Brightway Insurance Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $23K – $137K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- 18.2%
- on 11 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Brightway Insurance is an independent insurance-agency franchise selling home, auto, and other personal and commercial policies across many carriers. Franchisees run an agency writing and servicing policies, with the franchisor handling much of the back-office support.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Brightway Insurance franchise requires a total initial investment of $23K – $137K, including a $25K – $35K franchise fee. The 2025 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. SBA 7(a) loans show a 18.2% charge-off rate across 11 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: 2025 filing · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - a newer filing may exist
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✓ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored3 of 4 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $23K – $137K
- 7th pct Financial Ser…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Outlet subset
- Royalty
- Set by a formula
- Units
- 341
- 68th pct Financial Ser…
- SBA charge-off
- 18.2%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Financial Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Financial Services median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $23K – $137K including a $25K franchise fee.
- RETURNSItem 19 data is segmented by number of Producers per Location (Table 1-A: 272 locations open a full calendar year in 2025), not a single systemwide average, so no single avg_gross_sales/median_gross_sales/high/low is reported (see item19_cohorts). Tables 1-B and 2 report New Business POLICY COUNTS and per-Producer Annualized Premium (per-producer, not whole-location revenue) and Table 3 reports Annualized Premium book-size bands by Agency Owner — these are excluded from avg_gross_sales per the per-producer/per-job exclusion rule.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 56/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 18.2% across 11 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- GROWTHPositive: net +3 franchised outlets in the latest year (67 opened, 64 closed); 18 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 18.6% CAGR over 3 years with 341 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Brightway Insurance, LLC
- Parent company
- Brightway Holdings, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 7 of the 2025 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- BWI TopCo, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2025 FDD
- Predecessor
- Miller Insurance Group, Inc.
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Nick Clements
- Incorporated in
- FL
- HQ
- 5011 Gate Parkway, Building 200, Suite 200, Jacksonville, Florida 32256
- Auditor
- Independent auditors (Jacksonville, FL, signed April 18, 2025 — firm name not stated in text)
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $74.7M
- vs $66.9M prior year
Affiliated brands
- First City Insurers
- Equity One Insurance Agency
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Nick Clements
- Headquarters
- FL
- Founded
- 2003
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 28
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 15% below the typical financial services franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown11 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Feenot refundable | $10K | $25K | |
| Lease Deposit and First Month's Rent | $0 | $7K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $0 | $10K | |
| Furniture, Furnishings, and Fixtures | $0 | $7K | |
| Equipment | $2K | $7K | |
| Signage | $125 | $15K | |
| Professional Fees | $600 | $3K | |
| Insurance Policies | $300 | $4K | |
| Licensing Fees | $0 | $1K | |
| Opening Advertising Expense | $0 | $4K | |
| Additional Funds - Six Months | $10K | $55K | |
| Total initial investment | $23K | $137K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $23K – $137K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $90K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $35K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- No traditional royalty; instead Brightway retains 20% of …
- Ad fund
- No Advertising Fund is currently charged; franchisor rese…
- Total fee load
- 23.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Technology fee | $200 |
| Transfer fee | $3K |
| Total fee load | 23.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for Brightway Insurance is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Brightway Insurance unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for annual revenue, royalty rate, ad fund rate, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Item 19 data is segmented by number of Producers per Location (Table 1-A: 272 locations open a full calendar year in 2025), not a single systemwide average, so no single avg_gross_sales/median_gross_sales/high/low is reported (see item19_cohorts). Tables 1-B and 2 report New Business POLICY COUNTS and per-Producer Annualized Premium (per-producer, not whole-location revenue) and Table 3 reports Annualized Premium book-size bands by Agency Owner — these are excluded from avg_gross_sales per the per-producer/per-job exclusion rule.
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
- Item 19 type
- Segmented average Gross Commission Revenue per Brightway Location by number of Producers (Table 1-A), plus separate per-Producer New Business production tables (Tables 1-B, 2) and per-Agency-Owner Annualized Premium book-size table (Table 3)
- Sample size
- 270 outlets
- vs category median 94 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $545→$4.9MNot cited — published from our reading of the franchisor's disclosure document; the page it is printed on has not been located.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $197K→$2.1M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 0 / 10 · above
Compared against 45 Financial Services brands
Item 19 · by group
What the filing does disclose
Item 19 of this FDD reports performance in more than one group. We publish no single average for this brand; the groups the filing does disclose are listed below, quoted from its own Item 19 table.
Each row below is quoted from the FDD's own Item 19 table. Gross sales are not profit.
