r/InsuranceAgent

I (26m) am roughly 7 months into my first producer role. First time cold calling/prospecting too and my agent knows this too but she wants 22 apps a month from me, as a minimum, in her own words.

I have been struggling so hard at this position. Been trying to adjust my approach to close better but truth be told, it’s hard to focus on sales when there’s a ton of service calls to be done. I’m working on pivoting better to other services besides p&c, it’s a work in progress. I try to ask the top salesperson what works for her but she is also telling me that her sales are slowing down too but she doesn’t seem to get that pressure from the agent.

The worst part of this is the pressure I face from the agent; I feel like she muscles me for more output but doesn’t actually provide any input. Me and one other salesperson share about 3 leads a day. It’s a toss up with leads.

It has been so difficult to stay motivated and stay cool, calm and collected when the office is getting so busy.

Is this not for me? Am I bad at selling? I want to work with an IMO but i’m having trouble finding some in my area (Chicago). I dread this job and just want the agent to not pressure me or make me send emails on quotes that I have provided.

Edit: typos, more details

I hate working there. I hate the chaos and the dysfunction. I hate the quotas and the awkward shakedowns and conversations about my sales.

I am genuinely just curious on how brokers start out and like how they function.

I am 25M with 3.5 years of experience but I’ve only ever seen how insurance works from the captive side. With all the changes going on around the industry I am just trying to make sure I make the best option for myself before I put down permanent roots.

I’ve worked for a couple agents due to moving and just personality mismatches but am consistently putting up 18-25k (have hit over 35k before I started taking more service) in raw new premiums every month at State Farm right now while doing about 40% of the books total service work.

Obviously State Farm is changing comp plans in the coming years and I am not the best at Life (mainly my own fault cause I’m not the best at asking. When I do ask I do decent). With State Farm’s variable comp a lot of it will come down to life insurance sales.

I know from reading this subreddit quite a bit, there are a lot of people that either own or work for independents. I’m just curious on what that looks like for you or how that’s different than my experience in State Farm or other captives.

If you are an owner of an independent agency, how did you get your start there? What are the pros and cons of going independent and would you recommend it?

Thanks for any insight you may provide!!

Hi everyone,

I've been talking to insurance agents recently, and one problem keeps coming up: client information is spread across Excel, WhatsApp, PDFs, emails, and notebooks, making renewals and follow-ups harder than they should be.

I'm building a tool to solve that, but before I go any further I'd really like feedback from agents who do this every day.

If anyone is interested in testing an early version or seeing the prototype, let me know in the comments and I'll share it.

Thanks!

Hello all,

I applied for a job at BCBS of SC as a Sales Agent for small group sales with the chamber of commerce. I did insurance for 2 years independent and now work for the department of social services. Can anyone give me pointers on what to expect? This is different from my Medicare league. They said it's work from home, salary $43k +commissions. I did a little digging and found out commissions are about 4% on each sale. Selling in groups so multiply that by however many employees I'll be signing. I've been out of the insurance world for 1 year so I am a little nervous. I wasn't an *amazing* Medicare Agent but I do well with people face to face. My residuals are starting to dwindle down below $1k/month so not taking this job would imo be foolish. I know they'll be training me which is great but I'm just very unfamiliar with the work. Hoping someone can chime in if they're experienced in the field and have any pointers and wisdom for me for interview and after getting the job.

What life insurance companies would you recommend to work for??

Every one of them so far I have been with (I know 1099 means to place money, I have done that) wants $1,000 a week for leads that are already used to outbound call, or is a MLM where you bother your folks. I want to find a company to work with that I enjoy and can financially steadily increase my company not fail immediately.

This is not fear-based post or meant to be overly dramatic.

This is an honest take and I'd like you to consider it as I hypothetical if need be.

First question, are you doing anything?

Second question, if so, what are you doing practically?

Third question, do you believe business today is more about strategy than it's ever been before?

Hi all,

I’m completely new to insurance and recently got licensed in North Carolina. I have been offered a $20/hr base pay position with StateFarm that has unlimited commission.

If I do well in terms of making sales (as in, exceptionally well), how much could I expect to make annually?

Base pay alone comes out to ~$38,000/yr and ideally I’d like to make more than that given commission potential.

Hey everyone,

I recently decided to close my art store. I was wondering a few things. The art gallery I had was at a very slow mall and I decided I’d start selling insurance. Possibly getting my license in other states as well. I’m studying now and I’ve taken the exam 7 times in early February and March. Couldn’t pass it. Sucks and it’s embarrassing I was hoping to use it as a secondary income.

I’d prefer to travel and do calls while I’m in the road photographing and when I’m in town Interact I’m planning to get 4 licenses, life, health, auto, home.

I’ve seen the commissions, it’s way better than selling art or martial arts ( I own a school as well ).

In order to make a decent living, what should I expect? My other business art and martial arts mostly do better at night anyways.

