Thinking About Going
Independent?
“What I Wish I Knew Before Going Independent” is a private online webinar featuring a small group of former captive agents from State Farm, Farmers, Country Financial, Farm Bureau, and ANPAC, who will share their firsthand experiences of becoming independent. You can watch and listen with your camera off, and your identity will be kept private.
Your name stays private.
Take the Quiz to Know If You're Ready
Two minutes. Completely confidential.
This quiz itself needs no name or email. It's to see if you're ready to make the jump from captive to independent.
- 1 Five quick questions about how things feel right now, covering your compensation, your book, and where your head has been lately.
- 2 This gives you a private gauge on where you land. It's meant only for you and is never saved anywhere.
- 3 A perfect opportunity to see and hear directly from agents who have already made the move.
Hear it from agents who have actually done it.
A private, off-the-record conversation on November 18, 2026 with agents who left a captive company for independence. You'll see and hear them on camera. Your own camera stays off, and your name stays private. You will hear what changed, what they wish they had known, and whether it was worth it.
Seven steps from captive to independent
Click through each step to see what actually happens, and how it compares to where you are today.
Get licensed, or confirm you're ready
Most captive agents already hold an active P&C license, so this step is usually a confirmation, not a restart. Keep continuing education current, and plan to add licenses in any additional states you intend to write business in once you're on your own.
Set up your business the right way
Before writing a policy on your own, bring in a CPA who already works with agency owners and decide on a business structure. Many new agencies start as an LLC and move to an S-corp once profits are consistent, since getting this right early avoids expensive tax and structural problems later.
Get your own E&O coverage
Errors and omissions insurance isn't optional. Carriers won't appoint an agency without it, and it protects you against claims tied to mistakes like a missed renewal or an unclear policy explanation. Building clean documentation habits from the very start keeps this exposure low for years afterward.
Build your tech stack
A new agency needs a working core: an agency management system, comparative raters, a CRM, secure document storage, and recorded phone lines. The smarter approach is starting lean and adding tools as real needs show up, rather than buying everything before you know what you'll actually use.
Build your business and go-to-market plan
A business plan lays out who you are and where you're headed. A go-to-market plan is how you'll actually generate business week to week, including the niches you'll target and how you'll get in front of clients. Carriers want to see both before they'll take a chance on a new agency.
Secure carrier appointments
This is often the hardest part early on. New independent agencies rarely start with access to every top carrier, and that's normal, since carriers are managing their own risk rather than rewarding ambition. A handful of solid carrier relationships per niche is usually enough to serve clients well while you build credibility.
Push forward and persevere
Building an agency from zero takes more sustained effort than most new owners expect: steady prospecting, follow-up, and marketing, without the built-in flow of business a captive company once provided. But what you're building is fundamentally different from what you have now: it's an asset with real value, one you can eventually sell or leave to your family, not just a role that ends when you do.
Comparing captive to independent agencies
The same nine areas, laid out plainly, so the decision isn't just a feeling.
| Area | Captive | Independent |
|---|---|---|
| Book ownership | Company | You (what that means) |
| Carrier access | One | Multiple |
| Line of business access | Limited | You choose your niches |
| Commercial lines expertise | Small business only | Small, middle market, and self-insured solutions |
| Income control | Company-driven | Market and motivation-driven |
| Exit value | Limited or non-existent | Sellable asset with 2–4x annual commission (learn more) |
| Flexibility | Low | High |
| Generational wealth | Commission annuity dies with you | Commission annuity can be transferred to family |
| Geographic control | Limited | You can sell insurance in any and all states you are licensed |
Real stories from agents who made the move
A small panel of former State Farm, Farmers, Country Financial, Farm Bureau, and ANPAC agents will share their own experience, in their own words. You can type your own questions in privately at any point. They go only to the host, who reads them to the panel without your name attached.
What actually changed
Income, book of business, and day to day work after leaving a captive company.
What they wish they'd known
The parts of the transition that surprised them, for better and for worse.
Whether it was worth it
An honest answer, not a sales pitch, from agents with nothing left to prove.
If you're ready to take the next step
There's no cost to attend. Attending earns you a membership, and joining VIAA earns you your first tradeshow on us.
A year of membership, on us
Attend the webinar and receive a one-year membership to your state insurance association, MAIA or Big I Illinois (~$500 value).
Your first tradeshow, on us
Join VIAA and we'll treat you to your first tradeshow, with full red-carpet VIP treatment (~$1,000 value).
Before you decide
No. We ask for your name and email only to send your private link and hold your seat. That information is never shared with any carrier or your company. The panel of agents appears on camera, but you're never asked to turn yours on and your name is never shown, so nothing about your attendance is identifiable to anyone outside this invitation. We've been running these private conversations for more than 20 years, and we have never breached anyone's confidentiality.
The session is recorded, but only for internal use and training. No replay or recording is sent to attendees or made public afterward. Either way, you are never on camera and never named, so nothing about your attendance appears in that recording, and any question you type in stays anonymous there too.
No. You can join by phone or with your camera off the entire time, and no one will ask you to turn it on. The panel of agents will be visible on camera sharing their experience, but you are never seen and never named. Any question you type in goes only to the host.
A small group of agents who previously worked at State Farm, Farmers, Country Financial, Farm Bureau, or ANPAC and have since gone independent. They are not named publicly ahead of the event, and they'll appear on camera to share their experience. You won't need to do either.
That is completely fine. This session is built for agents who are still exploring, not just agents who are ready to sign anything. There is no obligation attached to attending.
Reserve your private seat
November 18, 2026 at 2:00 PM CT. We'll ask for your name and email to send your private link. That's all we need, and it's held in strict confidence.
Reserve a private seat →In more than 20 years of doing this, we have never breached anyone's confidentiality.
This tool and this event are private by design. No answers from the quiz above are recorded, stored, or shared with anyone, including your current company.