Testimonials
“They say that when one door closes, another one opens. Well, the doors were closing all around us with competition from larger agencies and the near impossibility of new company appointments. Finally, our doors opened one warm May morning and AHA was at our doorstep. Joining Agents Helping Agents solved our most pressing problem, our lack of markets in the face of strong competition. Since that day, we have been able to compete and win against agencies 10 times our size on a wide variety of accounts. I was elated to receive a bonus check after only six months with the AHA network!”
—Alex Larue
Larue Insurance
In July of 2006 I was at a point in my career trying to decide if I wanted to continue down the path as a captive agent, or leave 8 years behind me and become an independent agent. As you well know the decision was a tough one at the time for financial reasons but I believed in Agents Helping Agents and took the opportunity to become an independent agent. What a blessing this was.My affiliation with Agents Helping Agents and SIAA has given me the access to many of today’s top insurance carriers in addition to a number of specialty carriers. This has given my agency the edge in providing quality insurance products at competitive pricing for both personal and commercial exposures therefore making this agency beneficial for the new generation of insurance buyers in the years behind.After 13 months my agency is positioned to be the best agency in its history. My clients and commissions are equal to my past 8 years as a captive agent in such a short time. This alone is exciting for both my agency and my family. My family is excited to know that their future now more secure because of the decision I made to join Agents helping agents.
I would like to personally thank you and your staff for a wonderful transition to become and independent agency. Everything you promised was carried out without any hesitation and with complete professionalism. I would not hesitate to recommend Agents Helping Agents for any individual who is looking for the cutting edge in their agency.
Sincerely,
—Darrell E. Russell
As you know when I joined AHA I was grasping for the last knot in my rope and had nowhere else to grab. I am so glad I am a member of AHA. My agency has done a complete 360-degree turn. My whole outlook on the Insurance industry and life in general is so positive. What have achieved since 2004 is phenomenal.I would first like to thank Tim for giving me the opportunity to achieve my goals and for believing in me. Second, I would like to thank Blaine for pointing me in the direction that we have gone. And last, thank you to the whole crew for putting up with all my madness, what a journey we have traveled together.SIAA is the most sought after insurance group in the nation and AHA is the number region in the country. The two together have helped me make the right choices and we have the best portfolio of companies in town. It has enhanced every aspect of my life, business, and personal. I have grown in the last two years (October 3, 2005) from a one-man operation in a one-room office in a storage facility to a 5-person staff in a two-story office building.
In closing I must compliment the whole crew on their honesty, work ethic and patience. If anyone out there is contemplating a move in our direction has any doubt, please let me put it to rest. This is a first class organization and your peers and your clients will recognize it. Again, thank you for allow me the opportunity to be your partner.
With much success,
—Shane Cox
I remember Tim Hyland Telling me early in 2001 that becoming an independent agent has a learning curve, is not easy, and you will still have to work hard. The working hard part did not phase me but the learning curve part, I have to admit, scared me. I had been made to feel as if something was wrong with me after 10 years pouring my life into the Kleinschmidt agency with one of the largest captive companies out there. From the day I started to the day I resigned as a captive agent ten years later, it seems my life was a complete and difficult mess, financially and physically. Daily struggle and all the chaos and disharmony is what I am reminded of from those days. No matter how hard I worked, and no matter how many Agent of the Month, Agent of the Year, Toppers CLub trips, or plaques for this or that – I still missed the ‘mark’. I took great pride in working harder than the next agent and in going the extra mile with every insured, the easy ones and the difficult ones. Despite my efforts, it seemed the end result with the insurance company was this, and I paraphrase, ‘You come up short, Jeff’. I was led to believe that it was somehow my fault; I was starving and miserable.I remember it like it was yesterday. My contract was drafted on 09/01/01 and signed on 09/04/01. A few days later on 09/11/01, our great Nation changed in front of us in an instant and my life began to change along with it, including my career. I have to compare my personal life to my professional life because, in reality, its really one and the same. Being the same and not putting on a show to impress someone has always made an impression on me with anyone I meet. We just need to be real. Do what you and say what you do. Have integrity.On September 10, 2001, the day before 9/11 hit, I had already signed the SIAA contract and was busy pluggind away at learning the Independent Agency World. A very close friend of mine asked me to start running in the morning to get in shape, so off we ran. I had no idea what would happen, just over 24 hours from our first run. America as we knew it changed. Lives we destroyed, and we discovered that out properity and success as a Nation was obviously not so popular. As we looked at the smoldering wreckage sites, fewar gropped the nation, and tears were plenty. In spite of it all, Americans seemed to be united, and everyone pulled together for their hurting brothers and sisters and tried to help in anyway possible.