1. What are the days like what should u be doing?
2. Do the leads from your insurance companies actually convert ?
3. From let’s say 9am-4pm what is a typical day and work flow. What should I be doing to max my results in earnings?
4. Since I’ll be an independent agent will have time to be on the road and travel ?
5. I’ve seen insurance agents that have files on there houses for years. Is there a CRM for this? Or does your agency usually store them.
6. I hear the busy season for health is November ? Because everyone is renewing, would the other licenses keep me afloat ?
7. Once I get my license what are some common mistakes beginners do so they don’t end up in a bad situation ?

Thanks everyone.

Hey everyone, looking for some real, unvarnished advice from people actually in the industry. I’m 59, just got my Florida 2-14 (Life/Annuities) and 2-40 (Health) licenses, and I’ve already stepped face-first into a massive IMO/MLM trap. I need a serious reality check on finding a legitimate path forward.

To give you a quick background: I am a pure closer. I did mortgages as a loan originator up until the 2008 crash, then transitioned into hardcore, high-ticket kitchen table sales (residential water treatment systems) until 2020. I was a consistent $95k+ earner specializing in the one-call close. When COVID hit, I had to walk away from sales to become a full-time, 24/7 caregiver for my 90-year-old mother who had advanced Alzheimer's. I stayed by her side until she passed away.

Now I'm getting back on my feet and decided insurance was the best place to deploy my skills. Because of my age and some lifestyle changes, I really don't want to be chained to an office permanently anymore. A couple of days a week for hybrid/training is fine, but I’m looking for a remote or hybrid setup.

Here is my dilemma: I signed up with an agency and after three one-on-one coachings, the red flags are screaming.

I just discovered the “free lead system" (the reason I signed up) requires me to have 5 active contracts in place. Or I could just buy packs of 20 leads for $700 a pop. Oddly they are training me to sell complex IULs and told me to come back with a list of 20 friends and family members. They want a 20-year-old "upline trainer" to get on Zoom with me, call my personal network for "practice pitches," and take a 50/50 split of any commission.

Look, I could outsell this kid in my sleep if I just know the logistics of the process. I am absolutely not burning my personal network or begging my family for business just to feed an upline.

I am not a prospector, and I don't have a local network to exploit. But if you put a warm lead or an inbound live-transfer in front of me, I will close it.

Where do guys like me actually belong in today's market? Are there legitimate corporate W-2 or high-support 1099 roles that actually provide a solid lead flow (like Medicare live-transfers or captive carriers) rather than making you buy leads or recruit your friends? I have my licenses and E&O insurance ready to go. I just need a real direction.

Appreciate any insight you guys can give me.

I’m a 30M who’s been selling cars in Louisiana for going on 3 years now. I’ve done okay for myself in the business so far but I’m tired of the car sales grind. I can go on and on about the objections I face daily, but I still love sales and giving that experience. I’m a pretty charismatic salesman who came from serving tables so communicating with anyone is no problem for me.

I’m just ready for growth and I always wanted to own my own company. Once again, I don’t mind the grind, but I’d rather give all that energy towards something I own!

I was looking into different sales professions and selling insurance was one that checked a lot of boxes for me. Especially being able to start my own agency and build a book of business I own, instead of the dealerships.

I’ve looked into joining an aggregator to get carriers and eventually get my book of business solid. I have a ton of connections in the car business so me getting clients wouldn’t be as hard as someone starting from scratch in sales. I have a good marketing strategy/plan set up for my current clientele and region as well.

My questions are, what steps do I need to take to get started and what should I expect along this journey ? I made six figures last year selling cars so I know I can make the money but I want to build and own something for myself. Thanks

I’m looking for honest feedback from people who have experience with the Farmers Associate Agent Program or who have become Farmers agency owners.

I recently interviewed with a District Manager who has offered me an opportunity to enter the Associate Program in which I would work hybrid (remote and out of the DM’s office). The program includes a small monthly base salary of $500 per month, 100% commission on my sales, and the opportunity to keep the book of business I build. The goal is to produce $150,000 in premium (75 personal lines policies, 6 life policies, and 2 commercial policies) in 12 months. Once those goals are met, I would have the opportunity to open my own Farmers agency. He told me that many associates in her district reach that production goal in about 6 to 7 months.

Bonus Goals:
$25k in premium = $800 in lead credits
$60k in premium = $2,400 bonus and $800 in lead credits
$100k in premium = $3,600 in bonus and $800 in lead credits
$150k in premium = $7,000 bonus and opens your agency to start on the 3 year bonus program as an agent.

A little about me:

I recently earned my Property & Casualty and Life insurance licenses.
I have no insurance sales, or any sales, experience.
I have no experience owning or managing a business.
I enjoy learning, I’m coachable, and I’m willing to work hard.
I need a dependable income while I’m learning because I’m replacing my vehicle soon and have family responsibilities.

I’m trying to determine whether this is a realistic path or whether I’m looking at it with rose-colored glasses.

I’d really appreciate hearing from people who have actually been through the Associate Program or currently own a Farmers agency.

