Whether you’re a BGA, IMO, FMO, or carrier, every new producer must be properly appointed before business can be written. Agent contracting is one of the most essential and complex processes in the insurance industry; worse still, it’s often also a bottleneck: one that consumes valuable staff time, slows down sales, and frustrates both agents and carriers. At Employee Pooling, we’ve seen firsthand how transforming contracting into a strategic advantage can help firms scale smarter, not harder.
Why Agent Contracting Is So Challenging
While this seems like a simple question, there are many layers to strategic contracting. On its surface, contracting is a simple step by step process: submit paperwork, get approvals, and assign writing codes. But as anyone working in operations knows, it’s far from easy. Challenges often include:
The result? Operations teams end up buried in contracting paperwork, slowing down the very sales they’re designed to support.
The Cost of Keeping Contracting In-House
On the surface, keeping contracting in-house feels like the safest option. You control the process, your staff knows the systems, and everything stays “in the family.” But here’s what often happens:
Recruitment delays. Finding and training staff who truly understand insurance contracting workflows can take months.
Turnover risk. Once trained, employees often move on, forcing the cycle to start again.
Hidden overhead. Beyond salaries, the real cost includes benefits, PTO, HR time, and management bandwidth.
And then there’s the biggest challenge most firms underestimate: volume surges.
It’s not unusual for a firm to go months without significant recruiting activity only to suddenly face a flood of new contracting requests when a marketing campaign overperforms or a merger/acquisition adds hundreds of new agents overnight. In-house teams, already tied up with day-to-day processing, often lack the flexibility to scale quickly.
That’s where the contrast becomes clear: EP scales with you. Whether it’s a steady trickle or a sudden surge, our contracting specialists expand capacity instantly, ensuring no delay between an agent’s interest and their ability to write business.
Rightsourcing Agent Contracting with Employee Pooling
Our Agent Contracting service is built specifically for the insurance industry, blending expert human capital with smart technology to ensure accuracy, efficiency, and scale.
Here’s how we help:
Comprehensive Agent Appointment Processing From full-scrub JIT contracting to building complete agent profiles, EP ensures packets are in-good-order before carriers see them.
Carrier Management We manage agent appointments end-to-end—tracking packets, retrieving writing codes, and updating CRM/L&C systems.
Ongoing Agent Support Our team handles EFT and address changes, AML/E&O renewals, bulk hierarchy moves, and other contracting updates.
Scalable Expertise With a global team of 300+ trained professionals, we provide capacity when you need it most—whether it’s surge support during peak cycles or ongoing operational relief.
Benefits You Can Expect
When BGAs, IMOs, FMOs, and carriers partner with EP for contracting, they typically see:
Faster turnaround times – Agents get appointed quickly, enabling them to sell sooner.
Reduced errors – Full-scrub processes minimize back-and-forth with carriers.
Better agent experience – Clear updates and proactive follow-ups keep agents informed and engaged.
Operational efficiency – Free your internal team from contracting tasks to focus on growth.
Scalability – Ramp capacity up or down without the burden of hiring or training.
Why Rightsourcing, Not Outsourcing
Unlike traditional outsourcing, EP’s rightsourcing model means we work as a true extension of your team. We combine technology, process expertise, and trained professionals to deliver accuracy and accountability you can rely on. That means:
You stay in control.
Your agents and carriers see consistent, professional communication.
You gain peace of mind knowing contracting is handled right, every time.
In today’s competitive insurance environment, agent contracting can’t be an afterthought. It has to be fast, accurate, and scalable to match your growth goals. Employee Pooling helps you transform contracting from a bottleneck into a business advantage.
Your agents want to sell. Your team wants to grow. Let us handle the contracting.
How Smart Insurance Leaders Are Future-Proofing Their Operations
By Tom Gray, Founder and CEO, Employee Pooling
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb
The insurance industry faces a sobering reality: the talent pipeline isn’t just running low—it’s approaching empty. In Part 1 of this series, originally published in April’s Aspire Magazine, we explored how rightsourcing offers BGAs, IMOs, FMOs, and carriers a smarter path to operational excellence. Now, let’s examine the forces driving this transformation.
The Numbers Don’t Lie: We’re in Crisis Mode
Picture this: One in four of your most experienced professionals hands you their retirement notice tomorrow. Sound dramatic? Over 25% of insurance professionals are already over 55, with nearly half past 45.
The silver tsunami isn’t coming. It’s here.
Meanwhile, younger talent runs in the opposite direction. A 2015 Pew study revealed fewer than 4% of millennials express interest in insurance careers. For Gen Z? Even worse.
We’re fighting over an ever-shrinking talent pool with increasingly expensive weapons.
The Hidden Costs of Playing by Old Rules
Let’s talk about what it really costs to fill a position today. Beyond that 6-12 week recruitment cycle, the real battle begins after you hire.
