The Insura-Preneur Podcast

The End of Policy Renewal Sticker Shock? Inside Eventual’s 3-Year Premium Lock

Homeowners insurance is no longer “inflation + a little.” In many states it’s become volatile, uneven, and emotionally exhausting for consumers—and operationally painful for agents trying to retain clients through renewal shocks.
In this episode, Michael sits down with Dylan DiMarchi, CEO of Eventual (the company behind Premium Lock), to unpack a simple but potentially disruptive idea: multi-year premium predictability.
“Insurance pricing actually was more volatile than any other period in human history.”
In this conversation, we cover:
The real-world problem: why homeowners are burned out on surprise renewals
How Premium Lock works (a supplementary product that reimburses amounts above a pre-set threshold)
Why agents are using it not just for retention—but as point-of-sale differentiation
Market insight: what Dylan’s data suggests about where premium growth could trend next
If you’re an independent agent—or an agency leader thinking strategically about differentiation and retention—this one will give you new angles (and a product category to watch).

The Wild Growth Story of a Tiny Oregon Agency Dominating 20+ States

How do you turn a tiny, rural, PC-10 agency into a multi-niche growth machine that closes six-figure accounts without traditional producers?
In this episode, Michael Jans sits down with Cheri Martinen, Managing Partner of Bancorp Insurance, to unpack how her family’s small Oregon agency has grown 6–7x while being surrounded by national forest on three sides.
You’ll hear how Cheri’s parents:
Started by cross-selling their existing book
Stumbled into their first contractor niche
Then built out a portfolio of highly profitable specialties—from wildland firefighters to special water districts and Medicare
Today, Bancorp operates in 20+ states, runs a marketing-driven model, and closes big commercial accounts from inbound demand—no door-knocking producers.
Cheri also breaks down her modern marketing stack:
Consistent blogging and SEO
YouTube shorts and multi-platform social
Hulu ads and geo-targeting around senior centers
Email + voicemail + direct mail campaigns
Automated renewal and cross-sell workflows supported by in-house staff and VAs
And we wrap with Cheri’s angle on AI and visibility:
“At this point, we’re getting leads from ChatGPT. So if you’re not getting leads from ChatGPT, you don’t have enough content out there yet.”
In this episode, you’ll learn:
How a rural “middle of nowhere” agency made geography irrelevant with smart niche strategy
The contractor campaign that turned a hard-market disruption into a growth surge
How Bancorp built and scaled niches in wildland firefighters and water districts
What a marketing-driven growth model looks like when you close six-figure accounts without a traditional producer force
Real examples of integrated campaigns (email, voicemail, streaming, geo-targeting) that keep the pipeline full
How Cheri thinks about AI, content, and why agencies must “test the waters before it’s too late”
If you’re an independent agency owner wondering how to grow faster, niche deeper, and use modern marketing (and AI) to win big accounts, this conversation is a practical blueprint.

AI Isn’t Tomorrow—It Was Yesterday: Proof from Klarna, Netflix, Aviva & More

In this episode, Michael pulls back the curtain on what AI actually did in 2025—far away from the hype, and deep in the real numbers.
While most of the insurance world is still “thinking about AI,” other industries are already cashing in:
A global fintech using AI to replace the work of ~700 people in 35 languages
A major carrier cutting claim cycle times by weeks and slashing complaints by 65%
A wealth management giant adding tens of billions in new assets with AI-assisted advisors
Streaming, retail, and coffee brands using AI to quietly reduce churn and boost revenue
This isn’t a thought experiment. It’s an alarm clock.
Then Michael brings it home: what this means for independent agencies, why the “wait and see” crowd is already behind, and how to start using AI intelligently—without turning it into an expensive hobby.
You’ll hear:
Concrete examples of AI driving profit and efficiency in 2025
The hidden risk of treating AI as a “future project”
How to think about AI in the context of your growth, margins, and valuation
A first look at Michael’s suite of 12 custom GPTs designed specifically for independent insurance agencies
If you’re serious about growth—and serious about not getting left behind—this is your wake-up call.
👉 Want details on the AI tools Michael mentions in the episode? Email him at michael@michaeljans.com with “AI” in the subject line.

How Gaya’s “Super Copy/Paste” AI Slashes Quote Time for Insurance Agencies

Still retyping the same client data into five different carrier portals?
In this episode of The AI for IA Podcast, Michael talks with Carl, founder of Gaya, the browser-based tool built specifically for insurance agencies. Gaya sits on top of the systems you already use and turns painful, repetitive data entry into a few clicks.
Instead of spending 10–15 minutes keying information into each carrier portal, agencies using Gaya often get it down to 4–5 minutes per carrier — without a single API integration. With Gaya, agencies can:
Extract data from PDFs, images, AMS systems, and carrier portals
Paste that data directly into carrier portals, browser-based AMS platforms, or new forms
Handle remarketing surges and multi-carrier quoting with the same headcount
Carl and Michael also unpack the bigger picture of AI in insurance distribution:
Why so many agencies fall into “shiny object syndrome” with AI tools
What separates novelty from real operational impact
Why today’s AI is about capacity and leverage, not job replacement
How “process eats technology for breakfast” — and what to streamline before adopting AI
If you want your team quoting faster, remarketing more, and spending less time on repetitive data entry, this conversation shows what’s possible right now — using the systems you already have.
👉 Learn more about Gaya here: www.gaya.ai

The Life Insurance Advantage: How Trae White Built a Retention Engine Inside His P&C Agency

