BackNine Insurance review for agents: contracting, pay, release terms and leads

BackNine has no lead or production requirement. Expect commissions paid as earned unless you qualify for annualization, which advances the first year's commission up front. Read the Terms of Use on chargebacks and vesting before you contract.

BackNine is open contracting with an optional referral downline. You can sign up directly or through an upline's referral link. The chain is agent, then an optional marketing manager or upline, then BackNine as general agency, then the carrier.

An upline who refers agents earns the difference between its commission level and the downline's level when the downline places business. Recruiting is optional. A captive transition program is not publicly stated.

Carrier Pay is the standard path. The carrier pays you and pays BackNine its general-agent commission separately.

Optional BackNine Pay routes commissions through BackNine for agencies that split pay across several levels. Variable product pay often goes to the broker-dealer.

Its 100% label refers to receipt of the agent commission, and product rates follow carrier schedules. Registered agents can look at renewal, first-year and excess commissions in BOSS.

Ask BackNine for its contract holder level with each carrier.

To change upline or marketing manager, send an email or letter of instruction. If you submitted business in the past year or signed up less than one year ago, your current marketing manager must also sign. Dual appointments are available in many cases depending on carrier, state and existing contract.

A release fee and turnaround are not publicly stated. BackNine may recover unpaid amounts from related uplines, agencies and other payment recipients under BackNine Pay.

Policyholders are the advisor's clients, and BackNine does not share data between unaffiliated advisors.

The API and webhooks move case data to your systems, while a bulk export after leaving is not published.

Commissions pay out as they are earned, unless annualization is approved. Annualization works with select carriers and products and needs criteria such as a professional designation, a securities license, a credit score above 720 or five active policies with BackNine.

If a commission has to go back to a carrier, BackNine may repay the carrier and requires reimbursement within 30 days. The Terms of Use let BackNine debit future commissions and recover collection costs. Under BackNine Pay, unpaid chargebacks can be recovered from uplines and agencies that shared in the payment.

BackNine covers disability, long-term care, annuities, life insurance and final expense. BackNine says it has 60+ carrier relationships.

Named carriers include Allianz, American Equity, Assurity, Athene, Corebridge, Global Atlantic, Mutual of Omaha, Nationwide, Prudential and Transamerica. Quote & Apply can show a subset of the full panel, and variable products need a securities license.

BackNine does not require lead purchases or production to use its tools.

The standard agent model has no recurring software or membership fee. Leads or advertising that you choose to buy are your cost, and no BackNine lead price is published. BOSS, Quote & Apply and carrier appointment processing carry no direct software fee with BackNine contracting.

Agencies that keep their own contracts can buy the platform as SaaS starting at $3,000 for setup. Custom domain webpages cost $1,000 one time.

Those prices cover different products. Quote & Apply runs on your own website, and a BackNine retail call center is not published.

BackNine provides case management, underwriting support, advanced case design and a sales desk that runs illustrations. BackNine advertises around-the-clock support. There is no production minimum to use the platform.

You enter contracting details once in BOSS with BackNine Insurance and Financial Services, Inc. BackNine appoints you with a carrier when you submit business there. Carrier appointment processing is included in the agent model, while state licensing remains an agent cost.

BackNine says appointments run alongside underwriting in most states, and pre-appointment states pause eSign until the appointment has been completed. You need a life license to write and E&O coverage before your first case. A group E&O offer or discount is not publicly stated.

BackNine is privately held.

Does BackNine pay me or does the carrier?

Under the standard Carrier Pay path the carrier pays you directly and pays BackNine separately. BackNine Pay is an option that routes commissions through BackNine.

Can I get advances through BackNine?

Only through annualization, which works with select carriers and products. Criteria include a professional designation, a securities license, a credit score above 720 or five active policies with BackNine.

Do I pay for BOSS and Quote & Apply?

No direct software fee applies when BackNine is your general agency, and no lead purchase or production minimum is required.

Can I leave BackNine or change uplines?

Send an email or letter of instruction. Within one year of signup or of your last submitted case your current marketing manager must also sign. Renewals vest to the same extent the carrier vests them in BackNine.

How fast can I start writing?

Enter contracting once in BOSS and BackNine appoints you when you submit a case. You need a life license and E&O coverage before your first case.

Vendors change their pricing all the time and they don't email us when they do. So if you see a price on here that's gone up, a plan BackNine Insurance quit selling or a contract term that reads different now, let us know and send the link to the page where BackNine Insurance has it. Somebody here pulls up that page and checks it before we change anything on ours.