Remote work has fundamentally changed onboarding. Try explaining 20 years of industry nuance through a Zoom screen to someone who’s never processed an insurance application. Add product-specific knowledge, proprietary systems, and tribal wisdom, and you’ve got extended ramp-up times and costly mistakes.
The brutal math: turnover costs reach 150% of an employee’s salary. That doesn’t include lost productivity, project delays, or morale damage.
One resignation can trigger a domino effect that cripples operations for months.
Enter Rightsourcing: The Strategic Alternative
While traditional outsourcing feels like surrendering control, rightsourcing is different. Why? Rightsourcing employs a co-sourcing model, where your internal team and the rightsourced team collaborate toward shared goals, blending expertise rather than replacing it. You can extend capabilities without sacrificing quality by considering both internal and external resources to determine the best fit for each task.
Think precision staffing: deploying trained, insurance-specific professionals for high-volume, process-driven work (case management, agent contracting, commissions, client outreach) while your internal team focuses on what truly moves the needle.
Rightsourcing reflects our philosophy: doing the right work, with the right resources, liberating your core team to concentrate on the 20% of activities that generate 80% of profits. So you get optimal resource allocation based on skills, costs, and strategic needs.
Why Rightsourcing Thrives Today
The insurance landscape shifts faster than ever before. Interest rate volatility, product evolution, and fluctuating demand patterns mean your staffing model needs the right experts for the right work.
Rightsourcing offers:
Deploy specialized teams without disrupting daily operations
Scale instantly during surges without costly recruitment
Maintain compliance without stretching internal resources
Continual improvement with feedback loops and service adjustments
Real results speak louder than theory: One EP client slashed over $1.25 million in annual staffing expenses while accelerating expansion. They didn’t just cut costs—they bought freedom to grow.
The Price of Standing Still
Traditional hiring and outsourcing often limit agility. Hiring in-house means lengthy recruitment, slow ramp-up times, costly turnover, and ongoing overhead. Outsourcing can solve capacity issues, but it often removes control, flexibility, and alignment with your long-term strategy.
Rightsourcing is a mindset—expanding your thinking to blend the strengths of both approaches. It gives you pre-trained insurance professionals ready to contribute immediately, with no onboarding lag and predictable, transparent costs. You retain oversight, scale capacity as needed, and eliminate the hidden expenses of traditional employment.
For companies operating on razor-thin margins or managing multiple growth initiatives, this isn’t just about convenience. It’s about survival.
Building Tomorrow’s Success Today
Whether navigating seasonal surges, launching new products, or managing retirement transitions, rightsourcing provides the operational flexibility that modern insurance firms require to stay competitive.
More importantly, it enables leaders to redirect their internal teams toward activities that truly drive growth: building relationships, developing strategy, and creating value that competitors cannot easily replicate.
The Bottom Line: Adaptation or Extinction
Rightsourcing isn’t a band-aid solution. It’s a fundamental business model evolution in an industry where every process impacts revenue, compliance, and client experience. Having the right support at the right moment can mean the difference between thriving and merely surviving.
As we navigate Q4 and plan for 2025, ask yourself the hard questions: Is your current staffing model positioned for growth and disruption? Or are you one key resignation away from operational chaos?
The talent crunch isn’t going anywhere. Interest rates will continue to fluctuate. Regulations will keep evolving. Product demands will shift with market conditions.
Companies that embrace rightsourcing today will find themselves with an unassailable advantage: the ability to adapt, scale, and excel while their competitors struggle with the limitations of yesterday’s employment models.
At Employee Pooling, we combine cutting-edge technology with deep human expertise to solve today’s staffing challenges while preparing you for tomorrow’s opportunities. The future belongs to those who work smarter, scale faster, and rightsource their most critical operations.
Interested in learning more about Rightsourcing? Schedule a call with Steven Lacher.
The Hidden Complexity Behind Every Commission Statement
Commission processing, while seemingly simple on the surface, is a complex and multifaceted operation. The initial perception is that carriers issue statements, you then calculate the appropriate agent payouts, and subsequently, everyone receives their due compensation. However, the reality is that each statement reveals a distinct set of requirements that demands meticulous attention and sophisticated processing systems to be accurate.
At the core of this complexity are several key areas:
Policy-level verification across multiple systems and timeframes: Each policy requires rigorous verification. This isn’t merely about checking a single record; it involves cross-referencing data across disparate systems, each potentially holding different pieces of the policy’s lifecycle. Furthermore, the timeframe of these policies can vary significantly, adding additional complexity to guarantee accuracy.
Multiple agents or shared IMOs/BGAs on a single case: Complex policies require complex commission management. Not all cases can follow the same system, and some need expertise to deliver a “one-off” solution. This is particularly true for insurance agents and agencies that specialize in high-net-worth clients and complex offerings.
