1. Rollercoaster of emotions related to sales.

2. I am always on call, which makes it difficult to fully detach from work.

3. The perception of being an “insurance agent” can be a negative one, even for a great agent.

4. Claims management can be stressful. Customers expect the agent to also act as adjuster, so setting expectations at the start of the claim is important.

5. Burnout. It’s hard to take the time you need to reset, but you have to or you’ll continue to suffer from burnout.

6. Not being able to dedicate as much time as I’d like to sales.

7. The flip side of being able to quote through multiple carriers is that requoting takes a lot of time, and with rates increasing so substantially, we are doing a lot of requotes.

8. Complex compliance requirements. This involves a lot of time and effort to ensure that all documentation, client interactions, and business practices are fully compliant to avoid legal issues and penalties.

9. There are many costs associated with running an independent agency. These include office rent (if applicable), marketing expenses, software subscriptions for managing client data and operations, and professional development costs to stay competitive. Balancing these expenses with an inconsistent income stream can be a major source of stress.

10. Dealing with the current hard market and uncertainty with the U.S. economy.

11. Managing an independent agency involves a significant amount of administrative work, including paperwork, regulatory compliance, and back-office tasks. This can be time-consuming and detract from the time spent on sales and client relationships.

12. The most frustrating part is dealing with the fierce competition in the marketplace.

13. Some customers have misunderstandings or prejudices about the insurance industry. They think that insurance is a scam, or they lack an understanding of insurance clauses and claim settlement procedures.

14. Hiring. Hard to find anyone.

15. When I am not able to help a client, especially one that I have an established relationship with.

16. A lot of work can be done on opportunities with $0 payout in the end if a sale isn’t made.

17. Constantly striving to make yourself and your services stand out is a tough thing to do.

18. Some peers use unfair means to compete, such as maliciously low prices, false publicity, misleading customers, and so on.

19. The insurance industry is rapidly evolving with new technologies like AI, automation, and digital platforms. Keeping up with these advancements and integrating them into the business can be costly and time-consuming.

20. Legacy agents have grown up in the business and often learned from someone’s mistakes generations ago. Newer scratch independents are left to learn lessons the hard way.

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