Carrier Economics
Same book.
Same carriers.
Different math.
The premium you write has a price, and most independent agencies sell theirs too low — not by choice, but by structure. This page explains the structure, and what changes inside the network.
The Argument
Carriers don't price contracts on quality. They price them on scale.
A solo agency walks into a carrier negotiation with its own book and asks for a fair contract. The carrier obliges — but the deal is sized to one agency. Entry-tier commission schedules. Volume thresholds the agency can't reach. Profit-sharing pools it never qualifies for. None of that reflects the quality of the business; it reflects the size of the negotiator.
Aggregation fixes the size problem without the usual cost. OAA members write through contracts negotiated at network scale — 180+ agencies, more than half a billion dollars in premium — while keeping full ownership of their book, their codes, and their direct carrier appointments. Chain-scale economics, agency-level ownership.
And because OAA is a master agency of SIAA — one of the largest alliances of independent agencies in the country — members participate in national income layers stacked on top of the regional ones.
The Receipts
Five layers of income. Not one.
Most independent agencies are paid on one or two of these. OAA members are paid on all five. The difference compounds with every renewal.
- 01
Top-Tier Base Commissions
Carrier-direct base rates pulled up by network leverage you couldn't sign alone. The same policy, written through the same carrier, pays more inside the network.
- 02
Profit Sharing
Member-level participation in carrier profit pools, paid quarterly or annually. Solo agencies rarely clear the volume thresholds; the network clears them structurally.
- 03
Regional Bonuses
OAA-territory growth and retention incentives layered on top of carrier comp — negotiated for the membership, earned by your book.
- 04
SIAA Exclusive PMSF Bonuses
Performance Marketing Support Fund bonuses available only through the SIAA network — effectively getting paid to grow.
- 05
SIAA National Profitability Bonuses
National-tier bonuses tied to network-wide carrier performance. Your agency participates in results no single agency could produce.
The Comparison
The same book, side by side.
Five income layers for an independent agency writing $2M in annual premium — written solo, and written through OAA. Illustrative figures2 — your number depends on your book.
The real version of this table uses your premium, your carrier mix, and your state.
Get Your Number on a CallMarket Access
The carriers behind the contracts.
National and regional markets members reach through the network — as listed on the current OAA carrier roster.4
What You Keep
Your book, your codes — and if you ever leave.
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Your book of business
Every client relationship is yours. OAA is a network, not an owner — membership never puts your book on someone else's balance sheet.
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Your carrier codes & direct appointments
Your appointments are written in your agency's name. You keep the direct carrier relationships you build through the network.
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Your decisions
How you staff, price, and run your agency stays yours. The leverage is shared; the control is not.
And if you ever decide to leave
Membership is a partnership, not a trap. If the math ever stops working for your agency, you leave with your book, your codes, and your direct appointments intact — the same things you walked in with, plus everything you built. 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
The most persuasive number is yours.
Bring your premium volume and carrier mix. We'll show you the delta between your current economics and member economics — line by line, layer by layer. Thirty minutes. Confidential.
- Member-agency count and premium written are One Agents Alliance network figures, covering business placed through OAA member agencies. ↩
- Illustrative economics. Figures are modeled on publicly documented independent-agency compensation structures for a hypothetical $2M-premium agency — not OAA member results, and not a statement of any carrier's or the network's contract terms. Actual figures depend on your book, your carriers, and your loss experience. ↩
- Agency valuation multiples and pre-sale lead times vary widely with size, earnings quality, retention, carrier mix, and buyer. The 3–5× range and 36-month lead time are general industry rules of thumb offered for orientation — not an appraisal, and not a projection of any individual agency's value. ↩
- Carrier roster as currently listed on One Agents Alliance's carrier partners page. Appointments and appetites change; the lineup available to a given agency is confirmed in conversation. ↩