I’ve had lots of people ask me questions and send emails regarding becoming a new insurance agent. In fact, we’ve interacted with so many people in the state of Texas that we don’t have time to respond to all of you. As a result, my fellow agents and I thought it would be a good idea to start a VLOG just for the office.
Following our YouTube log will give you insight into the ins and outs of the daily job of a real insurance agency. In fact, you’ll see the decision making processes that go into presenting a rate to a client. You’ll also witness our frustrations when we find out that a client was less than forthcoming about their driving records. You’ll even get a chance to us get excited to sell another policy and make our clients happy.
Before you become an insurance agent
Before you become an insurance agent, you have to decide where you fit. For most, an insurance agent’s career can be divided into two different categories, Property Casualty and Life Health. Each has its pros and cons. The key is the agent running the show or the appointments.
Property Casualty Agents
P&C agents generally catch people shopping for auto or home insurance and make it easier for you the agent to prospect for these types of clients. When you find someone shopping for insurance, you quote them against your company (or companies), make sure your client is not missing coverages, and then ask for the sale.
P&C agent new business and renewal commissions generally start at 10% to 15% based on your contract with the company or the agency. If you’re a new agent, you will probably have to split your commission with the agency owner. The good part about the P&C world is that commissions are level. On the other hand, because auto and home insurance annual premiums range between $1000 – $2000 per year, the average commission ranges between $100 and $200 per policy. As a result it can longer to ramp up to a good salary level.
Life and Health Agents
If you decide to go down the path of the life & health agent, you may have to work a little harder. The reality is that people do not like talking about their health or the eventual demise. As a result, life and health insurance has to be heavily marketed. With the exception of open enrollment for Medicare and Obamacare, most life and health insurance sales require you to be well educated and prepared to convince a client of the importance of getting covered.
On the other and , life insurance pays some of the highest first year commissions of all products sold. It’s common for an agent to make 70% to 80% of first year premiums paid. Look at it this way. If you sell a $1000 life insurance policy, the insurance company could pay you as much a $800 or more. This is perhaps the number 1 reason people get into selling life insurance. Not only does the life insurance policy pay high first year commissions but there’s enough room on the commission ladder to recruit other agents.
If you’re newly licensed, that where you need to start. Decide if you have what it takes to sell life & health insurance or do you want the routine of auto and home insurance. That makes a hug difference. Do you have questions about the insurance world? I’d please comment below and I’ll do my best to respond to each of your questions either here or on our YouTube channel.
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