ISU Steadfast review for insurance agencies: fees, carrier access and book ownership
ISU Steadfast is a US agency network owned by Australia's Steadfast Group, and it says it ranked third among agency partnerships for 2026. Members keep their own appointments and add its partner contracts, marketplace and wholesalers.
You pay a monthly fee that rises with your revenue, and the agreement runs month to month.
A carrier appointment is the contract that lets you sell a carrier's policies. When the network holds it, that contract is its master code, and you work under it on a subcode, a code issued in your name beneath the network's.
The commission split is the part of each commission the network holds back. Profit sharing is the bonus carriers pay once a year for low claims and growth. Your book is your clients plus their expirations, meaning the renewal records you need to keep or sell the business.
- Best for
- Agencies with $250,000 or more in revenue that want more markets and an easy exit
- Monthly fee
- A sliding fee based on your agency's revenue
- Commission share
- None on your own appointments
- Carrier access
- Your own appointments plus its partner contracts
- Startups
- From $250,000 in revenue
Our take
ISU Steadfast suits an established agency that wants more markets and profit sharing without a long contract. It says you can leave on one month's notice with no exit fee.
It is not for startups, since the entry tier starts at about $250,000 in revenue. The monthly fee is only quoted on a call.
Pros
- Month to month, with one month of notice
- Says no exit fee or penalty
- Keeps nothing from your own appointments
- Says profit sharing starts from $1 of premium
- Wholesale and Lloyd's access
Cons
- Monthly fee is not published
- Not for startups
- Owned by a large public company that also buys agencies
Who they take
- Startups
- Not from scratch. The entry tier, Advantage, starts at about $250,000 in agency revenue
- Tiers
- Advantage from about $250,000 in revenue, Premier from about $750,000 and Charter from $1 million
- Requirements
- A review of 22 factors about your agency, plus interviews
- States
- Members in 40 states. Licensed in all 50
- Lines
- Personal, commercial, specialty and excess and surplus lines, with access to Lloyd's, the London insurance market, through its parent
What it costs
ISU Steadfast charges a monthly fee that slides with your agency's revenue. You get the exact figure on a membership call. It takes no share of commission on appointments you already hold and charges nothing to leave.
| Fee | Amount | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | Set by your revenue, quoted on a call | Monthly |
| Commission kept, your own appointments | 0% | Not charged |
| Exit fee | $0, it says | When you leave |
As of October 2026, from isusteadfast.com. It offers a sample agreement on request.
How you get carrier access
ISU Steadfast lists more than 100 carriers and a panel of wholesalers.
Your own appointments
You keep your current direct appointments, and the carrier keeps paying you. ISU Steadfast does not redirect those statements.
The network's code
Its partner contracts, marketplace and Quote and Bind tool let you write with carriers where you have no appointment of your own.
- Who holds the appointment
- You, on your own appointments. ISU Steadfast, on partner contracts
- Carriers
- Travelers, The Hartford, Chubb, Cincinnati, Auto-Owners, Nationwide, Progressive, Safeco, CNA, Hanover and others
How you get paid
- Who the carrier pays
- You, on your own appointments
- Commission schedule
- 100% on your own appointments. On partner-contract business ISU Steadfast says up to 100% to you, by a tier it does not publish
- Profit sharing
- From the first dollar of premium, with no yearly hurdles or minimums. ISU Steadfast tracks and pays out the bonuses
Your book and leaving
ISU Steadfast says members keep ownership of the agency, the book and the client relationships. It says leaving brings no clawback and no loss of renewal rights.
- Who owns the expirations
- You, according to ISU Steadfast
- Carrier code after you leave
- Your own appointments stay yours
- Renewals after you leave
- ISU Steadfast says you keep your renewal rights
- Selling your agency
- Your choice. Its Agency Equity Solutions arm can buy part or all of an agency if you want
- Restrictions
- No lock-in and no required services, it says
Term and exit
- Agreement term
- Month to month
- Notice
- One month
- Exit fee
- $0
Technology, E&O and support
Technology
- No required agency management system
- Works with the system you already use
E&O
A members-only E&O program with Arch, written for each agency based on its results.
Help you get
- Quote and Bind for participating carriers
- Wholesaler panel and Lloyd's access
- National conference and regional meetings
- Peer working groups
Who owns the network
- Owner
- Steadfast Group, a public Australian broker network
- Buys member agencies
- Yes, optionally, through Agency Equity Solutions
ISU Steadfast alternatives
- SIAAHelps you win direct appointments through a regional Master Agency
- Smart ChoiceNo monthly feeNo entry or monthly fee, keeps 30% until a set commission level, then nothing
- IronpeakNo duesNo entry fee or dues, profit sharing from $100,000 in premium
- RenaissanceMonthly fee with a first-year earnings guarantee, 23 states
- FirstChoice$500 a month, per PIA associationsFlat monthly fee, your own appointments and, it says, no noncompete
See every option in insurance agency clusters and networks.
Frequently asked questions
How much does ISU Steadfast cost?
A monthly fee based on your revenue, quoted on a call. It takes no share of commission on your own appointments.
How do I leave ISU Steadfast?
Give one month of notice. It says there is no exit fee or penalty.
Does ISU Steadfast take startups?
Its entry tier starts at about $250,000 in agency revenue.
Who owns ISU Steadfast?
Steadfast Group, which bought it in October 2023.
How we researched this review. We based this review on the terms and product pages published by ISU Steadfast, reviewed in October 2026, together with our team's experience working with insurance agents and agency owners since 2008.
Corrections
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 ISU Steadfast quit selling or a contract term that reads different now, let us know and send the link to the page where ISU Steadfast has it. Somebody here pulls up that page and checks it before we change anything on ours.