Established, experienced indies are generally as safe for clients to work with as established agencies.

But given the proliferation of inexperienced indies looking to "make a quick buck" and then get out of the business, I believe established, experienced indies are in the minority.

The barrier to entry for inexperienced indies to advertise their services is generally quite low, thanks to sites like Backpage and Craigslist (several years ago before they cleaned up their act). Any girl can take a blurry pic with her cell phone and create a basic, typo-ridden ad. It's a breeding ground that LE peruses to pick off the "low hanging fruit".

The barrier to entry for agencies to survive in a competitive field is much higher, however. Most agencies are in it for the long haul. Much like established, experienced indies, agencies pay for their own websites, hire qualified screeners / appointment takers, spend resources on professional model shoots for its providers, and sometimes pay their Federal taxes on income received.

In short, agencies tend to operate in a clockwork manner like corporations. Indies tend to operate sporadically and whimsically like fly-by-night startups.

Which are some of the reasons why I maintain that agencies are safer to deal with than indies, in general.