Outlet subsetItem 19 detail
Item 19 data is segmented by number of Producers per Location (Table 1-A: 272 locations open a full calendar year in 2025), not a single systemwide average, so no single avg_gross_sales/median_gross_sales/high/low is reported (see item19_cohorts). Tables 1-B and 2 report New Business POLICY COUNTS and per-Producer Annualized Premium (per-producer, not whole-location revenue) and Table 3 reports Annualized Premium book-size bands by Agency Owner — these are excluded from avg_gross_sales per the per-producer/per-job exclusion rule.
producer count
| Segment | Sample (outlets) | Avg |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Producer | 119 outlets | $99K |
| 2 Producers | 48 outlets | $224K |
| 3 Producers | 43 outlets | $620K |
| 4 Producers | 27 outlets | $782K |
| 5+ Producers | 35 outlets | $1.7M |
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 23.0% — above the Financial Services median of 16.5%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
Operator retention
System expanding at 18.6% CAGR over 3 years across 341 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Multi-unit rate
Only 4% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Financial Services medians
How Brightway Insurance Compares
Category median of published Financial Services brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 341
- Opened
- 67
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 64
- Terminated
- 16
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 18.8%
- Company-owned
- 3
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 99%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 4.2%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +18.6%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +18.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 16
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 1
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 18
- 0.05 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 85
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 33 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 contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
387 current owners across 32 states; 40 former (terminated, transferred or not renewed) listed separately.
- FL 181
- TX 52
- NC 20
- LA 16
- GA 11
- MI 9
- NY 9
- SC 9
- CO 8
- CA 7
- OH 7
- TN 7
- +20 more states
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 11
- Loan volume
- $1.5M
- Median loan
- $105K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 18.2%
- on 11 loans · rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 81.8%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 4
- Defaults
- 2
- Typical loan rate
- 6.1%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 6.0%
- brand above franchise avg ↑
- Jobs supported
- 57
- 3.8 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 73%
- top lender's share
Franchise vs independent — in insurance agencies and brokerages, franchised businesses charge off at 6.0% vs 10.8% for independents — franchising is associated with 44% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing Brightway Insurance franchisees
Showing 3 of 4 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for Brightway Insurance from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 9.4%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 81%
- Avg interest rate
- 6.14%
- Avg chargeoff amount
- $71K
- Lender concentration
- 72.7%
- Job velocity
- 3.8 per $100K
- NAICS benchmark
- 7.9%
- NAICS 524210
- Jobs supported
- 57
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 73% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stearns Bank National Association | 8 | $1.2M | 0.0% |
| 2 | First Business Bank | 1 | $94K | 100.0% |
| 3 | Wells Fargo Bank National Association | 1 | $149K | 100.0% |
| 4 | JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | 1 | $50K | 0.0% |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| FLFlorida | 4 | 0 | 0.0% |
| NCNorth Carolina | 2 | 1 | 50.0% |
| PAPennsylvania | 2 | 1 | 50.0% |
| LALouisiana | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| OKOklahoma | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| TXTexas | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 18.2% — 13% above the 16.0% national norm, i.e. higher lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
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.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
Two pending related actions arising from a GlobalGreen franchisee transfer/non-compete dispute (Dishon Parties v. Equity One Franchisors/Brightway in Texas state court, and Equity One Franchisors v. Dishon in Missouri federal court); plus two concluded/settled suits: JVAN Group v. franchisee and Brightway (settled for $10,000) and Eurohold/Linke v. Brightway (settled, amount undisclosed).
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Independent auditors (Jacksonville, FL, signed April 18, 2025 — firm name not stated in text)
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 56 / 100 verdict
- 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
- 03HIGHPrior litigation (2019 Eurohold settlement) signals franchisor-franchisee disputes over agreement terms and scope creep
- 04MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk within assigned area and cannibalization of book of business
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 23.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Territory type | No territory protection |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Not allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 20 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 15 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 25 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 8 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Duval County, Florida (non-binding mediation, then litigation) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Florida |
| Litigation count | 4 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Two pending related actions arising from a GlobalGreen franchisee transfer/non-compete dispute (Dishon Parties v. Equity One Franchisors/Brightway in Texas state court, and Equity One Franchisors v. Dishon in Missouri federal court); plus two concluded/settled suits: JVAN Group v. franchisee and Brightway (settled for $10,000) and Eurohold/Linke v. Brightway (settled, amount undisclosed).
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 45 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 65 hrs
- Training location
- Online/virtual training portal, or Brightway facilities in Charlotte, NC or Jacksonville, FL, or another designated location
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 4 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Brightway Fusion
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Brightway Fusion
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
427 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Brightway Insurance franchise?
The total investment to open a Brightway Insurance franchise ranges from $23K – $137K, with an initial franchise fee of $25K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Brightway Insurance franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the Brightway Insurance FDD discloses outlet figures from $545 to $4.9M but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Brightway Insurance?
Brightway Insurance is franchised by Brightway Insurance, LLC. Its parent company is Brightway Holdings, LLC. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is BWI TopCo, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Brightway Insurance FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Brightway Insurance FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Brightway Insurance's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Brightway Insurance has a charge-off rate of 18.2% across 11 loans, meaning 18.2% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Brightway Insurance franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Brightway Insurance has 341 total units in the United States, including 338 franchised units and 3 company-owned units. 67 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Brightway Insurance a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Brightway Insurance as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 56 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.