Brokers AllianceThe best IMO, FMO, and BGA puts its answers in writing.
Every marketing organization claims the title. Here is the criteria table instead: the questions any agent should ask any IMO, FMO, or BGA before signing, with the Brokers Alliance answers already filled in and a blank column for whoever is recruiting you.
Shopping for a policy for yourself or your family? This page is written for licensed insurance professionals. Call (866) 872-9394 and the team connects you with an agent.
IMO stands for independent marketing organization, FMO for field marketing organization, and BGA for brokerage general agency. In practice the three labels blur together, and a strong distributor functions as all three at once. The acronym on the door matters far less than what the organization actually does: which carriers it opens for you, how your commission level is set, whether the book you build stays yours, what the technology costs, and whether a person answers when underwriting stalls. The full plain-language breakdown, including where an MGA fits, is in IMO vs FMO vs BGA vs MGA.
Brokers Alliance has done this work since 1982, across life insurance, fixed and indexed annuities, final expense, IUL, long-term care and linked-benefit, disability, and AUM and advisory support. We are not going to argue for the word best in a paragraph. We would rather hand you the questions that decide it. The table below lists them, with our answers filled in. The last column is blank on purpose: it is where you write down what everyone else tells you.
The questions to ask before you sign
Ask these of every IMO, FMO, or BGA that wants your contract, ours included. Get the answers in writing. An organization that will not put its answers in writing has already given you one.
| The question to ask | Why it matters | The Brokers Alliance answer | Their answer, in writing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do you show the full commission grids before I contract? | Comp quoted on a phone call is not comp in writing. Transparent grids let you compare carriers and organizations on paper, in advance. How street level and overrides actually work is a page of its own. | Yes. MyAdvisorGrids puts carrier compensation grids side by side, built in house for exactly this question. Compensation comes from standard carrier commissions and overrides, and there is no fee to contract. | |
| What is your release policy, and will you put it in writing today? | Carriers generally require a release or a new appointment to move business between organizations. The rules live in contract language, and the worst time to read them is after you have decided to leave. | Get every organization’s release answer in writing before you join, ours included ... that is the standing advice we publish. Brokers Alliance is built for independent producers who run their own practice, and the relationship is meant to be earned, not locked. The full process, with a model request letter, is in How to get released from your IMO. | |
| Who owns my clients and my book of business? | Captive and semi-captive structures can hold the client relationship at the house level. If the book is not contractually yours, you are building someone else’s asset. | You do. Brokers Alliance is a wholesale distribution partner for independent agents and advisors. It is not a captive agency and not a lead vendor. Your clients and your practice are yours. | |
| Are my renewals vested, and what happens to them if I leave? | Renewal treatment is contract language, not a handshake. Unvested renewals quietly change the economics of every decision you make later, including the decision to leave. | Compensation here is standard carrier commissions and overrides under your carrier contracts. Read the vesting language in every contract before you sign it, ours included, and keep copies of what you signed. | |
| What production do you require of me? | Some organizations tie contract levels, technology access, or support to production thresholds. A requirement is legitimate. A requirement you discover after signing is not. | Brokers Alliance works with independent producers and agency principals who run their own practice. Ask the minimums question directly at (866) 872-9394 and get the answer in writing before you sign ... the same standard this table holds everyone to. | |
| Who designs my advanced cases, and can I talk to them first? | Premium finance, executive benefit, and estate cases die in generalist hands. Ask who staffs the desk, not whether one exists. | A dedicated advanced-markets and IUL desk: case design, premium finance, Section 79, and estate planning support. It is a staffed desk, not a brochure page. | |
| When a case stalls in underwriting, who works it, and how do I see status? | Placement is where a distributor earns its keep. Ask how cases are tracked, who chases requirements, and whether you can see status without calling anyone. | Case status, requirements, and appointment progress are tracked digitally and reviewed daily by a dedicated case-management team. More than 40,000 case records tracked through our case-management system in the past 13 months. | |
