Fieldhill Loans helps independent and captive insurance agencies in Columbus, IN and Bartholomew County, IN request term loans to buy an agency or a book of business, working capital for commission-timing gaps, and lines of credit for producer hiring. Partners review commission statements, retention and the purchase terms, then decide.
| Bartholomew County, IN insurance agency employers | 38 establishments (NAICS 524210), CBP 2023 |
|---|---|
| Under five employees | 81.6% of them, CBP 2023 |
| Agency businesses without payroll | 64, Nonemployer Statistics 2024 (NAICS 52421) |
How insurance agencies use funding
An agency has few physical assets. Its value is the book: the policies in force, the commissions they pay and how many renew. Funding requests follow from that. Buying an agency or a book is a term loan; carrying wages and rent between commission statements is working capital; hiring a producer who will not cover their cost for a year is a line of credit or working capital.
Partners read commission history and retention.
Agencies across Bartholomew County, IN in the Census tables
County Business Patterns counted 38 insurance agency employer establishments (NAICS 524210, agencies and brokerages) in Bartholomew County, IN in 2023, with 158 paid employees and about $9.2 million in annual payroll. These are small offices: 31 of the 38, or 81.6%, had fewer than five employees. Twenty-eight had a ZIP 47201 address (ZIP Business Patterns 2023).
Nonemployer Statistics counted 64 agency businesses without payroll in 2024, at the slightly broader NAICS 2022 code 52421. The two counts come from different programs and describe different businesses, so they are not added.
For context, the wider finance and insurance sector had 129 employer establishments in the county in 2023, 62.0% of them under five people.
Commissions, producers and the cash gap
Commission timing
New-business and renewal commissions arrive on carrier schedules, monthly for some and less often for others. Some carriers pay commissions as premiums are collected, which spreads income across the policy term.
Producers
A new producer is paid salary or draw long before their book produces commissions. That ramp-up is a cash gap an agency can see coming months ahead.
Office and systems
Agency management systems, rating tools and office costs are fixed costs.
Matching agency needs to funding types
| Need | Where Fieldhill would start |
|---|---|
| Buying an independent agency or a book | Insurance agency acquisition loan (term loan) |
| Wages between commission statements | Working capital |
| Producer ramp-up over a year | Line of credit |
| Office move or second office | Term loan |
How to buy an independent insurance agency from a retiring owner
Partners reviewing an insurance agency acquisition focus on the book. Expect them to ask for several years of commission statements by carrier, retention or renewal rates, the mix of personal and commercial lines, carrier appointment status after the sale, and the purchase agreement, including any seller note or earn-out. A book concentrated in one carrier or a handful of large accounts can carry more risk than a broad one.
Plan for the transition: some clients leave when ownership changes. A purchase price that assumes every policy renews leaves no margin.
Business loans for insurance agents starting a second office
Small business loans for insurance agents opening a second office combine a term loan for the space with working capital for the months before the new office's book grows. The Fieldhill post on working capital for insurance agents and agencies in Columbus, IN works through the cash side in detail.
Retention: a key number in an agency request
Retention is the share of policies, or of commission dollars, that renew each year. It bears on the value of a book and on how much a buyer can borrow against it. Commercial lines can renew differently from personal lines, and a book with a few large commercial accounts can lose a big slice of its income if one client leaves.
Calculate retention by commission dollars as well as by policy count, using the last two or three years of statements. If the two figures differ sharply, partners may ask why, so have the answer ready: a lost large account, a carrier that left the state, or a deliberate clean-up of unprofitable policies.
What partners commonly review for an agency
- Commission statements by carrier for several years.
- Retention or renewal rates.
- Bank statements showing commission deposits.
- For a purchase: the agreement, seller financing terms and the book's carrier mix.
- Existing debts and any prior acquisition notes.
A labeled example, not an offer
Hypothetical figures only: an agent buys a retiring owner's personal-lines book that produced $118,000 in commissions last year, with 88% retention. The seller agrees to carry part of the price as a note. A term loan for the rest, with payments set below what the retained commissions produce after expenses, leaves room for the clients who do not renew. Only a partner can name the real amount and terms.
Related pages
Accounting firms, law firms and other offices are covered briefly on the industries page. The Bartholomew County, IN counts live on the Columbus, IN page.
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