Start · For Captive Agents & Producers Going Independent
Most new agencies fail on economics: thin carrier access, base-only commissions, no leverage. OAA members launch with national appointments, five layers of income, and a coach who has taken captive agents to ownership for over twenty years.
The Startup Problem
A new independent agency starts at the bottom of every carrier's ladder: minimum-volume thresholds, entry-tier commissions, no profit-sharing eligibility. The book you write in year one earns less per premium dollar than the same book would earn inside an established shop. That gap compounds for years.
OAA closes that gap from day one. As a member, your new agency writes through the network's carrier contracts, with top-tier base commissions, profit-sharing participation, and bonus layers that solo startups never see. You own the book and the codes.
Technology, AI & Coaching
Nobody warns a captive agent about the systems question, and it often decides whether year one is survivable. OAA has already made those decisions.
Management system, rater, quoting, and the integrations between them are already chosen and running across 170+ agencies. The single most expensive mistake a new agency makes is the system it has to replace in year three. 5
You are about to be sold a lot of it. OAA runs the evaluation and tells you which tools are actually production-ready for intake, service, and renewals, and which are still a demo with a sales team attached. 5
In year one you are the producer, the service team, and the accounting department. Workflow and automation work keeps that survivable until hiring is a planned staffing decision rather than a panic. 5
Roughly 34 scheduled classes a year plus additional sessions, OAA-led and SIAA-led, split by state and line of business, plus a coach who started an agency and remembers what month four feels like.
Working with 6
The Launch Path
This is the path OAA has run with new agencies since 2003, the year we pioneered the captive-to-independent transition model.
First, what your book (or your future book) is worth inside OAA versus outside it: carrier access, commission tiers, and profit-sharing eligibility, sized to your situation.
A real agency business plan, built with coaches who have launched hundreds of agencies, including the financing introductions to fund it.
National carrier appointments through the network from the start. A solo startup typically waits years to earn those markets.
Agency management systems, service support, marketing motion, and guidance on your first hires, so your time goes to selling instead of setup.
An OAA Agency Growth Coach with you through launch and beyond. The model OAA pioneered in 2003 for captive-to-independent transitions.
Your Starting Point
Bring your current book, your carrier list, or just your premium goal. We'll map the carrier lineup, the income layers, and the launch timeline for your specific situation.
Talk Through Your LaunchIs Start Right For You?
Started With OAA
Situation
New independent agency. The classic startup wall: carriers won't appoint you without volume, and you can't build volume without carriers.
OAA Support
Immediate access to national carriers through the network, plus coaching from people who had started agencies themselves.
Outcome
Launched with the carrier lineup of an established agency and a coach on call for the issues every new owner hits.4
Read More Member Stories“OAA allows access to carriers I would otherwise not be able to obtain immediately. It is also very nice to have people who have been in my position assist me with the issues of starting and running my own agency.”
Tracey Talley · Wall Street Insurance, LLC
What You Keep
Every client relationship is yours. OAA is a network and takes no ownership stake in your book, so membership never puts it on someone else's balance sheet.
Your appointments are written in your agency's name. You keep the direct carrier relationships you build through the network.
How you staff, price, and run your agency stays yours.
And if you ever decide to leave
If membership ever stops paying off for your agency, you leave with your book, your codes, and your direct appointments intact, including everything you built while you were here. The exact notice and transition terms are spelled out plainly before you ever sign, and we'll walk you through them on the call.
Take the First Conversation
Tell us where you are (captive, producer, or already filing the paperwork) and we'll tell you exactly what launching through OAA looks like for your book. No obligation. Confidential.