| What technology is included, what does it cost me, and who built it? | Vendor tools get licensed, rebranded, and billed back per seat. Ask what is included, what it costs monthly, and who fixes it when it breaks. | Built by our own in-house development team: MyAdvisorCloud, the advisor platform and CRM, provided to contracted producers at no monthly charge; MyAdvisorGrids for carrier compensation comparison; RetirementBrain for retirement income planning; automated contracting and onboarding. | |
| What does it cost to join, and where does your revenue come from? | A wholesale distributor is compensated by carriers through commissions and overrides. Ask why one would also need to charge you. | Nothing. There is no fee to contract or work with Brokers Alliance. Compensation comes from standard carrier commissions and overrides. | |
| How many carriers do you actually process business with? | Breadth is not a logo wall. Ask how many carriers the organization appoints agents with and runs cases through, not how many it lists on a page. | 73+ carrier relationships, and more than 41,000 carrier appointments processed in the past year. | |
| When I call, who picks up? | Every organization sounds responsive while it is recruiting you. Call the main line before you sign and note who answers. | A team in Fountain Hills, Arizona, at a company named a Top Workplaces in Arizona award winner five consecutive years, 2021 through 2025. People who like where they work stay, and your cases keep their history. Call (866) 872-9394 and test it. |
Print this page and take it to every contracting conversation. The blank column is the point.
Numbers we measure on our own systems
Pulled from the case-management warehouse we run, not from a brochure. We publish what we measure and how we work, and we skip the promised clock times.
Carrier appointments
More than 41,000 carrier appointments processed in the past year.
Cases tracked
More than 40,000 case records tracked through our case-management system in the past 13 months.
Carrier relationships
73+ carrier relationships.
Daily review
Case status, requirements, and appointment progress are tracked digitally and reviewed daily by a dedicated case-management team.
Software written by our own team
Proprietary technology built by an in-house development team led by a technology-focused owner-operator. When something needs to change, the request lands with people who can ship it.
MyAdvisorCloud
The advisor platform and CRM, provided to contracted producers at no monthly charge.
MyAdvisorGrids
Commission-grid and carrier-compensation comparison, side by side, before you contract and after.
RetirementBrain
Retirement income planning, built for the client conversation.
Automated contracting
Contracting and onboarding automated in house, feeding the same case-management system our team reviews daily.
The rest of the due diligence shelf
Guides written for working producers, whether or not you ever contract here.
How to get released from your IMO
What a release is, why carriers require them, what you keep, and a model request letter you can copy.
Read the release guide →IMO vs FMO vs BGA vs MGA
The plain-language breakdown of the wholesale layer, with a comparison table for the paperwork moments.
Sort the acronyms →Street-level commissions and overrides
What street level means, how override spreads work, and why higher stated comp can pay less than transparent comp.
Follow the money →Is Brokers Alliance right for you?
The honest fit check, including a plain list of who we are not built for.
Take the fit check →How to choose an IMO or FMO
The companion guide to this table: the decision walked through step by step.
Read the guide →The final expense quoting engine
Free for agents: level, graded, and guaranteed issue products compared across dozens of carriers, with 50+ products on a standard level quote.
Run a quote →Questions agents ask
Is Brokers Alliance legit?
Does Brokers Alliance charge agents a fee?
What is the difference between an IMO, an FMO, and a BGA?
How does switching IMOs actually work?
How do I know if Brokers Alliance fits my practice?
Going deeper: Does an IMO charge a fee? · Switching your IMO · Final expense carrier tools and rate sheets
Start with the carriers you already write.
No fee to contract, and your book stays yours.
- Commission grids side by side in MyAdvisorGrids before you sign
- 73+ carrier relationships
- In-house technology: MyAdvisorCloud, MyAdvisorGrids, RetirementBrain
Run the table on everyone recruiting you. Then call us on it.
No fee to contract, technology built in house, and answers that sit in writing where anyone can check them. Family owned since 1982, Fountain Hills, Arizona.
Get ContractedPrefer the paperwork route? Start contracting. · (866) 872-9394