Release letters: how the six-month rule actually plays out when you leave an IMO

You want to move to a different IMO for better comp or better support. The current IMO holds your carrier contracts. What happens next is the most misunderstood part of this business.

What a release is. Your carrier contract is placed under your IMO's hierarchy. To contract with the same carrier through a new IMO, the old one has to release you in writing, or you wait out the carrier's rule, which is commonly six months of no production with that carrier through the old upline. Some carriers use 12 months.

Why IMOs refuse. Your production is their override. Releasing you is giving away income, so many IMOs say no by default. Some have a written release policy, some release if you're current on debt, and some never release.

What you can do without a release. Contract with carriers you're not currently appointed with through the new IMO immediately. Keep writing with the held carriers through the old IMO, or stop writing them and let the clock run. Most agents do a mix.

Debt changes everything. An IMO will not release an agent with an unpaid advance balance, and carriers won't move a contract with debt attached. Clear it first, in writing.

Ask before you contract. The best question a new agent can ask an IMO is "what's your release policy, in writing?" An honest answer in a contract is worth more than a higher comp level.

Renewals. Depending on the contract, renewals on business written under the old IMO may stay with you, may reduce, or may not follow you at all. Vesting language is the thing to read.

If you've moved IMOs, how long did the transition actually take and which carriers held you up?