Lately, I’ve watched a string of mid-sized insurance agencies “partner" with large corporations. These deals are dressed up in language about family and shared values but when you strip it down, they’re buyouts. Ownership gets exchanged for a check, and often a seat at someone else’s table. A seat without real power.
Some of these agencies are rooted in underserved communities. They were built by people who earned trust and served neighborhoods that the big players ignored until they saw profit potential. Now those same builders are being told they’re leveling up by giving away the very thing they built.
I watched a recent video where a Black woman agency owner walked through her office which was full of Black agents, local energy, and real purpose but by the end of the video, she was in a corporate boardroom surrounded by people who didn’t look like her, talking about systems and scale. It’s easy to think you’re being helped when you’re actually being used.
These deals are rarely as equal as they appear. The payout might be good for a moment, but the long-term shift in control often leaves the agency owner managing someone else’s agenda. If production drops or agents leave, the pressure is on her not the company that now owns her book.
Let’s talk about the kind of clients some of these deals are built on. There’s a whole market strategy focused on dual-eligible seniors. These are people with both Medicare and Medicaid who are often enrolled in plans at soup kitchens, housing projects, and senior centers. The sales pitch says it’s about "helping", but it has felt to me more like sharecropping with a food card. The clients become numbers, the agents become foot soldiers and the ones getting rich (at least in the past) are sitting in air-conditioned offices analyzing data.
I’ve always rejected that type of business model (and looked sideways at people who pushed it) because I didn’t want to build a business on the backs of vunerable people. Instead, I’ve focused on growing an ACA business with integrity and purpose. I help my clients when they age into Medicare. Thankfully I don’t have to chase people, cold call or ride every trend. It's been a slow, but steady and strong build.
This post isn’t to judge those who sell their agencies it is to name what’s happening so others can think twice before giving up their ownership for what looks like opportunity. Ask yourself: Am I building something I own or am I just renting space in someone else’s empire? There’s another way to do this that might not come with press releases or polished videos, but it comes with peace, control and freedom. If you have EVER worked in a "job" you hated ( I HAVE) and wanted to "Just Quit" you know what I mean! This is Just Quit and Live and I’m Ridea Keeping It Real.