Most P&C agencies want stronger retention, deeper client loyalty, and higher revenue per client — but overlook the one conversation that delivers all three. In this episode, Michael Jans talks with Trae White, multi-acquisition P&C agency principal whose agency was recognized as Top 10 nationally in life insurance performance, to break down the simple culture and system behind his success.
Trae reveals how he built a life-insurance pipeline inside a P&C agency, why he believes discussing life coverage is a moral obligation, and how these deeper conversations create durable, long-term relationships that strengthen the entire book.
You’ll learn the culture cues that get teams comfortable, the scripts his staff uses daily, and why the 1:15 benchmark is the perfect starting point for agencies that want measurable gains without changing their business model.
In this episode:
• How deeper protection conversations drive retention
• The pipeline Trae built for new & existing clients
• Why clients with life stay longer, engage more, and refer more
• How small policies create big loyalty
• The culture shift behind Trae’s national recognition
A powerful message for P&C principals ready to unlock the retention and revenue lift hiding in their own book.

AI Reality Check: What Independent Agencies Must Do Now

Featuring Dale Steinke, Director at Agent for the Future Advisors, Liberty Mutual Insurance
AI isn’t coming to independent agencies—it’s already inside them. In this fast, high-signal conversation, Michael Jans sits down with longtime industry friend Dale Steinke of Liberty to break down what agency owners are really feeling about AI today: the excitement, the confusion, the overwhelm, and the massive opportunity hiding in plain sight.
Dale shares what he sees across hundreds of agencies: why most principals underestimate how much AI their teams are already using, the tools that are quietly reshaping daily operations, and how top agencies are using AI to eliminate drudge work, sharpen renewal reviews, supercharge staff, and build client experiences that simply weren’t possible a few years ago.
You’ll also hear:
Why there’s never been a better time to start—or scale—an independent agency
How a 7-person agency is using two developers and AI tools to build a next-level customer experience
Why leaders must adopt AI themselves and create a clear AI governance policy
What agencies should do first to prepare for the next wave of change
Insightful, practical, and direct—this 10-minute “vitamin shot” delivers exactly what independent agencies need to know now.

The Insurance Industry’s Quiet Shake-Up: 6 Trends Smart Agencies Can’t Ignore

In this rapid-fire 7-minute briefing, we break down the six industry trends reshaping the independent insurance agency landscape. You’ll discover why nearly 75% of Q3 insurtech funding went to AI-centric firms, what the softening market means for your organic growth strategy, and how smart agencies are using bolt-on technology to deepen client relationships.
We also dig into an overlooked profit lever that recovers 1–3% of annual revenue, the surge in niche MGA/MGU valuations, and the surprising line of business slipping while everything else climbs.
If you want to lead your agency through a shifting market — not react to it — this is your essential weekly intelligence hit.

From Zero to 5,700 Households: How One Agent Built a Relentless Marketing Machine

In this episode, Michael Jans sits down with South Florida agency owner Matt Livings, who grew his agency from absolutely nothing to more than 5,700 households—in one of the toughest, most volatile markets in the country.
Matt reveals the simple but powerful systems he’s used for two decades, including:
His 24,000-postcards-a-month direct mail engine
The niche strategy that built his affluent book (hint: boats)
Why he stopped selling policies 15 years ago—and grew faster
How hurricane claims turned him into a local hero
The referral playbook that keeps the pipeline full
Carrier contingency tactics that added an extra 10% to his income
If you want to see how real, organic, sustainable agency growth is built—especially in hard markets—this is the episode.

The Agency Divide Has Already Begun: Chris Paradiso on AI, Efficiency, and the Future of the Independent Agency

Independent agencies survived the internet. They adapted to websites, email marketing, and social media. But AI is different. It changes the structure of work, speed of response, and expectations of clients—and it’s moving exponentially faster than any prior wave of technology.
In this episode, agency owner & industry thought leader, Chris Paradiso explains:
Why AI is a fundamentally different kind of disruption
How agencies can leverage AI to move faster than carriers
Real examples of AI in daily agency operations: sentiment scoring, policy gap analysis, coverage review, client communication, and multilingual training
Why some roles will shift—and why relationships still matter
The emerging divide between agencies that adapt and those that fall behind
Chris shares how his agency has implemented AI from frontline workflows to training systems—and what agency owners must do now to remain competitive.
Key Message: Do not sit on the sidelines. The agencies that act now will lead the market. The others will be forced out of it.

The 7-Minute Insurance Industry Intelligence Briefing (6 Trends Every Agency Owner Must Know Now)

In this fast, insight-packed 7-minute briefing, Michael Jans breaks down six forces reshaping the independent insurance agency world right now — from AI acceleration to PE consolidation, social inflation, compliance pressure, ENS growth, and the widening growth gap between digital agencies and everyone else.
In this episode you’ll discover:
✅ Why InsurTech funding surged in October and what it means for Main Street agencies
✅ How private equity now controls 72% of all M&A — and what that means for valuation
✅ The new wave of social inflation driving casualty costs through the roof
✅ Why 21 states now have comprehensive data privacy laws (and the NAIC Model 668 push for 2026)
✅ How ENS/surplus lines hit $130B and why the trend isn’t slowing
✅ The stat every agency owner should memorize:
👉 Agencies adopting advanced digital tools are growing 70% faster than their peers
If you’ve ever wished you had a “7-minute dashboard” for the industry… this is it.
Want to explore how the fastest-growing agencies are using AI to scale?
Grab a 15-minute call with Michael [Click here].