I think agents have the same issue with insureds. However, it is their prerogative to not engage with insureds that are players, right? We can pick our market positioning and proceed from there. I think many agents are afraid to say “no” to potential business, even if it means quoting for free and having a bad bind ratio. They feel that if they turn this prospect away, there won’t be another one right behind him, and they’ll regret having passed up the opportunity. But I think if they looked at their hit ratios and retentions with the partners versus the players, they would find that the players don’t bring in significant sustainable income. Theoretically, of course, as I’m not a retailer. I have found that to be the case in my own situation as a wholesaler.

I didn’t come to these conclusions wholly on my own. I was lucky enough to interview a few years ago with a woman who asked me how I would define my ideal client (which made me think about it), and she also posited the theory that we, as wholesalers, cannot control what the markets will do, and cannot control what the insureds will do, but we sure can control who we pick to be our clients. She felt that the key to success was partnering with the correct agents. And she didn’t pre-define them as being specialists, or national houses or anything like that. Just promoted the idea that a given wholesaler should define their ideal client, and then go after that type of agent. I’ve been doing that ever since, and I have to say it has made a world of difference.