Brightway Insurance
Bottom line
- Total investment $23K – $137K including a $35K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $906K/year (median $655K).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 44/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 11 loans (below the industry average).
- System growing at 18.6% CAGR over 3 years with 341 total units — strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one Brightway Insurance unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
113%
Above typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Brightway Insurance units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.3M
on $6.3M purchase
Total debt
$5.1M
SBA $3.2M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Brightway franchisees operate independent insurance agencies selling commercial and personal lines insurance (property, casualty, health, life). Day-to-day activities include client consultation, policy placement with carrier partners, renewals management, and claims support. Franchisees build and service a book of business while paying commissions to Brightway and managing their own operational costs (staff, office, marketing).
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 6 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator — not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Brightway presents CAUTION-level risk: stagnant growth, opaque profitability, asymmetric commission structure favoring franchisor, unprotected territory, and prior litigation suggest limited upside and moderate operational/financial risk.
Score breakdown · what drove the 44 / 100 rating
- 01MINORStagnant unit growth (0.9% YoY) indicates mature/declining system with minimal expansion
- 02MEDAsymmetrical commission split (50% renewal commission retention) heavily favors franchisor and reduces franchisee profitability on recurring revenue
- 03MEDNo average net income disclosed in FDD Item 19 — unable to verify ROI claims or validate $136,900 investment thesis
- 04HIGHPrior litigation (2019 Eurohold settlement) signals franchisor-franchisee disputes over agreement terms and scope creep
- 05MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk within assigned area and cannibalization of book of business
- 06MINORHigh initial investment ($35,000 franchise fee + $23,325-$136,900 startup) with unclear payback period
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
100 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Brightway Insurance · FDD (2025) PDF