buy an agency
Buying an existing agency is a powerful foundation to launch your business.
Here's what to know about buying an established agency.
Buying an existing Allstate® agency puts you at a big advantage before you even open your doors. It provides a solid foundation, established customer base and revenue stream from day one.
You'll have the opportunity to hit the ground running in the same location with the existing staff, or the flexibility to change things up as you see fit. You'll get ongoing education and support on products, sales techniques, productivity tips and marketing tools.
We get that buying an existing agency is a big decision. That's where your sales leader comes in. They're with you through every step of the process — from finding an agency that fits your needs to assisting you with the Allstate approval process. Take the time to figure out what will work best for you.
That depends on the size of your agency and how much money you’re willing to invest to grow your business. The harder you and your team work, the more you can potentially make.
The majority of Allstate Agents generate an average of $616,142 gross annual income. The top 10% earn an average $1,978,708 in gross annual income, which they reinvest to grow their agency.*
*Based on a majority of Allstate Exclusive Agent's gross income earned during 2022, excluding Allstate Exclusive Agents with less than 12 months of affiliation who were active during the entire year. Compensation information includes actual fixed plus variable commissions (including Allstate Financial) and total bonus earnings. Excludes brokered businesses such as Ivantage. Also excludes Allstate New Jersey Exclusive Agents, Allstate Independent Agents and Dealership Agents. Individual results will vary. Past results are no guarantee of future performance.
In some small businesses, you only make money on the initial sale. But at Allstate, you'll earn money from multiple different sources, including:
- Base commissions
Get a commission for every new policy you write — from new or existing customers. - Variable compensation
Get a boost in new business you write. - Renewal compensation
Every time an existing customer renews a policy, you automatically get a percentage. - Annual bonus
If you meet certain business goals, you may qualify for an annual bonus up to 4%.*
*To receive your annual bonus, you must meet the eligibility requirements for the bonus as stated in the R3001 Agreement and its incorporated materials.
It takes about three to seven months from initial interest to opening your agency's doors and helping people in your community.
Here's the journey that awaits you.
Typically, you can expect these milestones while opening an agency:
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Application
- Talk to a recruiter.
- Complete our application and assessment.
- Pass background check.
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Preparation
- Acquire the necessary licenses (we can help).
- Complete education and training.
- Attend Allstate University.
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Approval
- Submit a business plan and financial information.
- Complete final interviews with sales leadership.
- Work with Allstate to choose a location and opening date.
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Opening
- Secure financing.
- Set up office and hire staff.
- Prepare marketing and grand opening material.
We'll help guide each step of your journey. And we’ll help you find the best location, with both high visibility and regular foot traffic.
Just like any business, there's an upfront investment.
You'll need at least $100,000 in liquid capital to invest in initial business costs. Your local Allstate sales leader can help you determine the specific capital requirement necessary for any business opportunities available in your local market. Rest assured Allstate doesn’t take possession of your capital. We just want to make sure you have enough money for things like startup costs and daily operations.
Since you're also purchasing an established agency, there are various options to finance the additional cost.
Seller financing
It's common for the seller to help you finance the purchase of their established agency. It also ensures that they have a vested interest in your business continuing to grow.
Liquid capital
Liquid capital is funds that are immediately available to pay business expenses, like funds in a checking or savings account. You'll need to provide proof of capital throughout the onboarding process.1
1For Allstate approval, the EA candidate must provide the total capital requirement as listed on the EAOT, equal to or greater than $100,000. The amount of liquid capital required must also satisfy two requirements:
- At least $30K of liquid capital must be available to spend 90 days prior to appointment (T-90). Your local Allstate Sales Leader can help you determine this amount based on specific needs in your local market.
- Remainder of liquid capital must come from the accepted liquid capital sources in the Proof of Capital Guidelines 30 days prior to appointment (T-30).
What are acceptable forms of liquid capital?
- Checking accounts/checking demand accounts1
- Savings accounts1
- Money market accounts1
- Certificates of deposits (CD)
Loans and lines of credit
- 401k funds transferred to a properly structured rollover for business startup (ROBS). Get advice from a qualified tax and/or legal advisor about a ROBS; letter stating approved and date funds will be accessible2
- Commercial loan or commercial line of credit2
- Home equity line of credit (HELOC)2
Gifts – limited to tax regulations
Note: Gifts from immediate family members3 (i.e. siblings, parents, in-laws, grandparents; excludes fiancé) are acceptable if the immediate family member gifting funds provides a notarized gift letter confirming gift isn’t a loan, no repayment is required and family member gifting funds is aware of any potential tax implications.
