Carlton Insurance Agency

What Carlton Insurance Agency does

Carlton Insurance Agency LLC is a privately held, family-founded independent insurance brokerage headquartered at 21710 Madrona Ave, Torrance, California. Founded in 1957 by Dick and Darlyne Carlton, the agency operates under California license #6011131 and is described as one of the oldest independent insurance agencies in Southern California. It offers six core insurance lines — automobile, home, business, workers' compensation, life, and health — to individual consumers/families and business owners/employers across California, combining in-person consultations at the Torrance office with remote service delivery via phone, email, and fax.

The business is structured as a non-captive independent agency, meaning it represents multiple unnamed insurance carriers rather than a single insurer, allowing agents to quote and place coverage across providers. The company carries 11–50 employees, has no disclosed parent company, no subsidiaries, and no funding rounds. Customer acquisition has historically been driven by word-of-mouth referrals rather than paid advertising; the firm maintains a Squarespace-based website and a blog authored by Gemma Karapetyan that addresses auto liability gaps, ransomware coverage, and commercial auto for restaurants, indicating a modest content-led top-of-funnel effort.

Revenue is generated through commissions paid by carrier partners on policies sold and renewed across personal and commercial lines, producing a recurring, quote-based, monthly-billed revenue stream. The firm has no app, no disclosed API, no proprietary technology platform, and no AI/ML capabilities. No acquisitions, leadership changes, regulatory actions, patents, or formal awards are disclosed in the available material.

Name

Carlton Insurance Agency

Legal name

Carlton Insurance Agency LLC

Website

https://carltoninsuranceagency.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1957

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Carlton Insurance Agency LLC is a Torrance, California-based independent insurance brokerage, founded 1957, offering auto, home, business, workers' compensation, life, and health policies to individual consumers and SMB employers across California via multi-carrier agent consultations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Insurance Brokerage

NAICS

Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (524210), Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (52421)

SIC

Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411)

akta.pro primary industry

Retail (Personal Lines) Insurance Brokerage (FSAEADAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Commercial Lines Insurance Brokerage (FSAEADAB)

Keywords

• Independent insurance agency
• Personal insurance lines
• Commercial insurance lines
• Insurance brokerage services
• Workers compensation coverage

Headquarters

HQ city

Torrance

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Insurance Commission Revenue: As an independent insurance agency, Carlton Insurance Agency earns revenue through commissions paid by multiple insurance carriers. Agents match clients with appropriate coverage from the agency's carrier partners, earning commissions on each policy sold and renewed. This model creates recurring revenue through policy renewals while being independent from any single carrier.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Carlton Insurance Agency is an independent insurance brokerage that matches clients with coverage from multiple carrier partners across personal and commercial lines. Its portfolio includes automobile, home, life, and health insurance for individuals and families, plus business insurance and workers' compensation coverage for employers. Agents deliver these offerings through direct, personalized consultations supported by phone, email, in-person, and remote channels.

Product overview

Carlton Insurance Agency is a single, unified insurance brokerage offering a portfolio of six core insurance products across personal and commercial lines. The agency operates as an independent broker, working with multiple carrier partners to provide personalized insurance solutions. The product portfolio includes Automobile, Home, Business, Workers' Compensation, Life, and Health insurance policies, each available as distinct offerings that agents combine to create customized coverage packages for individual and business clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Automobile Insurance

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Multiple Insurance Carriers (Unnamed)coreOthersCarlton Insurance Agency operates as an independent agency representing multiple unnamed insurance carriers. This carrier network allows agents to match clients with coverage from various providers, offering competitive options and specialized products across different underwriting appetites. The independent agency model is central to their value proposition, enabling access to diverse insurance solutions rather than being captive to a single carrier.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• State Farm: The largest U.S. personal lines insurer with a captive agent distribution force. Comparable to Carlton in that both rely on local agent-led personal lines distribution, though State Farm operates at massive national scale and is tied to a single carrier.
• Nationwide: Diversified insurance and financial services carrier with an independent agent distribution force. Competes in personal and commercial lines through similar local agency relationships.
• Allstate: Major U.S. personal lines carrier with a captive agency model selling auto, home, and life insurance through local offices. Competes directly with Carlton for California personal lines customers via its agent force.
• Farmers Insurance: Personal and commercial lines carrier with a strong agent distribution model across California. Overlaps directly with Carlton's auto, home, and commercial products, particularly in Southern California.
• Brown & Brown: Public insurance brokerage that has grown largely through acquisition of independent agencies. Comparable to Carlton as an independent agency model and a potential consolidator/peer for personal and commercial lines.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Global insurance brokerage and risk management services firm with significant retail brokerage operations. Competes with Carlton in commercial lines and represents a potential roll-up acquirer of smaller California agencies.
• Hub International: Large North American insurance brokerage that actively acquires and consolidates independent agencies. Represents a potential roll-up acquirer of Carlton and a structural competitor in commercial lines.
• Liberty Mutual: Large multi-line insurer offering personal and commercial coverage through independent agents and direct channels. Comparable as a multi-channel competitor with similar product breadth to Carlton.

Direct peers

• Auto-Owners Insurance: Insurance carrier selling exclusively through independent agents across personal and commercial lines. Closely comparable independent agency distribution model to Carlton's carrier-partner approach.
• Erie Insurance: Regional carrier that distributes exclusively through independent agents offering personal and commercial lines. Structurally similar to Carlton's independent agency model with multi-carrier agency relationships.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Carlton Insurance Agency