Most brokerage recruiting conversations are too polite.
The producer asks about the split. The brokerage talks about culture, markets and support. Everyone nods. The awkward details get pushed into the agreement, or worse, discovered after the move.
If you are a commercial producer considering a new brokerage, ask the awkward questions early.
1. Who owns the book?
Start here.
If you source the relationship, write the account and manage the client, what exactly do you own? The expiration? A right to buy it? Nothing? Does the answer change for house leads, referrals, inherited accounts or accounts you bring with you?
Ask for the answer in writing. If the recruiter cannot explain it plainly, the agreement probably will not be plain either.
2. What happens if I leave?
This is not disloyal. It is basic diligence.
Ask:
- Can I solicit clients I sourced?
- Is there a non-solicit?
- Is there a non-compete?
- Is there a buyout formula?
- Does the brokerage keep renewals?
- What happens to accounts mid-policy?
Good firms can answer without getting defensive.
3. What is the renewal split?
New business gets the headline. Renewals determine whether you are building equity in your work.
If the offer is around 40% on new business and 25% on renewals, that may be familiar. It should not be treated as inevitable. A 60% new-business split and 50% renewal split changes the value of the same book without requiring the producer to write a different kind of account.
Ask whether renewal compensation changes after year one, whether it changes if service work is handled centrally, and whether expansion revenue is treated as new business or renewal.
That last detail matters. Commercial accounts grow.
4. Who services the account?
“We have support” is not an answer.
Ask who handles:
- certificates
- endorsements
- billing questions
- loss runs
- renewal questionnaires
- remarketing
- carrier follow-up
- evidence of insurance
- contract wording questions
Then ask how many accounts each service person handles. Support that is overloaded is not support. It is a queue.
5. Which markets can I actually use?
Carrier access should be discussed by appetite, not logo.
If you write construction, ask about roofers, demolition, habitational construction and wrap-ups. If you write technology, ask about Tech E&O, cyber, AI endorsements and contractual liability. If you write property, ask about CAT zones, habitational, lender requirements and umbrella.
The only access that matters is access that quotes.
6. Who builds submissions?
Submission quality decides whether underwriters engage.
Ask whether there is help turning messy client information into a real submission. Ask who writes the narrative, who gathers supplemental applications, who checks loss runs and who follows up.
If the answer is “you do,” that is fine. Just price it into the economics.
7. How quickly do producers get paid?
Ask when commission is paid:
- on invoice
- on client payment
- after carrier statement
- monthly
- quarterly
- only after minimum thresholds
Cash timing matters, especially if you are moving from salary or draw.
8. What technology actually changes my day?
Do not ask whether the brokerage “uses AI.” Ask what work disappears.
Good answers sound like:
- less re-keying
- faster submission prep
- cleaner renewal tracking
- automatic document extraction
- fewer status-chasing emails
- better visibility into where each account stands
Bad answers sound like a product demo with no effect on your week.
9. Can I talk to a producer who joined recently?
This is the fastest way to cut through recruiting language.
Ask that producer:
- what surprised them
- what was better than expected
- what was worse
- whether the service support is real
- whether the market access matched the pitch
- whether they would make the move again
If the brokerage will not introduce you, note that.
10. What kind of producer should not join?
Every model has a wrong fit.
A good brokerage can say who should not join. Maybe it is producers who want personal lines. Maybe it is producers who do not prospect. Maybe it is producers who want to run their own agency infrastructure. Maybe it is producers who need a salary-heavy structure.
The answer tells you whether they understand their own model.
The final test
After the call, you should be able to explain the deal in one paragraph:
I get X split on new business, Y on renewals, the brokerage handles A/B/C, I own or do not own the book under these terms, and if I leave this is what happens.
If you cannot say that cleanly, keep asking.
