Appointed representatives are a lesser-known breed within the insurance industry, despite ARs, as they are also known, having used the AR model to start up an insurance brokerage, and become an insurance appointed representative, for nearly two decades now.

Why is this the case?  Well, perhaps it’s because many observers merely see a name above a door and do not examine how an insurance account exec put it there.  For most customers, it is irrelevant whether their insurance broker is directly authorised by the FCA or is running their brokerage through an appointed representative agreement with an AR principal.  Most simply want good insurance provision, at a reasonable price.

For the account executive, the AR route to starting up a brokerage is becoming more important, however.  The choice of ways to ‘get going’ as an independent broker has narrowed.  Insurers have become more demanding when it comes to offering agencies, seeking a significantly high volume of business throughput in return for such a ‘gift’.  That now means that the appointed representative route is really the only feasible one for any aspiring account exec wanting to become their own boss and start their own brokerage.  Agencies, plus all the bolt-ons that an AR principal can provide over and above the core requirement of FCA compliance, have become the core need for any new start-up broker.  Knowing how to become an insurance appointed representative is key.

Why the Appointed representative pathway is the only feasible way to start an insurance brokerage

Whilst direct authorisation has become almost an impossible pathway for the majority of realistic account execs, who recognise that access to market is fundamental to their trading success, it has also become far less attractive to some of those who originally chose this pathway.  Insurer agencies are again partly the reason.  As the income threshold required to secure an agency has increased, it has put that goal beyond the reach of many established brokers.  They now find themselves unable to compete effectively in the market, because they cannot access the policies and premiums that others can enjoy.

Add to this the pressures of direct authorisation, in terms of FCA reporting, accounting stresses, trying to afford the latest IT systems and the difficult search for PI cover and many established brokers now regret their decision to become directly authorised.  It’s a lonely place to be for some.

All of these changes within the insurance market have made the appointed representative model far more attractive – to both new and existing brokers.  Yet many AR networks are only geared up to work with the start-up broker who is founding an insurance brokerage from scratch and looking for all the ancillary support that an AR principal can provide.

That is not the case with Gauntlet Group and the Gauntlet AR Network.  We actually have not just this route but three others besides.  So let’s take a look at the four routes to becoming a Gauntlet appointed representative with the Gauntlet Appointed Representative Network.

How to become an Appointed Representative: Route one

this is the traditional route that we have already discussed, whereby an account exec has a dream of becoming their own insurance boss and of working with clients their way.  It is often driven by a desire to offer clients better service, particularly in an age of extreme insurance consolidation and depersonalisation of the insurance relationship between broker and client.  Those professionals who dislike this process are often determined to put the brakes on it and continue to offer clients first class, face-to-face service, through their own brokerage.

How to become an Appointed Representative: Route two

This is Gauntlet De-authorisation Fast-Track (GDF); a deauthorisation process that we pioneered with the FCA to help brokers change their status from directly authorised broker to appointed representative.  Amazingly, this was not an option until we set about creating the means to reverse the traditional process, which was one in which an appointed representative would move the other way, to try to achieve what, even just ten years ago, was seen as the Holy Grail – direct authorisation.  It has become a case, for many smaller brokers, of “

‘be careful what you wish for’, with too many balls to juggle and too many day-to-day pressures.  To rescue these brokers, we created GDF, worked it through and have now fine-tuned it, to enable a broker to deauthorise in around 8 weeks and become an appointed representative broker partner, whose growth and profitability can be super-charged by the Gauntlet AR Network and its vast access to market.

How to become an Appointed Representative: Route three

When, in 2022, we took up the challenge of spearheading a local broker renaissance in the UK, we recognised that becoming an independent broker is not possible for some talented individuals and insurance account execs, because they do not have a financial buffer that can help see them through the early days of trading.  Some have families to support and need to continue to earn a salary.  Others lack the confidence to take that big leap of faith and back themselves.

To get them over these hurdles and barriers to entry as a self-employed start-up broker, we created Gauntlet Brokerage Builder.  This allows any talented individual, with the right attitude and sales abilities, to build their brokerage whilst still employed, as a Broking Partner Designate with Gauntlet Group.  We help them create a client base that they can take with them when they leave the programme, usually after around 22 months.  We also provide all the mentoring and advice that they need and can help them assess whether they have what it takes to succeed.  Taking the jeopardy out of self-employment and building the confidence of the future broker is what it is all about.  We’ve already proved how well it can work and our first ‘graduate’, Paul Howley of Gauntlet Select, is flying.

How to become an Appointed Representative: Route four

The fourth route to becoming an AR with Gauntlet is through Gauntlet Phoenix. As we said earlier in this article, consolidation has been rampant.  The result has been that many talented brokers sold out, at a relatively early age, and are now kicking sand.  Many have realised that insurance broking was not just a means to make money but also integral to their social life.  Many yearn to get back to broking and start up all over again.

These brokers have been there and done that, so know the ropes and need a different level of support.  Fundamentally, however, they need to start up again as appointed representatives.  To that end, we have devised a Gauntlet Phoenix solution that ticks off all the needs they have as second-time-around brokers.

Summing up for those wanting to become an appointed representative

Gauntlet is more than just an AR Network. It has pioneered new ways to become an appointed representative and demonstrated its thought leadership within the AR world.  It has added new aspects to the AR model, all of which have helped support brilliant, committed brokers, who want to carry on delivering first-class service to clients, totally in line with what the FCA wants to see.

It has championed a local broker renaissance but given the local brokers within this movement a new dimension, that of extreme buying power, which is augmented because Gauntlet also has its own direct sales team.  And it has directed the efforts of that sales team towards helping its broker partners – its appointed representatives – smash their targets and goals.

If you want to become your own insurance broking boss, there is only one place to start and that is with Gauntlet AR Network.  Which route you decide to take, when it comes to becoming an appointed representative with Gauntlet, is entirely down to you.