With a direct appointment, you contract directly with the carrier. You keep 100% of the commission the carrier pays. You have a direct relationship with your marketing rep. The downside: higher production minimums, harder to get, and you are limited to carriers willing to appoint you individually.
With an aggregator appointment, the aggregator holds the carrier contract and sub-appoints you. You give up 2-4% in override commission. The upside: immediate access to 20-50+ carriers, lower individual production requirements, and you can start writing business within days instead of months.
You are a new agent with no book and no production history.
You need access to carriers that require $200K+ in premium for direct appointment.
You want to test a carrier before committing to a direct relationship.
You need specialty or regional carriers that are hard to access independently.
The 2-4% override is worth the convenience and carrier breadth.
You write $150K+ premium with a single carrier and can easily meet their minimums.
The 2-4% override savings on that volume is significant (e.g., $3,000-$6,000/year on a $150K book).
You want a direct relationship with the carrier's marketing and underwriting team.
You are confident you can maintain production minimums long-term.
Say you write $200,000 in premium with Travelers through your aggregator at a 3% override. That is $6,000/year in override going to the aggregator. If you convert to a direct Travelers appointment, you keep that $6,000. Over 5 years, that is $30,000. For a single carrier.
But here is the catch: if converting to direct means losing access to 20 other carriers you write less volume with, those carriers may drop you for not meeting minimums individually. You could gain $6,000 from Travelers and lose $15,000 in commission from carriers you can no longer access.
The smart approach: keep your aggregator relationship for breadth and convert your top 2-3 volume carriers to direct as your book grows. This hybrid model gives you the best of both worlds.
Can I convert specific carriers to direct while staying in the aggregator for others? What happens to my override on carriers I convert? Is there a minimum I must maintain with the aggregator to stay in the network? Will converting affect my access to other carriers in the aggregator?
Override rates, book ownership, and exit terms for 26+ aggregators.
Browse Aggregator Directory →