Southwest Selective Search

What Southwest Selective Search does

Southwest Selective Search is a privately held, founder-owned recruiting firm founded in January 1989 by Paul D. Neir, headquartered in North Richland Hills, Texas. The firm specializes exclusively in recruiting for the U.S. insurance industry, placing candidates in roles spanning P&C underwriting, claims adjusting, actuarial, risk management, sales/marketing, producers, legal/compliance, accounting & finance, IT, operations, and executive positions. Its client base comprises insurance carriers, brokers, retail agencies, and third-party administrators across the United States.

The company operates two primary service lines: direct-hire permanent placement (with contingency-based placement fees and a guarantee period) and temporary staffing (providing prescreened contract employees with an optional permanent-conversion fee). A secondary support offering, candidate career consulting, supplies interview preparation resources such as phone, video, and in-person interview guidance. There is no proprietary technology platform; operations rely on the founder's accumulated candidate database, national insurance-industry contact network, and on-site client consultations to assess corporate culture before sourcing candidates.

The go-to-market model is sales-led and relationship-driven, with direct engagement of enterprise clients, on-site culture assessments, and long-term partnership positioning in which the firm acts as an extension of client HR. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. With 1-10 employees, no institutional investors, and no parent company, Southwest Selective Search operates as a founder-controlled lifestyle professional services business sustained primarily by the founder's tenure and reputation rather than by capital-driven scaling.

Name

Southwest Selective Search

Legal name

Southwest Selective Search

Website

https://swselectivesearch.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Southwest Selective Search is a privately held, founder-owned insurance industry recruiting firm founded in 1989, placing P&C underwriting, claims, actuarial, and executive candidates with carriers, brokers, agencies, and TPAs across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Insurance Recruitment Services

NAICS

Executive Search Services (561312), Employment Placement Agencies (561311)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Financial Services Leadership Search (Banking/Insurance/PE/Asset Mgmt) (BPACAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Functional Leadership Search (HR/Finance/Legal/Marketing/Sales/Ops) (BPACAAAB)

Keywords

• Insurance recruitment services
• Direct-hire placement
• Temporary staffing services
• Executive search firm
• Insurance talent acquisition

Headquarters

HQ city

North Richland Hills

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Direct-Hire Placement Services: Permanent placement of insurance professionals for client companies. Fee structure includes contingency-based placement fees with guarantee period. They coordinate interviews and offers, facilitating smooth transitions and maintaining relationships beyond the guarantee period.
2. Temporary Staffing Services: Provides prescreened contract employees to clients for temporary assignments based on their needs. Offers conversion programs allowing clients to hire contractors permanently for a conversion fee.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Southwest Selective Search is a recruiting firm that provides direct-hire permanent placement and temporary staffing services exclusively to the U.S. insurance industry. The firm matches insurance companies, brokers, retail agencies, and third-party administrators with qualified professionals across underwriting, claims, sales, actuarial, legal/compliance, risk management, IT, operations, and executive roles. It also offers candidate career consulting resources including interview preparation guidance.

Product overview

Southwest Selective Search operates as a recruiting firm within the insurance industry, offering two primary service lines: Direct-Hire Services for permanent placements and Temporary Staffing Services for contract-based needs. The firm specializes in recruiting for insurance-specific positions including P&C Underwriting, Claims Adjusting, Risk Management, Sales/Marketing, Actuarial, Legal/Compliance, and Executive roles. Candidate Career Consulting resources are provided as support services to assist candidates throughout the job search and interview process. The company was founded in January 1989 and maintains relationships with insurance companies, brokers, retail agencies, and third-party administrators throughout the United States.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Direct-Hire Services

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves3 records

Broad incumbents

• Korn Ferry: Global organizational consulting firm with executive search across financial services and insurance leadership. Competes for the same senior insurance searches but with much broader portfolio and proprietary assessment IP.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search firm with a dedicated Financial Services practice covering insurance. Overlaps with Southwest Selective Search on senior insurance placements but operates across all industries with vastly larger scale.
• Spencer Stuart: Global executive search firm serving insurance, financial services, and other industries. Overlaps with Southwest Selective Search for C-suite and senior insurance placements at the high end of the market.
• Robert Half International: Large specialty staffing and recruiting firm with a dedicated practice for insurance claims, underwriting, and accounting roles. Competes in the same insurance talent market with broader geographic coverage and a tech-enabled platform.

Direct peers

• Aureus Group: Insurance and financial services recruiting firm placing professionals in underwriting, claims, actuarial, and executive roles. Directly comparable vertical specialization and direct-hire placement model.
• OakBridge Insurance Recruiting: Insurance-focused recruiting firm covering underwriting, claims, sales, and operational roles for carriers and agencies. Directly comparable niche and direct-hire placement services.
• The McIntyre Group: Insurance-focused executive search and recruiting firm serving carriers, brokers, and TPAs across P&C and life/health. Directly comparable to Southwest Selective Search in vertical specialization, candidate pool, and direct-hire placement model.
• The Insurance Recruiting Group: Insurance-specialist search firm placing producers, underwriters, claims, and operations talent at carriers and agencies nationwide. Closely comparable vertical niche and direct-hire placement model.
• M.J. Hall & Company: Insurance industry retained search firm placing executives and specialty talent at carriers and brokerages. Comparable in vertical specialization and executive search emphasis, with a slightly higher-end executive focus.
• Insurance Recruiting Specialists: Boutique recruiting firm dedicated to insurance industry placements across underwriting, claims, sales, and executive roles. Closely mirrors Southwest Selective Search's vertical focus and contingency direct-hire model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SouthwestSelectiveSearch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/southwest-selective-search

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Southwest Selective Search