanCo remains dedicated to providing digitalized solutions with a human touch and intends to leverage their MGA and administration experience to create a unique and valuable service to enhance and grow our broker and carrier partnerships.
SelmanCo’s General Agency Services: Digitized Solutions with a Human Touch
SelmanCo’s General Agency Services offers a range of digitized solutions complemented by personalized support, including:
- RFP Auditing, Marketing, and Communication Support
- Local Carrier Relationship Model
- In-depth Knowledge of Carrier Contracts
- Market Analysis and Trends
- Proprietary Data and Analytics
- Enrollment and Technology Support
SelmanCo has developed a Salesforce-based platform for our broker partners to -streamline tracking and entry of new opportunities. SelmanCo then processes these opportunities into formal Requests For Proposal (RFPs), which are sent to preferred carriers. The carriers return their quotes, and SelmanCo compiles the marketing summary and analysis to send back to the broker. This service includes all marketing efforts for ancillary lines of business such as group life and disability, dental, and vision.
How Does the Process Work?
When a broker is interested in SelmanCo’s General Agency Services, the process is straightforward, intuitive, and user friendly. Here’s how it works:
- Broker logs into SelmanCo’s Salesforce instance.
- They locate their group or add a new client, fill in the required information, and submit.
- SelmanCo takes over from there, auditing all received information and managing subsequent steps through the release of the analysis and proposal.
What Makes SelmanCo’s General Agency Service Unique?
SelmanCo’s integration within Salesforce enables comprehensive reporting and auditing capabilities. When a client ensures that all marketing efforts be routed through SelmanCo and its platform, allowing for:
- Identification of groups not marketed to over an extended period of time.
- Identification of groups marketed to every year unnecessarily to promote efficiencies.
- Proactive management of renewals.
- Provision of carrier reporting, a rare feature among general agents.
Success Stories
There have already been notable successes with SelmanCo’s General Agency Services. Feedback from a carrier who recently used the new service was overwhelmingly positive, highlighting the thoroughness of RFP information, responsiveness, and follow-up. Comments included, “Much better than [our old general agent] – more complete RFP information, super responsive, provided follow-up,” and, “Similar to our best general agent… In my opinion, a huge upgrade to the process.”
Despite the recent formal launch, so far, SelmanCo is performing on par with established general agents with decades of experience.
SelmanCo’s General Agency Services are already saving time for carrier sales representatives, sales administration staff, and underwriters. Although still in the early stages, the results are promising.
Contact Us for More Information!
If you want to learn more about SelmanCo’s General Agency Services, please contact us. We look forward to helping your business thrive by handling the administrative tasks that matter most.
