All businesses / Insurance brokerage

Fingerprint: capital · hours · speed to income · margin · ceiling. The dashed line is mid-scale.

Start a insurance brokerage: the real numbers

Commercial cover, renewed yearly. Below is what it actually costs, how long before money arrives, and the part most guides leave out.

Startup capital

€4,000–€25,000

Hours / week

30–55

First income

~20 wks

Net margin

70%

Saturation

low

Realistic ceiling

€0–€9,000+

This ceiling is not a wall

The figure above is what this earns in the shape described — you, running it. Past that it keeps going, but by hiring people or adding units, not by you working more hours. That is a different job from the one you would be starting, and worth knowing before you start it.

What nobody usually tells you

Renewal commission is as close to an annuity as small business gets: the same client pays you every year for doing very little. The first three years are almost all outbound selling into a market that already has a broker.

The route, in five steps

  1. Get authorised or join a network before quoting anything
  2. Commercial lines, not personal — comparison sites own personal
  3. Renewal commission is the whole asset: keep every client
  4. Niche into one trade and learn its risks properly
  5. Three years in, renewals cover your costs before you sell anything

What you'll need to buy

These are the categories every insurance brokerage pays for in the first month. We break down what each one actually costs at this size on the tools page.

authorisationnetwork or agency agreementsCRMindemnity insurance

Does it hold up for you?

These numbers are the average case. Whether this business clears your target depends on your capital, your hours and how long you can wait — put them in and see.

Run my numbers → See the tool stack