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Agency Acceleration Lab is the podcast for insurance agents and agency owners who want to scale smarter, not harder.
Hosted by Alex Branning, each episode breaks down real growth strategies, marketing systems, and client retention frameworks that help you attract better clients, increase lifetime value, and build a more predictable agency.
If you're serious about building a high-performance insurance business, you're in the right place.
Episode Transcript
Agency Acceleration Lab – Episode 1
The Most Underserved Market in Insurance with Luis Moreno
Alex Branning:
Luis, the biggest market out there is being ignored by most insurance agencies right now. What are they missing out on?
Luis Moreno:
So I will tell you guys, the bilingual market. I think agents need to find a way to focus on that bilingual market. I truly do feel that they're underserved. I don't think that there are enough Spanish-speaking agents out there, and even if there are, they don't target those Spanish-speaking clients. And I don't know why. I can only guess, Alex. My only guess is that it takes a lot of work to create collateral. It takes a lot of work to create brochures, marketing materials, and ads for Spanish-speaking clients, but it is definitely an underserved market.
Alex Branning:
How did you start getting into that? Did you serve both English and Spanish?
Luis Moreno:
So I'm fully bilingual. I started off, of course, doing both. When I talked, it didn't matter to me whether they spoke Spanish or not. I went after them. But I think for agents, especially in this current market and with the competition that we have to deal with, if you want to set yourself apart from everybody else, focus on that Spanish-speaking market. And it's not that hard. I was reading you were talking a little bit about this. What does an agent do if they don't speak Spanish? Are they completely out of luck? And the answer is no, guys, you are not out of luck. What you can do is get out there and hire a bilingual staff person to help you with that. So just because you don't speak doesn't mean you can't target that Spanish-speaking market.
Alex Branning:
Totally. And voice AI now can talk in all kinds of different languages too. It's just crazy. But for the Spanish speakers, do you think it's ignored because people assume the market is not there, or are they just completely blind to the fact that it's even there?
Luis Moreno:
What do you think? Okay, so I'm going to throw it out there. This is, in my little opinion, what I think happens. The Spanish-speaking market, for the most part, are typically face-to-face people. They're not the telesales type of client normally. I'm talking about norms out there. When I talk to a lot of agents, a lot of agents want to stay in that telesales environment. The phone calling works. Again, I'm talking about norms and generalities here. But the Spanish-speaking market, that clientele, is the handshake kind of clientele. They want to sit in front of an agent. They want to talk to an agent. They're not very big on tech. So I would say that a huge reason why agents don't want to target them is that a lot of telesales agents work from home. They don't have an office. And the typical Spanish-speaking client wants to walk into an office. They want to sit down and have a discussion. I think the technology savviness in general with that clientele is not there, which sets up a roadblock. So I think that, in my opinion, is an issue, but it can also be the way in.
Alex Branning:
Yes, exactly that. Wherever there's an obstacle, there's an opportunity. So how did you set it up so that you were reaching those people the way they wanted to be connected to? Did you do events or just make yourself available for face-to-face?
Luis Moreno:
So what I did is I do have an office, so I do make myself available. Secondly, I make sure that all the people that I hire, and I have 14 people, are bilingual so that they are able to help my clientele. But what I did, and this was a focus, I went to where a lot of Spanish-speaking low-income people hang out. Maybe I'm being a little more targeted, but I would go to what we call the pulga. That's what we call it in Spanish, the flea markets. I would go to the flea markets. I don't do it now, but I used to do this heavily back in the day. What I would do back in the day is spend my Saturday mornings and Sunday mornings at flea markets. I'd have a booth. I'd set up my banners. My kids would go with me. When I'm selling ACA and Medicare, that literally was a target-rich environment. I'm in San Antonio, where there are heavy Spanish speakers, heavy Latino and Hispanic communities. Most of the people I talked to were Hispanic and Spanish speakers, so it was a gold mine for me.
Luis Moreno:
Only because I hit the point where I don't have to do it anymore. But if I was a young, hungry agent, I'd be out at the flea markets all day long. People don't typically shop for insurance there, but it's a good way to meet people and get your name out there so you can visit with them during the week.
Alex Branning:
Now we know Spanish speakers are buying health insurance and auto insurance somewhere. Are they going online, or how are they shopping now so we can interrupt that pattern and build a business?
Luis Moreno:
I do think the norm is not shopping online. They're going somewhere face-to-face. Again, where there's a roadblock, there's an opportunity. These Spanish-speaking clients are going somewhere to meet people in person. If you work from home, naturally you can't have them come to your house. But you can go meet them where they are. My idea would be the flea markets. Get out there. There are open-air flea markets and closed flea markets. Do events. Back in the day I was at one of our local grocery stores three days a week from nine to one. I set up my booth and did my thing. But that's a marathon, not a sprint. You're not going to open a booth and have people suddenly come to you. It takes time. If you don't have the ability to open a storefront office, go where people hang out. Pharmacies, grocery stores, flea markets, community events. It doesn't take a lot of investment. A table, a couple of chairs, an iPad, maybe a hotspot from your phone. The return can be high, but it's not fast. It's slow.
Alex Branning:
Did you do anything with referral partners? Were you going to events with others who serve the same market?
Luis Moreno:
Yes. The referral partners I like are three types. Number one is tax preparers. If you're in the ACA space, tax preparers need the 1095 form for their clients to complete tax returns. If you go to a tax preparer and say you can help their clients get that document, they'll send people your way. Even if you don't sell them right away, it's a lead you can work.
Number two is doctor's offices and clinics. A lot of doctors get insurance questions. Instead of going in asking for business, offer to be a resource. Ask them if they have patients with no insurance or with plans they don't accept. Then offer to help those patients find plans that work for the clinic.
Number three is P&C agencies. A lot of property and casualty agents hate dealing with health insurance. They don't want to touch it. Go into a P&C agency and explain what's in it for them. Offer to call their clients, thank them for their business, help cross-sell policies, and even share commissions or referral fees if a sale happens.
Luis Moreno:
But you have to understand expectations. Agency owners usually won't give you their client list to take home. That's not going to happen. But if you're willing to sit in their office and call clients from their system, using their phones and computers, they may be open to that because everything stays with them.
Alex Branning:
I love that. Well, this has been great, Luis. For those of you listening, if you're an agency owner, first find someone you can hire who's bilingual so you can serve that Spanish-speaking market. Second, make sure you build those referral partnerships that Luis mentioned. Each of those is a gold mine. And if you go to my website at agencyacceleration.ai and click on the Lab, you'll see this podcast and a playbook that walks you through the steps Luis just went over. It's free for you to download so you're not wondering what he talked about. We've got your back. Luis, thank you for taking the time. I really appreciate you.
Luis Moreno:
Man, great. Glad to be here. Good luck, guys.