Agent hierarchy mapping that can change mid-cycle: The organizational structure of agents, or the “agent hierarchy,” is rarely static. It can undergo changes even within a single commission cycle. Accurately mapping these shifts – promotions, new hires, departures, or reassignments – is crucial for correct commission distribution. A failure to update these hierarchies in real-time can lead to miscalculations and significant reconciliation challenges.
Bonus schedule calculations with carrier-specific rules and exceptions: Beyond standard commissions, many agents are eligible for various bonuses. These bonus schedules are highly customized and often unique to each carrier, complete with their own set of intricate rules and numerous exceptions. Manually tracking and applying these diverse rules can be incredibly time-consuming and prone to error, especially when dealing with a high volume of transactions.
Override Sharing: Showing appreciation to your most loyal agents by sharing a portion of your override can require pulling out particular rows on your commissions statements to manually share the money you are receiving from the carriers. This difficulty is compounded when these deals change based on carrier, product type, or line of business.
Cross-carrier reconciliation for agents writing with multiple companies: It’s common for agents to work with multiple insurance companies, writing policies for various carriers. This necessitates “cross-carrier reconciliation,” a process that involves consolidating and comparing data from all these different sources to get a holistic view of an agent’s performance and earnings. This aggregation is vital for ensuring accurate total payouts and for identifying any discrepancies across carriers.
Agent Levels vary among carrier Products: Different products and line of businesses will be paid out at different percentages, requiring you to cross-check each against your carrier/IMO grids and agent schedules to ensure accurate reconciliation of expected vs. paid commissions.
The cumulative effect of these challenges transforms what appears to be a straightforward process into a demanding and highly specialized function. Without robust systems and documented processes in place, errors can proliferate, leading to agent dissatisfaction, financial discrepancies, and increased administrative burden.
Why Technology Solutions Fall Short
Technology is often a solution for scaling processes. But, while automation can reduce some manual data entry, new challenges emerge:
The Ambiguity Problem: Software excels at processing clean, consistent data but struggles with exceptions. When a carrier changes statement formatting or an agent’s hierarchy shifts, automated systems often flag these as errors rather than processing them correctly.
The Carrier Communication Gap: Resolving discrepancies frequently requires direct communication with carrier personnel—phone calls, emails, and negotiations that no software can handle autonomously.
The Context Challenge: Commission processing isn’t just about math; it’s about understanding business relationships, recognizing patterns, and making judgment calls that require human insight.
Technology can process routine transactions efficiently, but the team still spends significant time managing exceptions, investigating discrepancies, and maintaining carrier relationships.
A Different Approach: The Human-in-the-Loop Model
Human hand and robotic hand using a laptop to represent the concept of a human in the loop with AI models for commission processing.
Instead of viewing commission processing as purely a technology problem, the alternative is implementing a human-in-the-loop approach that combines automated efficiency with human expertise.
At Employee Pooling, our commission processing service model blends system-powered workflows with human oversight to deliver reliability, speed, and accuracy:
Level One – Statement Pulling, Formatting, and Importing We download and standardize carrier statements, import data into your CMS, and quick-add missing policy records, matching deposits with statements or pulling statements based on the frequency that carriers upload them.
Level Two – Commission Reconciliation Building on level one, reconciliation of expected payouts from your book of business get matched to actual payouts from the commission statements. Discrepancy reports pinpoint concerns warranting investigation for your team or our’s (Level 3).
Level Three – Full-Service Commission Accounting Experience dedicated policy commission management. Building on levels one and two, our team investigates and resolves remaining discrepancies by contacting carriers via email or phone, verifying data, or escalating exceptions to your in-house point of contact. We deliver agent pay reports, BGA revenue reports, and payroll-ready CSVs every pay period.
Level Four – Commission Ticketing Service With EP acting as your commission department, we can set up an agent ticketing inbox for our commission experts to field and resolve concerns from your agents.
Don’t have a working commission process or need a commission processing system that fits your structure? Schedule a free consultation with our team. We custom-build commission hierarchies, attach agent schedules, and design reporting tools tailored to your agency’s needs. Then we run it for you.
In the last year, we’ve processed over 130,000 commission statements with 1.2 million line items at 99.92% payment accuracy. Learn how we can do it for you.
The Ripple Effect of Commission Accuracy
The impact of reliable commission processing extends far beyond operational efficiency. Consider these interconnected benefits:
Producer Confidence: When agents receive accurate, timely payments consistently, and clarification on their concerns, they focus on selling rather than questioning their compensation. This confidence translates directly into retention and production growth.
Carrier Relationships: Clean reconciliation and audit trails strengthen carrier partnerships. Carriers notice which organizations require constant cleanup.
Internal Focus: When your operations team isn’t consumed with commission firefighting, they can contribute to business development, process improvement, and strategic planning.
Scalability Foundation: Reliable commission processing becomes the backbone that supports growth. Organizations can confidently onboard new agents and carrier relationships without fearing operational breakdown.
