Personal Insurance Agent Business Plan

The business will finance its growth from a combination of the free cash flows generated by the business and a loan taken out in the second year to finance the move to a small office space in Peristyle Gardens. Beyond the first three years, growth will be possible by adding more agents and moving to a larger office space when the initial space is no longer adequate (when a third associate must be added).

The business is not well positioned for a sale as it will be built on the expertise of Kolem Plynthe. However, profits may become extensive when the appropriate scale is achieved and the business can expand to additional personal insurance products or financial advisory services.

Start-up Funding

Plynthe Insurance will be launched with Kolem Plynthe’s own resources, including credit card debt, personal savings, and some credit extended by vendors providing start-up services.

Important Assumptions

This plan assumes the following:

• That younger residents of Peristyle Gardens will value the personal attention (coupled by the lure of the best priced insurance) offered by Plynthe Insurance rather than go straight to brand name carriers
• That enough young residents will remain in Peristyle Gardens (move from renting to owning) and grow families to make the focus on young residents worthwhile in the long run

Break-even Analysis

As shown below a low monthly break even point leads to break even from a profit perspective in the nineth month of operation.

Projected Profit and Loss

Net profit will be on top of a healthy salary for Kolem Plynthe, showing that the business will be well worth the small initial investment to launch. Gross margins are very high (as is standard for the insurance brokerage industry) and overhead is rather low. The main costs will be payroll for the insurance agents. Lower salaries can be paid in the future for new associate agents as less experienced, but malleable, agents are brought into the business.

Projected Cash Flow

The projected cash flow shows the business investing in additional assets (furniture, computers, equipment) in the second year and third year to equip the office. While the cash balance of the business is low, the salary paid to Kolem Plynthe will act as a safety valve and can be reduced if the cash is not currently available.

Projected Balance Sheet

The balance sheet reflects that assets will not need to be purchased until the second year when the business moves from the home office of Kolem Plynthe to a small commercial office space in Peristyle Gardens.

Business Ratios

The business rations for Plynthe Insurance are compared here against insurance agencies and brokerages (NAISC industry code 534210, SIC code 6411) of under $500,000 annual revenue. The accounts receivable ratio for the business is higher than the industry average as all accounts will be paid out of commissions from insurance providers after the policies have been processed and bills put through their systems. Also, the fact that the industry average S G & A expense and Advertising expense is much lower (as a percentage of sales) than that of Plynthe Insurance shows that the business can grow to a much greater scale, spreading its current relatively fixed costs over more agents and becoming more profitable in the process. As the business grows, this will be possible.