1Two months of statements required
2Bank approval letter required
3FINRA Definition of Immediate Family: The term "immediate family" means parents, grandparents, mother-in-law or father-in-law, husband or wife, brother or sister, brother-in-law or sister-in-law, son-in law or daughter-in-law, children, grandchildren, cousin, aunt or uncle, niece or nephew and any other person whom the registered person supports, directly or indirectly, to a material extent.
What do I need to know after opening my agency?
We want to help you grow a thriving business from day one. Here are some financial incentives you can take advantage of:
Education bonus
Get a bonus worth up to $3,750, payable in the first month of affiliation once you've finished the education program.1
Special technology discounts
Take advantage of Allstate-negotiated discounts with these providers:
- AT&T wireless services: up to 25% off
- Select FedEx Express U.S. shipping: up to 74% off
- Select computer hardware and supplies at the CDW Agency Technology Store: up to 25% off
1Amount varies based upon education path followed. Please consult with your FSL for details.
Yes, we want to help you get your name out in the community. Grow your business as far and as fast as you can using Allstate's recognizable marketing, including:
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Sponsorships
The use of Allstate's multimillion-dollar national advertising campaigns and sponsorships. -
Media plans
A custom media plan from a team of local experts and regular recommendations from a marketing consultant for a cost. -
Marketing vendors
Access to a network of approved marketing vendors with negotiated pricing and special offers. -
Furnishing package
$3,000* for a branded office furnishing package and exterior Allstate branded signage will be provided one time to new agents based on the type of location leased.
*The one-time $3,000 allowance is offered only to new scratch agents.
You're in charge of recruiting, hiring, and developing your staff. But Allstate makes tools available to help you find and decide how to retain the right talent.
Our most successful agency owners open with a minimum of four sales producers. Allstate can also assist you with your recruiting efforts.
Most agency models have three different roles:
- Agency manager—oversees operations, staff and marketing programs.
- Sales producer—develops personalized solutions and growth through new prospects.
- Customer service center—serves as an extension of your agency staff, but after hours. The customer service center is comprised of highly trained Allstate customer service employees. They deliver timely, high-quality customer care by accepting call transfers and emails related to service requests after hours.
Interested in providing benefits to your support staff? Insperity is an optional and voluntary Professional Employment Organization (PEO) that offers a robust suite of HR services, optional health benefit packages and payroll/liability assistance to Allstate agencies and EFSs.
Definitely. This is your business, but we work as a team to support you and the customers.
Additionally, Allstate's customer service center provides free customer service support when your agency is unavailable. They’re able to help you:
- Secure business and assign new customers to your agency.
- Change or update a policy and provide billing support.
- Look for cross-sell opportunities.
Allstate Extra Hands is a team of knowledgeable Allstate employees that can assist with key services and free you up from "busy work" so you can focus on growing your agency. For a small fee, you have the option to get help with:
- Scheduling insurance review appointments.
- Handling your customer phone calls and updating you on quotes, binds and customer follow-up requests via email.
- Making cancellation calls and facilitating late bill payments.
Our Allstate agency owners utilize the latest technology to make sure that you spend more time with customers and less time coordinating logistics.
Customer service center
With a custom interactive voice response (IVR) call-route system, the customer service center helps ensure that potential new customers are routed directly to the agency, while customers who need transactional service on existing policies are routed to the highly trained service employees within the customer service center or to a specialized support team (e.g., Claims).
eAgent
An online platform that lets you view and manage all customer policies in one place, improving relationships and increasing productivity.
Advisor Pro
A sales platform designed to help you work with customers so they can determine their needs during the sales process. This quote and bind platform helps create a more conversational interaction with the prospects by providing an easy, multi-line quoting experience along with dynamic, field-tested talk paths and tips.
Gateway
An agency portal that provides access to company news, sales and marketing tools, products and rates.
Let's do this
Ready to get started? Check out a list of available Allstate agencies!