Beyond the Immediate Solution
The commission processing challenge reflects a broader trend in insurance operations: the gap between what technology can do and what businesses need. Pure automation handles routine tasks well but struggles with exceptions, relationship management, and business judgment.
The most successful organizations are discovering that the answer isn’t choosing between human expertise and technological efficiency—it’s thoughtfully combining both.
This “balanced” approach acknowledges that various tasks necessitate distinct solutions. Routine processing benefits from automation. Complex problem-solving requires human insight. Relationship management demands personal touch. Optimal performance comes from orchestrating these elements seamlessly.
Questions Worth Considering
As you evaluate your commission processing approach, consider these strategic questions:
How much time does your internal team spend on commission concerns versus strategic initiatives?
What would happen to your operations if your commission volume doubled in six months?
How confident are you in your audit trail if a carrier or regulatory body requested detailed reconciliation?
What’s the true cost of commission errors—not just in corrections, but in producer confidence and retention?
Moving Forward
Commission processing will only become more complex as the industry evolves, and agents’ book of business expands to offer additional products. New carriers, changing bonus structures, and growing agent networks all add layers of complexity to an already challenging process.
The organizations that thrive will be those that build sustainable, scalable approaches to this challenge—approaches that leverage both technological efficiency and human expertise to deliver consistent, accurate results.
Whether you’re facing scaling challenges or looking to prevent them, the key is recognizing that commission processing is a strategic capability that directly impacts producer relationships, carrier partnerships, and organizational growth.
The question isn’t whether to improve your commission processing. The question is how to do it in a way that supports your long-term success.
For organizations ready to explore human-in-the-loop commission processing, Employee Pooling offers scalable solutions that blend technology efficiency with expert oversight. Learn more and schedule a demo about our approach at EmployeePooling.com/services/commission-processing.
How Employee Pooling’s Call Center Services Keep Insurance Moving
How Employee Pooling’s Call Center Services Keep Insurance Moving
For BGAs and carriers in the life insurance and annuity industry, the phone is the front line of business. Whether it’s following up on licensing paperwork, confirming policy delivery, or initiating and tracking 1035 transfers, phone outreach is critical to keeping cases in motion. But maintaining an internal call team that’s skilled, scalable, and consistent is easier said than done.
The Problem: Dropped Balls and Missed Opportunities
Imagine this: A producer submits an annuity for a high-value case, and it stalls at funds transfer for several weeks with no updates from the carrier. The client gets frustrated. Everyone starts asking, “What’s the holdup?”
In insurance processing, small tasks often have big consequences. A call center’s crucial role in streamlining and supporting the 1035 transfer (exchange) process for life insurance and annuity policies is just one simple example.
For many firms, keeping up with consistent, timely outreach is a challenge, especially when internal teams are already stretched thin. Emails go unanswered. Reminders slip through the cracks. And bottlenecks build up quietly until they become fires to put out.
The Solution: The Call Center That Works Like an Extension of Your Team
Employee Pooling’s Call Center is designed specifically for the unique operational needs of insurance carriers and distributors. We don’t just make calls—we own outcomes.
Our trained professionals act as a seamless extension of your operations, handling high-volume, high-urgency outreach for life insurance and annuity policies with the precision and professionalism the industry demands.
We support you with:
Case Follow-Ups: Prompt, structured outreach to carriers, doctor offices, paramed/Lab companies to gather missing documents, signatures, or medical requirements.
Licensing and Contracting Support: Keep agent onboarding streamlined with timely calls to confirm status.
1035 Follow-up Calls: Confirm receipt, verify in good order, monitor progress, and validate liquidation timing.
Live Call Follow-ups: Ensure clear communication between the carrier status and the BGA’s CMS notes regarding active pending cases in process.
Reduced Cycle Times: 24/5 support and overflow handling for continuous processing and handling.
Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: Serving as the centralized primary point of contact for policyholders, handling post-issue and in-force support.
💡 Check out the Case Study to learn how we cleared a backlog of 1035 transfers for one of our carrier clients.
A Common Scenario: The Outreach Engine Behind a Smoother L&C Process
Take a typical challenge we often see: A large BGA is struggling to onboard new producers efficiently. Email reminders go unnoticed, and agents delay returning contracting paperwork. With EP’s call center integrated into their L&C workflow, a BGA could see faster turnaround times, improved agent responsiveness, and fewer delays.
Instead of waiting days—or weeks—for email follow-ups to land, our call team delivers consistent, professional outreach that helps get agents licensed and producing sooner.
The Difference: Trained People, Not Just Phone Lines
At Employee Pooling, we don’t treat calls as transactions. Our call center staff are trained and experienced in understanding complex insurance workflows, compliance requirements, and are guided by the importance of timing. We track outcomes, escalate when needed, and log everything for your internal visibility.
