The only feasible way to start your own insurance broking business these days is to become an appointed representative (AR) and work under the FCA authority of an AR network principal.

Various AR networks can allow you to do that. However, the only network that will allow you to continue to earn money, as you build your future business, is Gauntlet’s. This is thanks to the unique Gauntlet Brokerage Builder programme, which also allows you to ‘try before you fly’, assessing if the move from account executive to self-employed broker is really for you.

Gauntlet Brokerage Builder launched in late July 2023 and has been devised to allow account executives, who simply cannot afford to move from employment into self-employment overnight, to spend 22 months building up their business before they become their own boss.

During this time, they are employed by Gauntlet Risk Management Ltd as ‘Broking Partner Designates’ and embark on a sales and business-building programme especially designed to help them become a start-up broker.

How does Gauntlet Brokerage Builder operate?

To be offered a partnering agreement with Gauntlet as an AR, a talented account exec needs to hit key targets and meet milestones that are set throughout the Gauntlet Brokerage Builder programme. Doing this will prove they have what it takes to become a self-employed broker partner within the Gauntlet network. This helps avoid any later failure.

If all goals are achieved whilst on the programme, the Broking Partner Designate will then receive an offer to become a Gauntlet Appointed Representative. This is on the terms applicable to those who have ‘graduated’ from the Gauntlet Brokerage Builder programme.

When can I join this Appointed Representative (AR) designate programme?

Applications for the first tranche of Broking Partner Designates opened in July 2023. These first account executives, who have a dream of starting their own insurance brokerage, will start building their businesses in autumn 2023. They are based at Gauntlet’s head office in Leeds.

The second tranche of account executives are scheduled to start building their future client bases as from January/February 2024. The location could be Leeds or elsewhere, having support delivered virtually, if it is the latter. Regular tranches of recruitment operate, so the flow of Broking Partner Designates to fully fledged independent brokers, trading as appointed representatives in partnership with Gauntlet Group, is a continuous one.

More information about the Gauntlet Brokerage Builder programme can be found in this downloadable resource here.

Why could Gauntlet Brokerage Builder be good for me?

Gauntlet Brokerage Builder is the answer many account executives have sought for many years, as they have considered whether they could possibly make it as a start-up broker and survive in their first year of trading.

It is the option many account execs have been crying out for. It puts a completely new spin on the traditional route into life as a self-employed broker. It should lead to the very best talent entering the insurance market, as both local and niche brokers.

Gauntlet Brokerage Builder completely removes the barriers to entry that have existed for many talented account execs with responsibilities and family commitments to consider. It is a game-changer, if you have thought about becoming an AR but believed the dream of running your own insurance broking business was beyond your reach.

What do I relinquish in return for the 22 months of continual support?

This route into becoming an appointed representative has a trade-off. This is a reduced commission split, when you become an AR, to compensate for all the support you received, whilst Gauntlet was employing you and simultaneously helping you grow your business. However, the commission is still generous and you have a ready-made business after 22 months.

For all the de-risking of your future success that has occurred during the programme, it is well worth considering this option, if you simply cannot contemplate the traditional appointed representative route, with its potentially tough first few years, as you build up a client base.

What other routes could I follow to become a Gauntlet Appointed Representative?

This is just one route to becoming an AR with Gauntlet, with the direct move from account executive to start-up broker being another, as explained above. A downloadable resource relating to this option, entitled Become Your Own Broking Boss, can be found in our website’s Resources section.

Then there is GDF, our Gauntlet De-authorisation Fast-track programme that moves struggling local brokers, who have effectively been ‘ghosted’ by the industry and not given agencies or industry support, into a new life as an AR. Another download – Reboot Your Brokerage – explains about this.

Of course, we are always happy to welcome highly professional brokers wishing to make a switch from another network too.