In the heart of central Nebraska, two longtime partners and agency owner’s lifelong friends who met in college built a successful crop insurance business from the ground up. With over $11 million in premium volume and a lean operational model, they had achieved strong profitability. Yet, as they approached their mid-60s, the question of what comes next began to surface.
This is the story of how a specialized crop insurance agency with 70%+ profitability began exploring a strategic partnership not out of necessity, but opportunity.
The agency, headquartered in central Nebraska, operates primarily in Nebraska, Colorado, and western Kansas, where hail damage is a significant risk and a major driver of premium and commission. Founded around 2010, the agency is led by two principals in their 60s, along with their adult children and a small part-time team. The book is composed of roughly 98% crop insurance, with a small but budding P&C component led by one of the founder's sons.
Key operational traits:
While profitable, the agency had a limited digital infrastructure, used software tailored specifically to crop insurance and faced difficulty expanding its P&C offerings due to limited carrier access and market fit.
The founding partners weren’t ready to retire but they also weren’t interested in managing a growing staff or constantly evolving regulatory and tech requirements. They wanted to:
As one partner shared, "I’m 63, and my partner’s 64. We’ll be in the game for a while yet but now’s the time to think about what happens next."
Equity Expansion framed the opportunity in three pillars: operational relief, cultural alignment, and financial structuring.
Equity Expansion outlined the infrastructure a partner could provide:
"You keep doing what you do best, writing crops and hail. Offload the rest so you can focus on growth without the grind."
The agency owners were clear: they wanted to partner with someone who understood the crop insurance world especially in the high-hail-risk areas west of Grand Island.
Equity Expansion emphasized that the partnership would not be about control, but collaboration. The goal: maintain autonomy while gaining scale.
"If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. We’re not here to manage you, we're here to help you grow."
Using the agency’s strong EBITDA margins (65–70%), Equity Expansion discussed a structure based on:
The equity piece was especially compelling. Conservatively, that $1.6M in equity could become $4.8M in 3–5 years, and $14M+ within a decade without needing the agency itself to grow but simply riding the momentum of the larger partner group.
"The purchase price gets you rich. The equity can make your kids generationally wealthy."
Autonomy was critical. The founders made it clear: they still wanted to run the show. Equity Expansion aligned with that vision. The partner group they were matched with had a strong foothold in Nebraska and experience with niche markets.
Naming transitions would be gradual and strategic. "We’ve built real brand equity in our name. We want to keep that for as long as we can," one partner noted. Equity Expansion agreed.
While the final decision was still in motion at the time of the call, the benefits were clear:
For this Nebraska-based agency, partnership wasn’t about retirement. It was about scale, succession, and sustainability. If you're an insurance agency owner with a high-performing book and a desire to scale or simplify operations, Equity Expansion is here to help.
Schedule a confidential consultation today.