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The Insurance Dudes©Author: The Insurance Dudes: Craig Pretzinger and Jason Feltman
The Insurance Dudes is a weekly podcast for independent and captive P&C insurance agency owners, hosted by Craig Pretzinger and Jason Feltman, covering lead generation, sales scripts, DISC-based hiring, producer training, recruiting, automation, and the KPI tracking that scales an agency past 10 million in premium.Craig and Jason ran their own agencies blind for years. No read on contact rates, quote rates, or close rates. Just grinding, and blaming the leads when production stalled. Then they started tracking the numbers that actually move revenue, and production jumped without adding a single hour to the week.That shift became this show: 800 episodes on what actually runs an agency. Real-time vs aged lead economics, how many dials a day a producer should be making, scripts for the rate-increase objection, how to leave a captive carrier and go independent, how to run an agency on a 4-day week, and how to value and sell an agency when you're ready to exit. No theory, no motivational filler. Just the math and the systems that took two agencies to over 10 million in new annualized auto premium.If you're wearing every hat in your agency and ready to stop, this show is built for you.Website: theidudes.com Built from the show: TeleDudes for outsourced overseas dialers, TeamIQ for DISC-based hiring, LineShield for phone reputation, and Insurance Agency Trader for buying or selling an agency.New episodes every week. Subscribe, and let's sell some policies. Language: en-us Genres: Business, Careers, Marketing Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Surviving a 60% Rate Hike as a Brand-New Agent with Kathy Hitchcock
Wednesday, 14 October, 2026
Shoot Us A Message!How to protect your P&C agency cash flow and survive sudden rate hikes when carrier underwriting guidelines tighten.Discover how to maintain agency growth, manage customer retention, and scale operations through hard market cycles. Kathy Hitchcock, agency owner of Hitchcock Insurance Group in Rome, Georgia, joins us to break down how she navigated back-to-back carrier rate increases of up to 60% as a scratch agent, scaled organic growth, and doubled her business by acquiring another book of business. If you are evaluating agency acquisitions, book purchases, or agency valuation, check out Insurance Agency Trader.Connect with Kathy Hitchcock: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathy-hitchcock-0b450999/?isSelfProfile=falseKey Takeaways and Timestamps 00:00 Opening up as a scratch agent in 2015 01:38 Facing a 60 percent rate increase in the first six months 04:00 Managing customer retention when rates spike 07:25 Law of large numbers and building cushion against cancellations 08:56 Growing 3 million dollars organically and buying a book of business 10:35 Integrating an acquired book into existing sales and service teams 15:05 Outbound telemarketing and quoting grind to survive early years 18:18 Family support structure and avoiding desperation hires 59:58 Transitioning from top producer to servant leadershipThe Insurance Dudes ResourcesJoin the Agent Elite: https://www.skool.com/agenteliteBest Seller: https://MillionDollarAgencyBook.comInsurance Dudes Files: https://blog.theidudes.comTeamIQ: https://teamiq.theidudes.comTelefunnel Lead Callers: https://theidudes.comILB: https://insuranceleadbrokers.comInsurance Agency Trader: https://trader.theidudes.comIf this helps, subscribe and hit the bell so you can catch every episode.Follow UsFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/theinsurancedudesLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-insurance-dudes-podcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/insurancedudespodcastSupport the showHey there! Thank you for listening! We'd be SUPER GRATEFUL for a subscribe!And a review over on the Apple Podcasts would be incredible!Check out our newsletter, webinar, and some great Internet Lead tactics at The Insurance Dudes Homepage.We appreciate you!Craig Pretzinger & Jason FeltmanThe Insurance Dudes
