Brightway Insurance to Offer Deferred Cost Option to New Franchisees During Pandemic

Brightway Insurance has made changes to its franchise contract in a move that is designed to make it easier to attain franchise ownership during the current coronavirus pandemic.

According to Brightway President and CEO Michael Miller, the company will offer a stay-at-home option for franchisees to launch their businesses while deferring costs incurred until they are able to open their insurance store.

Normally when a new Brightway franchisee opens a retail location, the company requires the store to be in a traditional retail space with a storefront. Franchisees also must have three employees working in the location by the end of the first year in business.

Under the agreement available while COVID-19 stay-at-home orders are in place, the company is not requiring the new franchisee to open a retail office space or to staff according to the traditional agreement.

Rather, new franchisees may work from home initially. Once officials lift stay-at-home orders, a franchisee will have 60 days to find a professional office space for the business. When the office space is operational, the franchisee will have 90 days to hire an employee.

According to Brightway, providing flexibility for new franchisees will reduce initial expenses involved with leasing retail office space and outfitting it with furniture and exterior signage.

The franchisee will have one year from the time the business moves into the office space to relocate to a fully operational retail space with three employees.

“Our cloud-based infrastructure empowers our franchisees to continue to operate and be there for our customers in their greatest hour of need,” Miller added.

Brightway employs a centralized team of staff to offer training and support in areas including customer service, accounting, marketing, distribution, business analytics, carrier appointments, licensing, onboarding, training, hiring and retaining personnel.

Brightway Insurance is a national property/casualty insurance distribution company with more than $660 million in annualized written premium. Brightway got its start in 2008 and has since grown to more than 900 people in 206 offices across 22 states serving customers in all 50 states.