We work within your systems and can quickly scale up or down as your business evolves.
Our dedicated Call Center team delivers impressive results, including:
Managing 250+ daily calls with an average handling time of 10.8 minutes
Maintaining an exceptional 90% first-call resolution rate
Providing comprehensive coverage across all carrier time zones
Delivering structured documentation and consistent follow-up protocols
Your internal teams don’t have the luxury of spending large amounts of time on hold waiting for answers from carriers. Let your team focus on your producers while EP obtains critical information from the carrier for them.
Why It Matters
In an industry where cycle time is everything, every call matters. A good call center doesn’t just make noise—it creates momentum. It fills gaps in communication, reduces delays, and ensures that clients, agents, and partners stay informed and engaged.
Whether you’re a BGA trying to improve agent relationships or a carrier looking to boost back-office efficiency, our Call Center services can help keep the entire ecosystem moving forward.
Ready to Get the Phones Ringing for the Right Reasons?
Let’s talk about how our team can support yours, without adding headcount or overhead. Contact us today.
The ability to pivot quickly and execute new initiatives can mean the difference between industry leadership and falling behind in today’s rapidly evolving insurance landscape. At Employee Pooling, we’ve seen firsthand how our Special Projects solution has transformed how insurance carriers and distributors can respond to change, seize opportunities, and solve complex challenges. Let’s explore why this approach has become essential for forward-thinking insurance professionals.
Unlocking Agility: How Special Projects Drive Rapid Innovation
The traditional hiring process is the enemy of rapid response. When market opportunities arise or compliance deadlines loom, waiting weeks or months to recruit, interview, and onboard new talent simply isn’t viable. This is precisely where Employee Pooling’s Special Projects service creates extraordinary value.
Our model enables insurance carriers and BGAs to quickly mobilize skilled teams for:
New product launches
System migrations and technology implementations
Unexpected backlog clearance
Regulatory compliance initiatives
Seasonal volume spikes
Sales, marketing, and recruiting efforts
Take the scenario of a BGA facing a digital platform migration with just 60 days’ notice. Rather than scrambling to hire and train new staff (a process that would take most of that 60 days), they can engage our Special Projects team and have trained and experienced specialists working within days without disrupting their core operations.
This agility isn’t just convenient—it’s a competitive necessity. Insurance companies that can quickly adapt and execute consistently outperform less nimble competitors in today’s dynamic marketplace.
Cost-Effective Expertise, On Demand
Financial Cost Management pressures are a reality for every insurance organization. The value of the Special Projects approach is how it transforms fixed employment costs to save money and increase efficiencies with predictable returns.
Consider the financial advantages:
No long-term employment commitments – Pay only for the duration of your project
Reduced staff burden – Keep your team focused on core responsibilities without project overload
Elimination of recruiting costs – Save the 15-30% typically spent on recruiting fees
Minimal training investment – Our specialists arrive ready to contribute from day one
Reduced management overhead – Our team leaders handle day-to-day supervision
No benefit or PTO expenses – All specialists are fully covered by Employee Pooling
For perspective, imagine a mid-sized BGA staffing for a 12-month project with two Licensing and Compliance Analysts internally could cost approximately $120,000 in recruitment, salary, benefits, and training, with most of that investment walking out the door once the project concluded. Implementing Employee Pooling Special Projects engagement could deliver BGAs reduced payroll expenses by up to 54.5% by rightsourcing essential tasks, with no long-term obligations.
This cost-effective approach is especially valuable in today’s market, where economic uncertainty makes flexible staffing models increasingly attractive. Our clients consistently report that the predictability of project-based budgeting helps them manage resources more effectively while still accessing top-tier talent.
Boosting Employee Engagement and Organizational Growth
We’ve designed our Special Projects service to capitalize on this insight in two important ways:
First, we carefully integrate our specialists with your existing team, creating knowledge transfer opportunities that benefit both groups. Your staff gains exposure to new perspectives and specialized expertise while maintaining ownership of their core responsibilities.
Second, our collaborative approach prevents the “outsider syndrome” that often plagues traditional consulting relationships. Instead of simply delivering a solution and departing, we work alongside your team, fostering genuine collaboration and ensuring knowledge transfer becomes part of the project deliverables.
This approach creates lasting value that extends far beyond the immediate project objectives, contributing to organizational growth and employee development in ways that traditional staffing models simply cannot match.
Built-In Redundancy and Quality Assurance
Insurance is an industry where mistakes carry significant consequences. Unlike freelancers or temporary employees who operate independently, Employee Pooling’s Special Projects teams incorporate multiple layers of redundancy and quality assurance.
