Lauderdale County, AL had 50 insurance agency employers in 2023, and two-thirds had fewer than five employees. Agencies grow by writing new policies or buying another agency's book. This page covers the county's counts, how an agency purchase is financed and read, a worked book purchase, and the records partners ask for.
At a glance
- Employer establishments
50 employer locations countywide (CBP 2023)
- Fewer than five employees
68.0% of the county's 50 (CBP 2023)
- Annual payroll
$12.4 million across 231 employees (CBP 2023)
- Without paid employees
102 counted with no payroll (NES 2024)
Insurance Agency Counts for Lauderdale County, AL
Among insurance agencies (NAICS 524210), Lauderdale County, AL had 50 employer establishments in 2023 with 231 paid employees and $12.4 million in annual payroll; 34 of them, or 68.0%, had fewer than five employees, and 38 used a ZIP 35630 address (County Business Patterns and ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023). That is about 4.6 employees per establishment and about $53,550 of payroll per employee (our arithmetic).
Nonemployer Statistics, a separate program that uses NAICS 2022 codes, counted 102 businesses without paid employees in insurance agencies (NAICS 2022 52421) in the county in 2024, with $7.4 million in combined receipts, or about $72,343 each (our arithmetic). The two programs count different businesses and are not added together here.
Insurance Agency Funding for Florence, AL Owners
An agency's revenue is commission income, much of it from renewals of policies already written. Renewals give an agency a base of income that past statements can show, and they make a book of business something that can be bought and sold. Funding requests fall into two groups: buying a book or a whole agency, and covering costs such as hiring a producer before their sales pay.
Loan to Buy Insurance Agency: When It Fits in Florence, AL
A term loan fits a purchase because the price is paid once and the commissions it buys arrive for years. The partner reads whether the purchased book's commissions, after the buyer's added costs, can carry the payment, and how many policies are likely to stay after the sale.
Illustration only, invented figures: an agency buys a book producing $150,000 a year in commissions for $300,000. Financed at 9.5% a year over 84 months, the payment is about $4,903, or about $58,838 a year. If a fifth of the policies leave in the first year, commissions fall to $120,000, still $61,162 above the annual payment before the agency's own servicing costs (our arithmetic on invented figures).
Insurance Agency Purchase Financing Across Lauderdale County, AL
- Commission statements by carrier for the past two to three years
- A policy list with renewal dates and lines of business
- Retention history: how many policies renewed each year
- The purchase agreement, including any seller financing or earn-out
- The carrier appointments the buyer holds or will need
Insurance Agency Lending: What Partners Review in Florence, AL
Beyond the book, a partner reads the buying agency's own commissions, its expenses and the owners' credit. A seller who agrees to carry part of the price, paid from future commissions, lowers the amount borrowed and shows the seller expects the book to hold.
Insurance Agency Financing Across Lauderdale County, AL
| The cost | Funding type to compare | What a partner reads |
|---|---|---|
| Buying a book of business | Term loan | Commission and retention history |
| Buying an entire agency | Term loan, sometimes with seller financing | Both agencies' records |
| Hiring a producer | Working capital | Current commissions |
| Office move or remodel | Term loan or equipment financing | The plan and quotes |
Loans for Insurance Agency: Notes From Florence, AL
Hiring a new producer means paying salary before their book builds. Working capital can bridge that period; a line of credit fits if hiring repeats. Set the payments against current commission income, not the income the new producer is expected to bring.
Retention Arithmetic Before Pricing a Book in Florence, AL
Retention is the share of policies that renew from one year to the next. It decides how much of a purchased book's income survives the sale, so partners ask for it. Work it out from the seller's policy lists: policies in force a year ago that are still in force today, divided by policies in force a year ago.
Illustration only, invented figures: a book had 1,200 policies a year ago and 1,068 of them are still in force, so retention is 89%. Applied to $150,000 of commissions, a year at that rate keeps about $133,500 (our arithmetic on invented figures). Run the payment against that figure, not the full $150,000.
Questions an Agency Buyer Should Answer Before Calling
- Which carriers write the book, and will they appoint the buyer?
- How is the book split between personal and commercial lines?
- Will the seller stay on for a transition period?
- Is any part of the price paid from future commissions, and over how long?
- What staff come with the agency, and at what cost?
Finance and Insurance Employers by Shoals ZIP, 2023
| ZIP (USPS name) | Finance and insurance employers | Share with fewer than 5 employees |
|---|---|---|
| 35630 (Florence, AL) | 127 | 55.9% |
| 35661 (Muscle Shoals, AL) | 47 | 68.1% |
| 35653 (Russellville, AL) | 37 | 56.8% |
| 35674 (Tuscumbia, AL) | 16 | 43.8% |
| 35660 (Sheffield, AL) | 15 | 53.3% |
ZIP 35630 held 38 of the county's 50 insurance agency employers, or 76.0% (our arithmetic; ZBP and CBP 2023).
By Coastspring Funding Group · Updated