Blog/Growth
How to Start an Insurance Brokerage in Ontario (After RIBO)
·Intakecore
Starting an insurance brokerage in Ontario is more than a RIBO licence. Markets, a client-facing website, and intake that CSRs can run on day one—what new principals actually set up.
People search “how to start an insurance brokerage in Ontario” after they already know they need RIBO. The licence is the gate. The business is everything after: appointments, E&O, a phone that gets answered, and a way for a stranger on a phone to become a file you can quote. New principals stall here—not on the exam.
What you actually need live in month one
- A RIBO-licensed operation and E&O that matches how you intend to write
- At least a starter set of markets—or a clear plan to broker through a managing general / cluster while you build volume
- A real website with your name, lines, cities, and a Get a Quote path—not a parked page
- One intake process for web and phone so the first CSR is not inventing a PDF
- A place submissions land that is not a shared inbox
Do not build a comparative rater first
New shops burn months trying to look like a national aggregator on day one. You cannot out-rate Sonnet or a bank channel without appointments and volume. You can look professional: branded forms, mobile, documents uploaded once. That is how a one- or two-person office competes for the clients who already prefer a broker.
Intake is cheaper than a full BMS implementation
You will need a broker management system eventually. You need a front door this week. Insurance broker software stacks are layers: intake captures and qualifies; the BMS stores the policy. Intakecore is the front door—white-label, CSR-ready, live without an IT project. Request early access if you are opening shop and do not want the first hundred files in Gmail.
Put this to work on your intake.
Intakecore gives brokerages branded forms, AI document parsing, decline rules, and a dashboard your CSRs and brokers actually use.