Our specialized approach includes:
Team-based staffing – Multiple specialists cross-trained on your projects
Dedicated team supervisors – Experienced managers who oversee quality and performance
Standardized documentation – Comprehensive process documentation for knowledge retention
Established QA protocols – Multi-level review processes tailored to insurance operations
Continuous improvement mechanisms – Regular performance analysis and optimization
These built-in safeguards are particularly crucial in regulated industries like insurance, where compliance requirements and accuracy standards leave no room for error.
Future-Proofing with Scalable Solutions
Perhaps the most strategic benefit of our Special Projects solution is how it helps insurance carriers and BGAs become genuinely adaptable organizations. In an industry facing constant regulatory shifts, technology evolution, and market consolidation, the ability to scale resources precisely when and where needed is invaluable.
Our flexible engagement model means you can:
Scale up rapidly for unexpected opportunities or compliance deadlines
Access specialized expertise for limited-duration initiatives without long-term commitments
Navigate seasonal fluctuations without overstaffing during slower periods
Test new processes or technologies before full-scale implementation
Respond confidently to market changes without the constraints of fixed staffing levels
This scalability creates a powerful competitive advantage. While competitors struggle with rigid staffing models that either leave them shorthanded during crunch periods or burdened with excess capacity during lulls, our clients maintain optimal resource levels regardless of changing conditions.
If you face any of these challenges, our Special Projects service could be the solution:
Upcoming system migrations or technology implementations
Temporary processing backlogs or capacity constraints
New product launches requiring specialized expertise
Regulatory changes demanding a rapid response
Seasonal volume fluctuations that strain current resources
Part-time staffing
Our insurance-specialized teams are ready to step in, delivering immediate relief. Gain short-term and long-term value through our unique combination of industry expertise, built-in quality assurance, and flexible engagement models.
Ready to discover how Special Projects can transform your ability to respond to challenges and opportunities? Contact us today for a consultation tailored to your specific needs.
Employee Pooling specializes in providing flexible staffing solutions exclusively for the insurance industry. Our Special Projects teams bring deep domain expertise in life insurance, Medicare Supplement, and annuity operations, ensuring rapid productivity and industry-compliant results for every engagement.
Our client, an insurance carrier located in the Eastern US, came to EP in July 2024 with a critical operational challenge. Their 1035 transfers had fallen more than two months behind their service level agreement targets—creating a significant backlog that threatened to spiral into further complications.
EP used a two-pronged strategy; first, we stabilized the process for timely processing of all 1035 transfers, and then we dug into the unprocessed accumulation. Within 3 weeks, 4 FTEs (Full Time Equivalent Employees) cleared two months of backlog.
Steven Lacher | President, Employee Pooling, LLC In today’s hyper-connected digital world, cybersecurity is no longer just a technical concern—it’s a critical business imperative. As cyber threats grow in both sophistication and frequency, Employee Pooling is proactively transforming its cybersecurity landscape with state-of-the-art tools, robust policies, and streamlined procedures.
Working closely with the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Employee Pooling, we are dedicated to ensuring the security and integrity of the personal data entrusted to us by our clients. This responsibility is at the core of our commitment to trust, transparency, and excellence. Over the past year, our team has made significant strides in strengthening technological security controls, enhancing monitoring capabilities, and refining policies to protect sensitive information in line with industry-accepted standards.
At Employee Pooling, we understand the profound trust and responsibility involved in handling the personal information of U.S. citizens. For us, information security is not a checkbox or an afterthought—it’s a foundational principle that shapes how we operate, innovate, and serve our clients.
Building a Culture of Security
Safeguarding client data begins with fostering a culture of security across the organization. At Employee Pooling, every employee recognizes their critical role in protecting sensitive information. Through regular training, awareness programs, and clear communication, we’ve empowered our teams to identify potential threats and take proactive steps to mitigate risks. Security is not confined to the IT or security teams—it’s a shared commitment that spans the entire organization.
Achieving ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Certification
A significant milestone in our cybersecurity journey is the ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification for our Indian operations, awarded by the esteemed British Standards Institute (BSI). This globally recognized standard underscores our rigorous and systematic approach to information security. Achieving certification from BSI demonstrates our commitment to implementing robust security controls, conducting regular risk assessments, and continuously improving our safeguards.
Deploying Advanced Security Solutions
While compliance is essential, it’s not enough on its own. To further enhance our security posture, we recently implemented a cutting-edge Centralized Security Management Platform. This system significantly improves our ability to secure and control our environment down to each endpoint. It provides enhanced visibility and control across devices, strengthens network security, and enables real-time monitoring of both known and zero-day threats. These capabilities allow us to swiftly detect, investigate, and respond to security risks before they escalate.
Regular security audits and continuous threat assessments ensure that we stay ahead of emerging risks and adapt to the ever-changing cybersecurity landscape.
A Continuous Commitment to Security
Security is not a one-time achievement—it’s an ongoing commitment. While we’ve made substantial progress, we remain focused on advancing our security posture even further. Our mission is clear: to be a responsible and effective steward of the personal information our clients entrust to us. We will continue to invest in technology, processes, and people to ensure that our security measures remain robust and aligned with industry best practices.
