GROUP 500 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

General Questions

  

Q. Why did you pick our agency to join Group 500?

A. You are either a long-time IMMS Member, you were recommended by another Group 500 Member — and/or you were chosen because of your size, longevity, and reputation. Group 500 has the largest 10,000 agencies in the U.S. on its mailing list.

Q. What’s the main purpose of Group 500?

A. Group 500 was formed in 1993 to unite more than 500 of the top agencies and brokerages in North America so that each benefits from the value of the whole. Unified action, with particular emphasis on distributing insurance-oriented products and services, gives Members a"decisive advantage" over the competition. Group 500 harnesses the power of the many — greater than the sum of its components — to preserve its independence. The motto of Group 500 (“When Everybody Boosts, Everybody Wins”) explains Group 500 in five words.

  

Q. As a Member, will my agency/brokerage own an exclusive territory?

A. Any Group 500 member can sell Group 500 products and services anywhere. There are no "exclusive selling territories" as such. But as a practical matter, Group 500 bylaws limit membership to one agency per 500,000 in population. So unless you’re in a large urban area where the size of the population warrants multiple members (for instance, New York City, Los Angeles, and a few other large cities), there should be no other member located near you. By default, then, you might consider your area a territory.

A. As member agencies grow, this does happen. In fact, Group 500 agencies have more than 1,000 offices (main offices and their branches) throughout North America. There are no restrictions on other Group 500 agencies, through their branches or in any other way, from selling in and around your location(s). Nor are you restricted in selling near the locations of others.

Q. Where do Group 500 programs and products come from?

A. Everywhere. Directly from Members. From insurers that need to market products through distribution systems other than their own. From General Agencies. From captive insurance company management. From Group 500 staff Members. From reinsurers. From financial institutions. Group 500 continually evaluates new programs and selects only the best to offer Members.

Q. May we submit programs?

  

A. Yes! Every Group 500 member is encouraged to offer products and programs for distribution.

Q. Are all products exclusive to Group 500 Members?

A. Some, but not all. Group 500 usually has to earn an exclusive arrangement. However, all approved programs offer a distinct advantage to Group 500 Members: Territory-exclusive territories, higher commissions than non-Group 500 Members, pre-approved leads, a directed marketing effort, telemarketing, lead time on other competitors, and other advantages that make it worthwhile to give the Group 500 endorsement. As Group 500 proves itself a viable marketing force, we expect more programs to be sold exclusively through the Group 500 network.

Q. Do other organizations like Group 500 exist?

A. There are many clusters of agencies — gathered to distribute products in certain geographical, state, or provincial organizations — and a few national groups that primarily serve networking purposes. But as far as we know, Group 500 is the only national or international organization that exists primarily to distribute insurance and financial products worldwide while maintaining ownership and autonomy with the local Member.

Q. Who owns Group 500?

A. Insurance Marketing and Management Services (IMMS) owns a majority interest in Group 500. Some Member agencies and associate Members also own Group 500 stock, together with IMMS.

Q. Who runs it?

  

A. George Nordhaus is chairman.

  

We have a full team of professionals reviewing our offerings on a constant basis. For more info on our management team, please click here.
 

Q. How do I justify our investment in Group 500?

Q. Are there requirements of me as a member?

Q. Must we sell every Group 500 product or program?

A. No. But Group 500 gives you a chance to sell applicable programs and to decide whether each program fits your agency's needs. If it does, you're asked to appoint an agency “champion” for each program. If it doesn't, prospects are normally assigned to Member agencies that express an interest in that particular program.

Q. What is the cost per territory?

A. $4.000 for EACH territory in the U.S., with no exceptions and a one-year commitment. NOTE: To see if your territory is available, go to www.group500.com.

Q. Can an agency take more than one territory?

A. Only in exceptional circumstances. It is in all Group 500 Members’ interest to have as many members as possible, and as we are limited to the number we can take we discourage members from taking more than one territory.

Q. Can any Group 500 Member sell anywhere? Can others sell into my territory?

A. Any Group 500 Member can sell any Group 500 product anywhere. The territorial divisions are designed to have no more than one Member per 500,000 population, giving each Member a large enough population base to be able to serve properly. In urban areas it's often difficult to have agencies separated in distance, but there's never more than one per 500,000.

Q. Are we required to sell any certain number of products or services?

A. No. But at some point if you are not selling the products, Group 500 is put into a precarious position with its vendors (Group 500 must promise vendors national or regional coverage). At that time, we will have a little talk.

Q. Is anything required of us to promote the national site, 2OrderDirect.com?

A. No. Group 500 will do all the promotion and marketing of the national site. This is a science in itself, can be a very expensive project, and a never-ending one. It is why so many dollars are being spent on the creation and the eventual marketing of 2OD to the multi-hundreds of millions of prospects in the world.

Q. Then what is our job on 2OrderDirect.com?

A. Your only responsibility is to cross-sell any new customers (if you so desire), follow up on the leads, and cash your commission checks as they start to flow.

Q. Is it mandatory that we use 2OrderDirect.com on our Web site?

A. No. Nothing in Group 500 Membership requires specific use of any Group 500 service or product.

Q. Who will promote 2OrderDirect.com on our agency's Web site?

A. You will. But you'll have lots of help from the supply of advertising and marketing materials, as well as an ongoing influx of new ideas, coming from IMMS and Group 500 Members and staff.

Q. Is there a way of predicting income from 2OrderDirect?

A. No one knows how much, if any, income will be generated, either from agency Web sites or from the national site. We do know the number of Internet searchers for insurance each day, week, hour, or month — and that this number is increasing day by day. Because there has never been a national site offering our range of products from one source, with an independent agency or brokerage in the picture, any prediction is risky.

Q. How do we figure the value of leads we get from 2OrderDirect.com?

A. It depends on how good they are, what percentage you close, and other factors in your shop's operations.

 

Q. Where does IMMS fit into the Group 500 Membership?

A. IMMS Membership is included with Group 500 Membership.

 

Q. We think of ourselves as the best agency in our territory. What happens if we don't take our territory for Group 500?

A. Then the second best agency will be accepted. Group 500 WILL be completely full in fall 2005.

Q. How can I get more information and see if I’m eligible to become a Group 500 member?

A. Call George Nordhaus directly at (800) 753-4467, extension 910.