Why Defining Your Ideal Client Will Save Your Agency
I made the jump from Captive in 2016 when I started my scratch agency, BlueLake Insurance (acquired by Mappus Insurance in 2018). Prior to that, I had spent time at All-State-Farm-Bureau since 2012. One of the primary reasons I was so excited about going independent was the ability to have OPTIONS.
I thought to myself, “I will never lose on price again!”
And that is exactly how I sold insurance.
No matter what, I was going to get you the cheapest price on your insurance. That is what Independent Agents did, right?
I even took it a step further. If I did not have a market for something, I would go out and get a new contract just to write that single piece of business.
One time, I received a referral for a home in pretty rough shape. It was a referral AND I was independent, so of course I could write anything. I found a market. This was my first experience with E&S.
Here are a few of the mistakes that happened:
- I strayed out of my comfort zone. To be honest, I did not even have standards at that point.
- I worked to write a piece of business I had no business writing in a world (E&S) I had no knowledge about.
- I requested a binder on an E&S policy without a signed application from the client.
- The prospect ghosted me, and because of the minimum earned premium, I chased it for 9 months before paying it out of my own pocket.
That was an expensive lesson for a scratch agent. But it taught me something I wish I had understood from day one: not all business is good business.
Why Standards Matter
When you are new, or just hungry, it is tempting to write everything that comes across your desk. Every lead feels like an opportunity. Every referral feels like a must.
But here is the truth. The wrong clients will cost you more than you will ever make off them. They drain your service team. They complain about price. They churn quickly. And often, they leave you with messes you wish you never touched.
Standards protect you. They keep your book healthy and profitable. They make sure you are building something sustainable instead of chasing scraps.
How to Think It Through
Building agency standards does not mean you only insure the wealthy or the perfect risks. It means you are intentional about who you serve and how you serve them.
A few questions to guide your thinking:
- What coverages or liability limits align with the way you want to do business?
- Which types of clients or risks always seem to create the most headaches?
- Where do you see your highest retention and best referrals?
- What values do your best clients share? Are they chasing price or do they value protection?
- What business fits your team’s strengths and experience?
Answer these honestly, and you will start to see patterns. That is the foundation of your standards.
What Standards Can Look Like (A Real Example)
To make this more concrete, here are a few of the standards we built into our agency and why.
- We would write monoline home.
Why: We worked heavily with referral partners in the home-buying industry. Leading with home made sense, especially since premiums were higher in our area. Plus, our ideal client profile included being a homeowner. Cross-selling other lines was the goal, but we were okay starting with just the home. - We would not write monoline auto.
Why: Monoline auto was a service drain, and without the other lines, retention suffered. - We had to write the home to write the flood.
Why: Claims run smoother when home and flood are with the same agency. Plus, as flood experts, we often attracted flood-only requests. Requiring both allowed us to round out accounts and serve better. - Everyone had to be eligible for an umbrella based on underlying limits.
Why: This filtered out prospects who were not a fit and aligned with our philosophy that every client should at least be offered an umbrella. - Every client was offered umbrella, flood, and earthquake.
Why: They did not have to accept, but consistent offers promoted education, boosted average lines per household, and improved retention.
Notice the pattern. Each standard tied back to profitability, retention, or client fit. That is how you should think about your own.
How to Enforce and Track It
Defining standards is one thing. Sticking to them is the real challenge, especially when a “good referral” or “easy win” lands in your inbox. Here is how to make them real:
- Write them down. Make your standards visible and clear.
- Train your team. Everyone, from producers to CSRs, should know the rules of the game.
- Use your systems. Intake forms and CRMs can help flag risks that do not meet your standards.
- Review quarterly. Look at what you wrote. Did you stick to your standards? Where did you bend? Was it worth it?
This is not about perfection. It is about consistency.
Scaling the Right Way
Here is the magic. When you stick to your standards, your agency becomes easier to run and easier to grow.
But let’s define it. What exactly is a better client?
- They value protection over price.
- They fit your Ideal Client Profile.
- They round out with multiple lines.
- They are easier to service and work with.
- They refer like-minded people.
- They stick around for the long haul.
And when you focus on these clients, everything compounds:
- Fewer service headaches.
- More referrals from people just like them.
- Longer retention and higher lifetime value.
In short, a better client leaves you with more time, more profit, and less stress.
That is how you scale the right way. Not by writing everyone, but by writing better.
Final Thought
The lesson I learned the hard way, and paid for out of pocket, is this: the clients you turn away matter just as much as the clients you sign.
Take the time to define your standards. Put them in writing. Train your team. And most importantly, stick to them.
It may feel like you are writing less in the short term, but long term you will write ten times more of the right kind of business, with far fewer headaches.
👉 Want help defining your own standards? Grab our free Agency Standards Playbook: 5 Steps to Defining Your Ideal Client. It is a simple worksheet you can use with your team to set guardrails, protect your book, and scale with the right clients.