Goosehead Insurance
Bottom line
- Total investment $66K – $112K including a $50K franchise fee, 20.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $90K/year (median $49K).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 54/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 81 loans (below the industry average).
- System contracting at -17.7% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
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 Goosehead Insurance unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
1%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Goosehead franchisees operate as independent insurance agents, primarily selling property & casualty, life, and commercial insurance policies on behalf of carrier partners. Day-to-day work involves client acquisition, policy comparison and placement, customer service, and renewals—with most revenue derived from commissions and renewal override payments rather than direct sales.
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 · 10 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
Goosehead presents a contracting franchise system with unsustainable royalty economics, declining unit count, and litigation history that substantially outweighs the modest $66k entry investment.
Score breakdown · what drove the 54 / 100 rating
- 01MINORDeclining unit count (-8.5% YoY) signals system contraction and potential franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02MINORExtremely high royalty burden: 20% initial + 50% renewal terms creates severe cash flow pressure on $90k average revenue
- 03MEDNo disclosed average net income prevents evaluation of actual profitability after 20-50% royalty extraction
- 04HIGHMultiple litigation cases involving franchisor collection actions and settled franchisee disputes indicate operational/relationship friction
- 05MINORUnprotected territory increases competition risk and customer poaching among franchisees
- 06MINORNo Item 19 financial data disclosure limits transparency and comparative performance benchmarking
- 07MINOR10-year term with 50% renewal royalty creates long-term financial lock-in with unfavorable economics
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
97 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Goosehead Insurance · FDD (2026) PDF