That day, I placed a rock in my right show as a reminder of the tragedy and to remind me to pray for those hurting as well as other things going on in my life. I watched as the grim news filled the channels, and yet I saw and felt the hope of a Nation united – pulling together as I have never seen before. Bittersweet is how I would describe it. Anyway, I have a kept that rock in my right show almost every day as reminder of the things we all experienced and as a reminder that we need each other. It’s become a part of me. Every once in a while it will get in a position and cause a little pain, just like our personal and professional lives. They are not pain fee. But for the most part the rock is where I hardly notice it but can still feel it with each step and know what it stands for to me – unity, the power of everyone working together, prayer, comfort, healing, being solid like a rock. I have to say all that to simply state this, thats how I still feel about AHA and the SIAA organization. Especially the part about the power of everyone working together and being solid like a rock. They are a strong comparison to that rock in my life. Joining SIAA through AHA was like inheriting a strong family who owned a fortune and was willing to share it.
Now all the hard work I put into the agency, just like before, is being rewarded with many more accolades, far outweighing any plaques on a wall. The attitude the Alliance and the insurance companies involved are presented like this: ‘What can we do to help you Jeff?’ Thats how I perceive it in a place of ‘You are falling short’ now. My work ethic and work habits have not changed, and yet my agency is far more successful than ever before just in these short 6 years compared to the full 10 years as a captive. If I did not change, then it must mean that this has been a phenomenal deal. Becoming an Independent Agent has been one of the great highlights in my life. Joining SIAA is like finding a valuable pearl in an unlikely place, a great it is!
I would like to end this with one word term used in the Military,
‘Hooyah!’
—Jeff Kleinschmidt
Evansville, Indiana
In today’s competitive marketplace with insurance companies merging, changing underwriting and marketing directions, or just increasing volume requirements, the independent insurance agency’s business environment has become more challenging. Our solution to continue as an independent agent was joining forces with Agents Helping Agents. Prior to AHA, we were looking for ways to grow to the next level and AHA has provided the availabilitiy to more insurance companies, immediate underwriting clout, and the opportunity to increase bonuses and commission levels. By achieving those immediate benefits, we have had a competitive advantage in our market area and realized a bottom line profit increase. As an added incentive, we have gained a higher level of awareness and insight to our industry and company trends through Tim Hyland’s forethought and access to company leaders. As we plan for the future, we now have the ability to grow understanding the current and predicted trends within our industry.Lastly, but definitely not least, the opportunity to network with similar agencies like ourselves and the ongoing marketing support supplied by Blaine Tewell has been an invaluable resource. We have changed our agency’s entire marketing plan based on proven techniques passed down by Blaine and Tim.The open, honest, and candid communication with all of the AHA staff has made it an enjoyable working relationship. In the past, we have evaluated various opportunities to further manage and grow our business and we can without a doubt say each and everyday, we at Henneberger Flynn Insurance have been blessed to find a partnership organization that truly believes in a great group of agents helping other agents.
Please feel free to contact us to hear directly how great this relationship has been for our agency.
Sincerely,
—Russ Flynn
Agent/Owner
—Lynda Flynn
Agent/Owner
