A Perfect Pairing: Real Estate and Insurance Businesses

Like a glass of ruby red cabernet with a fine cut of prime steak, a real estate brokerage with in-house insurance is a perfect business pairing that brings out the best that each has to offer. Whereas many real estate agency owners have referral relationships with one or more trusted insurance partners, this new business model enables them to diversify their offerings and bring insurance products in house. 

You’ve worked hard to grow your office, so why not continue to offer your clients great service in a complementary industry? We Insure has relationships with top insurance carriers and a revolutionary support system that enables real estate brokerages to add insurance services to their mix with little additional overhead.

The real estate industry trend of consolidation continues to accelerate in 2020.  Larger real estate brokerages are buying the smaller ones to reach critical mass in the agent count. This growth-through-acquisition strategy can result in agencies becoming too heavy, too fast — and with too much waste. In order to improve the bottom line, you need to implement one of these proven strategies:  reduce expenses or increase revenue.

If the only way to survive as a real estate broker is to get as large as you can, the businesses that find success with one of the strategies mentioned. One way to increase incoming revenue is by adding an ancillary service like mortgage or title. Previously, insurance was not at the top of the list with brokerages because there wasn’t a turnkey approach that offered premier-level access to carriers and back-of-house support before. Today, adding insurance products remains a novel approach, but it’s gaining traction with innovative brokers. 

Keith Pike, owner of We Insure Alliance and the largest RE/MAX agency in Arkansas, describes why he’s bringing together all of the home-buying-related services in his office, “It’s very scattered and overwhelming for the new homeowner. By offering complimentary real estate services like insurance under one roof, we’re building the agent’s ability to provide consultative services and creating a sense of legitimacy for our business with clients.”

Real estate industry cycles can mean that your revenue changes almost overnight. One way to protect your business is to add new revenue streams. With insurance, you have recurring income in addition to one-time real estate transactions. The revenue from an insurance policy can deliver for eight or nine years as business builds exponentially.

If you want to stand out from the competition, you need to compete on customer experience. Real estate brokerages that focus on continual improvement of their customer experience can build long-term dividends with their client base. 

Dustin Oldfather, agency owner of We Insure Prosperity and owner of The Oldfather Group, services a high-end coastal market from Rehoboth, Delaware. He says, “A few years ago, our clients were frustrated with the mortgage process, so we solved that problem by bringing in mortgage services. We always want to improve the quality of the home-buying experience, and by adding insurance, it allows us to offer more convenience and control the service quality for our clients.”

Some agency owners are so focused on putting the client first, they prefer to turn away business if it means that the client gets the best product. Owner of RE/MAX Houston agency and We Insure You, Freddy Rodriguez has two realty offices in Houston and a third in Corpus Christie. He embraces the independent insurance model because it encourages companies to offer their best coverage options at the lowest rates. 

He explains, “I always put the client’s interest first, even above my own. I know I can feel great about aligning myself with We Insure because they share my growth mindset and do business for all the right reasons.”  

Do you want the strongest office in your geographic area with a one-stop-shop for customers and agents? Ancillary services including insurance simplify the home-buying process, which can often be crunch time. When these services are offered under one roof, the agents and clients feel that they are always the top priority. That’s a big value to agents and a great way to keep them at your agency.

We Insure is a turnkey approach that offers premier-level access to carriers plus operational and marketing support. It takes the best that captive and independent insurance models offer to create an innovative approach to insurance. We Insure provides its franchise partners with access to top carriers and top-tier commission on day one. We Insure agency owners focus their time and attention on customers, while corporate provides all of the back support, call center, technologies and tools needed for success. We Insure offers home, auto, business insurance and more through more than 100 top-rated carriers with franchise opportunities across the United States. Visit www.weinsuregroup.com for more information.