The ROI Agencies Deserve But Rarely Get From Their Network

Agency principals are battling shrinking margins, shifting carrier appetites, rising client expectations, and a talent market that’s harder than ever to compete in. They’re looking to protect every account, motivate a stretched team, and grow in a changing market.

So when it’s time for agency owners to consider joining an insurance network, the decision goes far beyond comparing commission schedules or carrier lists. The real evaluation is deeper and more personal: Who can help my agency grow? Who will help me protect my clients, my people, and the future I’ve worked so hard to build?

Dan McCarthy, CEO of ISU Steadfast, has spent years listening to agency owners. His biggest insight? Most agency principals aren’t looking for a network to change who they are. They’re looking for a partner that helps them become a better version of themselves.

"Value isn’t what an insurance network promises; it’s measured by what principals actually get back: growth they can feel, confidence they can rely on, and the ability to serve clients with excellence and autonomy," says McCarthy.

And that’s where the story of ISU Steadfast begins — not with what a network demands from its members, but with what it empowers them to gain.

Beyond Market Access: The Value Principals Truly Experience

Most network stories start with carrier access, but that’s rarely what keeps principals up at night.

“Principals don’t wake up worrying about losing a carrier; they wake up worrying about losing their biggest client,” explains McCarthy.

That perspective changes everything. Instead of building a system around markets, ISU Steadfast built one around protecting the client relationship.

For many principals, joining a network often comes with strings attached—equity participation, pressure to place business with preferred carriers, gatekeepers who slow down placements, or restrictive volume requirements that make profit-sharing practically unreachable. 

ISU Steadfast’s commitment to independence is one of the first things that stands out. Members keep 100% ownership of their agency. They keep up to 100% of their commissions. They can leave the network without any exit barriers. They aren’t nudged into any particular carrier. They aren’t asked to trade autonomy for access. 

Measuring ROI: How ISU Steadfast Turns Promises Into Tangible Outcomes

For many agency principals, the hardest part about evaluating ROI is quantifying what a network actually does for the business. ISU Steadfast’s value becomes clearer when you look at the outcomes members experience.

Revenue Growth: Why ROI Is More Than Commission Schedules

Agencies often join ISU Steadfast because they want to grow, but what surprises them is how the network strengthens their growth. Supplemental compensation becomes attainable rather than aspirational. 

By leveraging the network’s aggregated premium and national footprint, ISU Steadfast negotiates fixed deals and incentive arrangements far beyond what any single agency could secure on its own. And because ISU Steadfast avoids adding extra layers between agencies and carriers, principals keep more of what they earn.

Carrier Access vs. Real ROI: Expanding Opportunities Nationwide

Geography also works in members’ favor. Carrier appetite and program availability vary by region, but ISU Steadfast’s national footprint gives members access to opportunities that don’t exist everywhere. 

A program that’s strong in the Midwest or on the West Coast becomes accessible to all members, not just those in those regions. That distribution also helps stabilize outcomes: regional regulatory changes, weather-driven loss patterns, or market disruptions don’t affect every member at once. It’s a quiet but meaningful structural advantage.

Autonomy as ROI: Why Direct Underwriter Access Matters

ISU Steadfast members also retain direct access to underwriters, avoiding bottlenecks that come with placement desks. Experienced producers can present the risk story themselves, and the compensation structure is built to reward expertise and quality underwriting, not volume-driven hurdles. 

ROI Through Support: Tools, Community, and Expertise That Drive Growth

One of the most overlooked dimensions of value is how a network develops its members. ISU Steadfast provides growth infrastructure. When an agency joins ISU, it’s never left to figure things out on its own. 

Each member is paired with a relationship manager who understands the tools, compensation pathways, and operational workflows that help agencies improve faster. As McCarthy noted, that manager’s role is to guide principals toward what drives real efficiency and help them achieve measurable value from the network rather than navigate it by trial and error.

Beyond that, members learn from one another. Agency Principal Forums bring together some of the top agencies in the country in a true mastermind setting. Principals share what’s working in compensation structures, technology adoption, hiring strategies, niche development, and client retention. For many, this becomes the single most transformative part of their membership as it accelerates the wisdom curve.

ISU Steadfast’s investment in digital tools creates operational efficiency for its members. The CL Submission Engine speeds up commercial quote-and-bind, enabling producers to submit more business in less time. IVANS PL downloads reduce manual data entry and improve real-time accuracy inside agency management systems. And every agency-facing tool the network develops for the network must meet a single threshold: it must strengthen margins, improve retention, or help an agency win more accounts.

As McCarthy put it, ISU Steadfast doesn’t chase platforms for the sake of technology; it invests in systems that prove their worth by making members more competitive in the marketplace.

Is Your Network Membership Paying Off? Ask These Questions

• Is your network helping your agency operate with more confidence, more capability, and more control than it had before joining?
• Is your network strengthening your client relationships?
• Does your team have the tools and support to perform at a higher level?
• Are you getting full commission, and is profit sharing predictable rather than conditional?
• Are there no minimum volume requirements to qualify for benefits?
• Can your producers talk directly to underwriters, or are they stuck behind a placement desk?
• Do you own your entire book, without restrictions or clawbacks?
• Can you leave the network freely because you are not owned?

If you’ve answered no to any of the above, it’s time to reevaluate your alternatives.

“If a network isn’t helping you protect clients, strengthen your agency, and make more money doing it, why are you in it or would you join?” asks McCarthy.