At Employee Pooling, we are dedicated to building a safer, more secure future for our clients and their data.
For BGAs and FMOs, time is more than just money—it’s the difference between thriving and merely surviving in today’s competitive insurance marketplace. Recent industry data shows that Employee Pooling, through its optimized case management service, can reduce policy cycle times by an average of 23.3 days, with some annuity cases seeing reductions of up to 38 days. These dramatic improvements in processing time are revolutionizing how BGAs operate and compete in the modern insurance landscape.
In today’s competitive insurance industry, Brokerage General Agencies (BGAs) face mounting pressure to optimize operations while controlling costs. Traditional hiring practices for back office support—from commission processing to licensing and contracting—often create substantial hidden expenses and operational inefficiencies that can hinder a BGA’s growth and profitability. Employee Pooling offers a revolutionary alternative that’s transforming how BGAs approach their staffing needs.
Understanding the True Cost of Traditional Hiring
The conventional approach to staffing back office positions comes with extensive hidden costs that many BGAs overlook. When factoring in all expenses, a single traditional hire can exceed $75,000 in the first year alone. This includes direct costs like job posting expenses ($300-1,500 monthly), manager time spent on recruitment ($1,800-2,400), comprehensive onboarding and training ($4,500-6,000), and equipment setup ($3,500-5,500).
Beyond these immediate expenses, BGAs must consider the substantial risk factors. The insurance industry faces a 15-20% turnover rate, with replacement costs ranging from 100-150% of an employee’s annual salary. For a $40,000 position, this translates to potential turnover costs of $40,000-60,000 per instance. Additionally, new hires typically require a 3-6 month learning curve, during which productivity and work quality can be inconsistent.
The Employee Pooling Advantage
Employee Pooling has emerged as a strategic solution that addresses these challenges while offering significant cost savings and operational benefits. By maintaining a pre-screened, pre-trained pool of insurance industry professionals, Employee Pooling eliminates the traditional hiring bottlenecks and expenses that burden BGAs.
The cost advantage is immediate and substantial, with Employee Pooling solutions typically delivering a 45-60% reduction in overall staffing expenses. For example, a position that would cost $55,800-75,400 in the first year through traditional hiring can be filled through Employee Pooling for approximately $31,518 annually for full-time support, with the flexibility to scale hours based on actual needs.
Speed to productivity represents another crucial advantage. While traditional hiring requires 45-90 days from job posting to having a productive employee, Employee Pooling can deploy trained professionals within 24-48 hours of agreement. This rapid deployment ensures minimal disruption to BGA operations and maintains consistent service levels for agents and clients.
Operational Excellence and Risk Mitigation
Employee Pooling provides BGAs with built-in redundancy and quality assurance mechanisms that are difficult to achieve with traditional hiring. The model eliminates concerns about employee turnover, sick leave, or vacation coverage, ensuring continuous operation of critical back office functions. This consistency is particularly valuable for essential tasks like commission processing, licensing, and contracting, where delays or errors can directly impact agent satisfaction and revenue.
The scalability of Employee Pooling also offers BGAs unprecedented flexibility to adapt to changing business needs. During peak periods, additional support can be activated without the lengthy recruitment and training process. Similarly, support can be adjusted during slower periods without the difficult decisions and costs associated with staff reductions.
Strategic Focus and Growth
Perhaps the most significant advantage of Employee Pooling is how it enables BGAs to focus on core business activities and growth initiatives. By eliminating the administrative burden of recruitment, training, and employee management, BGAs can redirect valuable time and resources toward strategic priorities like agent recruitment, carrier relationships, and market expansion.
The model also provides access to specialized expertise without the challenge and expense of building these capabilities in-house. Employee Pooling professionals bring deep industry knowledge and best practices that can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of back office operations.
For forward-thinking BGAs, Employee Pooling represents not just a cost-saving measure but a strategic advantage in maintaining efficient, reliable back office operations. With zero recruitment overhead, eliminated turnover risk, predictable monthly costs, and scalable operations, Employee Pooling offers a compelling solution that aligns with the modern BGA’s need for operational efficiency and financial optimization. As the insurance industry continues to evolve, this innovative approach to staffing provides BGAs with the agility and expertise needed to thrive in an increasingly competitive market.
For Brokerage General Agencies (BGAs), time is more than just money—it’s the difference between thriving and merely surviving in today’s competitive insurance marketplace. Recent industry data shows that Employee Pooling, through its optimized case management services, can reduce policy cycle times by an average of 23.3 days, with some annuity cases seeing reductions of up to 38 days. These dramatic improvements in processing time are revolutionizing how BGAs operate and compete in the modern insurance landscape.
