Frequently Asked Questions

About Darkhorse Insurance Brokers

Darkhorse is neither an aggregator nor a cluster. Darkhorse is a platform model that solves operational challenges far beyond just providing carrier contracts. This one-of-a-kind platform solves common operational challenges around the systems (Tech Stack), marketing, accounting, recruiting, hiring, training, selling, etc., necessary to scale an insurance agency effectively.

Darkhorse provides multiple carrier options at higher commission rates. It does this while providing all of the infrastructure support that captive agents take for granted. When captive agents become independent, they often realize they need to set up and manage these critical support functions on their own.

You are an agent who has the ambition to grow your agency to a minimum of $10M in premium (at least $1M in revenue). You have personal lines expertise and the ambition to write commercial lines if you are not already skilled enough to do so. Also, you would like to benefit from the knowledge base, skills, & expertise of a community and subject matter experts that can ease the learning curve.

Time is money. The Rapid Launch Timeline is designed to build out your entire infrastructure, including carrier contracts, and have you writing your first policy in 4-6 weeks instead of the traditional 12-18 months.

The Darkhorse contract is perpetual in nature.

We have access to a robust list of personal and commercial carriers on a nationwide basis. However, due to current market conditions, we are only offering Personal Lines in the State of Arizona. Our Commercial solution is available in 46 States. When the market shifts in Personal Lines, we will begin opening up access to carriers, starting in the Southwest and expanding through the rest of the US as our insurance company partners allow.

Carrier Access and Commissions

Ability to earn up to 90% based on the size of your book of business.

As soon as your infrastructure is built and you have your first set of carrier appointments, you can begin writing business. This typically takes 4-6 weeks, depending on how quickly you can get us back the information we need to complete the setup.

We provide access to personal and commercial lines, as well as flood, specialty, excess & surplus lines.

Our rapid launch carrier panel typically consists of 15 carriers covering personal lines, commercial lines, flood, specialty, excess & surplus lines. The number of carriers at launch is dependent on agent specialization and agent resident state.

There are no production requirements. However, some national markets will require agent activity before issuing a direct code. We work with the agents to set objectives and support them in achieving those goals.

The short answer is yes. Darkhorse is invested in the success of its agents and will consider appointments outside of the Darkhorse carrier mix on a case-by-case basis.

Yes! Access to the quoting systems is direct and our agents have the authority to bind business on their own.

Ownership and Transition

Yes, our agents own their book 100% from day 1.

There are no vesting periods. Darkhorse agents own and control their book 100%, subject to the terms and conditions of the agreement.

Yes, the book can be given to the heirs of the retiring insurance agent.

Darkhorse Insurance gets the first right of refusal to buy the book back. If Darkhorse elects to waive this right, the book can then be sold on the open market.

Fees and Services

No! Darkhorse does not charge any monthly membership fees. Any ongoing monthly fees are “pass-through” costs for expenses paid upfront by Darkhorse for services provided for the operation of the Darkhorse agent.

Agents pay a one-time fee of $9,950 to become a Darkhorse Agent.

This covers the cost to have your entire infrastructure built from compliance to accounting setup, agency management system configuration, cloud server setup, phone system, tech stack and all relevant applications, and processing of carrier appointments. This also includes ongoing support from our subject matter experts.

We have our own proprietary reporting tools to track quotes, close ratios, cross-sell ratios, premiums won, book of business, retention, referral partners, carrier reports, and more.

Additional Information

The future of Darkhorse is to continue to invest in technology, including AI and other emerging software and lead generation solutions, while strategically growing our carrier partners and continuing to deliver an unprecedented agent experience.

We carefully vet the agents brought onto the Darkhorse platform. If, at any time, you decide it is not for you, we can buy the book back from you, subject to the terms of the agreement.