THE KEY TO ACCESS
Being a business owner is rewarding, but never easy. A safety net is provided to franchisees through access to capable and
qualified people including professionals, consultants and fellow franchisees. Their advice and counsel is usually effective,
although not always popular.
Independent insurance agents who become Brooke franchisees will "never have to walk alone" because they have access to:
- Claim specialists who specialize in errors and omissions claims and regulatory complaints.
- Human resources professionals.
- Local consultants who act as a clearinghouse for marketing information, a conduit to insurance companies and a source of financial discipline.
- Connections to fellow franchisees through Brooke's franchise council, local franchise fairs and national conventions.
OUR CAMPUS
 The basic franchise services provided by our Phillipsburg campus include cash, document, brand and office management. When organizations and personnel have the opportunity to specialize in certain business activities, they become very good and very efficient at their jobs. By maximizing efficiencies, the Phillipsburg campus typically provides franchisees with a high level of service for less cost.
Independent insurance agents who become Brooke franchisees receive the expertise, experience, excellence, and efficiency resulting from:
- Processing center personnel who record commissions, track cash and store documents so that franchisees can focus on their business.
- Advertising center professionals with expertise in traditional advertising, direct mail advertising, yellow pages advertising, public relations, Internet lead generation and office location analysis.
- Facility center professionals who support franchise office location selection, office setup and ongoing office support.
- Logo center personnel who build the Brooke brand by selling merchandise with Brooke logos.
PURCHASING POWER
This franchising revolution is made possible by the purchasing power of the country's 32nd largest insurance agency generating annualized premiums approaching $1 billion that is part of a NASDAQ-listed organization with more than $140 million in annual revenues.
This insurance agency franchise concept was a direct result of Brooke's founder's experiences as the manager of a small insurance agency during the hard market of the mid 1980's. During this period, it appeared that larger insurance agencies prospered from higher policy premiums while smaller agencies suffered from shrinking capacity and the resulting termination of insurance company relationships. Small agencies were increasingly absorbed by their larger competitors, often times to the dismay of consumers. Their dilemma was, "how could smaller agencies gain the required purchasing power without giving up the agency ownership?" This dilemma was resolved by Brooke's franchising solution.
Insurance Company Relationships
For many franchisees the primary benefit of belonging to Brooke is acquiring and maintaining relationships with insurance companies. Brooke has agreements with more than 500 property and casualty insurance companies. Although all franchisees do not have access to all 500 plus insurance companies, Brooke generally provides franchisees with a good selection of insurance companies.
Branding Economies
Advertising purchases by Brooke and its franchisees create significant branding economies because the effect of local advertising purchases by many franchisees in many different cities helps build a national brand. The advertising dollars spent by one franchisee provide a branding benefit for all franchisees.
Access to Professional Assistance
Individual franchisees typically do not have the resources to hire financial, regulatory and human resources experts to help them run their businesses. However, as a group, franchisee access to this expertise is affordable.
Basic Services from the Phillipsburg Campus
Document and cash management services are provided through the processing center located on the Phillipsburg campus. Consolidating these activities creates economies of scale that make document and cash management more affordable and accurate. Additionally, the advertising center provides coordination of advertising purchases and the facility center provides franchisees assistance with utilities, landlords and telecommunications.
Vendor Discounts
The benefits of consolidating purchases extend to purchases from third-party vendors. Brooke has negotiated volume discounts from vendors such as UPS for deliveries, Staples for office supplies, ADP for payroll processing and Silver Plume for insurance professional publications.
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We believe franchising is saving the independent insurance agency industry. The number of total independent insurance agencies is diminishing while the number of independent insurance agency franchises is rapidly growing. Currently, Brooke franchises represent more than 1 percent of all U.S. independent insurance agencies. At the current franchise growth rates, Brooke franchisees will likely represent more than 2 percent of all U.S. independent insurance agencies within one year and, base on current trends, could represent more than 5 percent of all U.S. independent insurance agencies within five years.