Immediate Impact on BGA Operations
The transformation of workflow management within BGAs through reduced cycle times cannot be overstated. When processing times decrease, case managers can handle substantially larger volumes without increasing headcount, creating a cascade of efficiency throughout the organization. This accelerated workflow doesn’t just mean faster processing—it fundamentally changes how BGAs allocate resources and manage their day-to-day operations.
Consider the typical case manager’s daily routine. Traditional processing methods require constant status updates, frequent carrier follow-ups, and endless documentation management. By reducing cycle times, these tasks become more streamlined and predictable. Case managers spend less time chasing updates and more time on value-adding activities that improve the overall quality of service.
Revenue Acceleration and Improved Placement Ratios
The financial impact of reduced cycle times extends beyond simple operational efficiencies. When BGAs process cases fasterand achieve higher placement ratios, they create a powerful multiplier effect on their revenue streams. Commissions arrive sooner, creating more predictable cash flow and improved financial planning capacity. This acceleration has a compound effect: faster processing leads to increased capacity for new business, while higher placement ratios ensure more submitted cases get converted to paid premium.
Moreover, the improved cash flow management enables BGAs to make strategic investments in their business, whether in technology, training, or expansion opportunities. This creates a virtuous cycle where efficiency improvements fund further enhancements, leading to sustained competitive advantages.
The Power of Enhanced Producer Relationships
Stronger Agent Loyalty
Reduced cycle times fundamentally transform the relationship between BGAs and their producing agents. In an industry where independent agents have numerous options for placing their business, processing efficiency becomes a crucial differentiator. Agents who experience consistently faster placement times develop stronger loyalty to their BGA partners, leading to more stable and profitable long-term relationships.
This loyalty manifests in several ways. Agents begin to view their BGA not just as a processing center but as a strategic partner in their business growth. When BGAs consistently demonstrate processing excellence, agents entrust them with premium cases and eagerly explore new product lines together.
Competitive Advantage in Recruitment
In the fierce competition for top-producing agents, BGAs with superior processing times have a compelling story to tell. They can demonstrate concrete statistics about their operational excellence, showing potential recruits exactly how partnering with them will improve their business outcomes. This tangible differentiation becomes especially powerful in an industry with similar value propositions.
Carrier Benefits: The Hidden Multiplier
One often overlooked aspect of improved cycle times and placement ratios is their substantial impact on carriers. When BGAs operate more efficiently and place a higher percentage of submitted cases, carriers experience significant operational and financial benefits:
Reduced administrative costs on unplaced cases
Better alignment with actuarial pricing models
More predictable revenue streams
Improved resource allocation efficiency
Enhanced profitability per case reviewed
These improvements allow carriers to maintain more competitive pricing, opening the window for additional product development and creating additional opportunities for BGAs and their producers.
Operational Cost Savings: The Bottom Line
The administrative burden of case processing traditionally consumes a significant portion of a BGA’s resources. Shorter cycle times create efficiencies directly impacting the bottom line through reduced operational costs. Each day saved in processing represents fewer touch points, less paperwork handling, and decreased storage requirements.
Staff efficiency gains become particularly noticeable as cycle times decrease. Case managers can maintain larger caseloads while actually reducing their stress levels, leading to better job satisfaction and lower turnover rates. This improved work environment creates its own cost savings through reduced training needs and higher employee retention.
Technology and Process Benefits
More accurate tracking and reporting capabilities
Enhanced compliance management systems
Improved carrier relationships
Better performance metrics and analytics
Greater operational scalability
Client Experience Improvements
The impact on end-clients and producers cannot be overlooked. When BGAs process cases more efficiently, it creates a ripple effect throughout the distribution chain. Producers spend less time on administrative follow-up and more time building their businesses. They can provide faster, more accurate updates to their clients, enhancing their professional reputation and increasing the likelihood of referrals.
For the end-clients, faster processing means quicker access to coverage and reduced anxiety during the application process. This improved experience makes them more likely to consider additional products and recommend their agent to others, creating organic growth opportunities for everyone in the distribution chain.
Employee Pooling is the Answer to Reduced Cycle Times
Employee Pooling has effectively reduced cycle times and improved placement ratios for hundreds of BGAs and Institutions. Our highly trained professionals accelerate company growth while reducing operational expenses, delivering premium talent at a fraction of the cost of traditional hiring expenses. EP’s reputation for excellence is built on maintaining a 99% accuracy rate and consistently exceeding industry efficiency benchmarks.
The investment in reducing cycle times through improved, outsourced case management is really an investment in the future of the BGA business model. With potential reductions of over three weeks in processing time and significantly higher placement success rates, BGAs can fundamentally reimagine their role in the insurance distribution chain. Those who succeed in this transformation will find themselves well-positioned to thrive in an increasingly competitive marketplace. At the same time, those who maintain traditional processing times and placement ratios may struggle to remain relevant in an industry that increasingly values speed and efficiency, and successful case placement.