Some questions I have:

What did your first month actually look like?
How much of your day was spent calling leads versus talking to interested prospects?
Were leads provided, or were you expected to generate most of your own business?
Realistically, how much did you earn after 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and your first year?
Is reaching $150,000 in premium within 6 to 7 months realistic for someone without prior sales experience?
When you graduated, did you actually feel prepared to run your own agency?
What surprised you most about becoming an agency owner?
What are the biggest ongoing expenses after opening an agency (office lease, staff, marketing, technology, etc.)?
Looking back, would you choose this path again?
If you were starting over today with no insurance sales experience, would you still choose the Associate Program or would you recommend another path into the industry?

I’m not looking for a sales pitch. I’d really appreciate hearing the good, the bad, and the ugly from people who have actually lived it.

I have worked in PL lines insurance the past ten years on both the service and sales side. I have worked remote since 2020. I am looking for a job where I work remote and can handle all the tasks for the day. Endorsements, vin numbers that were put in wrong, if I need to reach ​out to the customer for any uw needs or inspections, emails the customers send in or anything the company or agent needs. I am wonderful with customers and have gotten several customer service awards and ideas or where I can do this remotely? Thanks!

Does anyone else hate when coworkers or friends constantly tell you how many auto policies they’ve sold?

I’m happy when people do well, but hearing everyone’s numbers all day just makes me compare myself and adds unnecessary pressure. Am I the only one who feels this way?

I want to create a Facebook page about selling insurance. Where should I start? I'm new to this industry and have no prior knowledge. I want to reach customers honestly. Does anyone have any advice or suggestions for me?

Hey everyone so a while ago I made a post about being without a job for a bit. I finally thankfully got hired at Farmers. The thing is the last step needed is the background check from Farmers. He sent me a email to get signed and then he said I would pay a fee to continue that he would reimburse but after sending the document that gives them the right to do a background check for me there was no other option, it just says the document has been completed and signed. It was on Tuesday, by Friday the boss called me and asked if i received some sort of email saying for me to pay the fee yet to proceed which I explained I havent yet. The boss figured if I can come down maybe that would help him see from my phone so he can understand whats going on. After seeing I still havent received anything he figured to just withdraw the original submission and just restart the process. So I signed another document and it got sent to Farmers, that was Friday. My question is anyone else who is a Farmers agent, how long is the process? I kind of want to start working soon im running low on money im 27 perfectly clean record. Every other job Ive worked at the background check is something that just happens in a day for me.

I am currently studying to take my life insurance exam for Missouri and I would like recommendations on which IMO to join. I would like to focus on final expense. I would love to join Digital BGA but with the 5 license requirements and expensive lead spend I won’t be able to join right away. I do have money to spend on leads but not as much as I have heard that I would to start with them. I do plan getting license in at 2 states starting out since I travel between MO & TN. I just want to learn the business and make money while doing it. I am terrified to join FFL and I also looked into Final Expense Brokerage but they currently are not accepting newly license agents . Do anyone have any other recommendations?

Saw an owner in another thread say he catches underpayments "more times than not" when he actually checks statements, and a bookkeeper post about a statement that was off by $1,800. Made me wonder if that's rare or if that's just what happens when anyone looks. If you've caught one how'd you find it, how much was it, and did the carrier make it right without a fight?

As the CSR one of my jobs is receiving copies of underwriter memos, via agency email. Some are copies of letters sent by mail to our customers of policy non-renewals. Most non-renewals are for claims history, repairs needing completed, documents that are missing, etc. 99% of the time they are rescinded once we provide what they are asking for. Claims history is the only one we can’t really fight.

A recent one I received is a homeowners policy non-renewing for a house that underwriting believes is vacant. I don’t know how they came to this conclusion. It’s the only house we have insured for this client and it matches their mailing address and garaging address for their cars. But I set a follow up to confirm with the client as opposed to assuming. I never assume anything in this line of work.

We get these memos way out from renewal, like 5+ months. And we get a lot of them. So I usually set the follow-up 30-60 days before the non-renewal. (Right away if it’s something like a house needing extensive repairs.) I am too busy to do everything the split second I get it so I go in order of urgency. A policy being non-renewed in December when I receive it in June is not an emergency. So set a follow up in plenty of time before, but avoid yet another immediate task.

Today, while we were out of the office our boss/the agent wanted us to check voicemails just in case someone had an emergency (pretty much claims). The customer with the possible vacant home left an absolutely hateful voicemail. Letting us know she recieved a non-renewal letter due to her house possibly being vacant and she expects a call back immediately. Proceeded to tell us "you need to fix this right now!" even though we are not in the office. And she added some colorful language for flare.

I don’t blame her for being alarmed. I would be too. Most people ignore these letters which is why I set follow ups. Some people do read them. Like her for example. But most people are far more reasonable about it. The hateful, demanding, yelling, cussing was uncalled for in my opinion. Her home is not set to non-renew for many months from now and it’s over something very easily fixed. Unlike too many claims or a house that needs an entire roof to stay insured. I don’t know why she couldn’t just be like “Hey, this really concerns me. I hope we can fix this very soon. Please call me as soon as you can.” Instead of being a complete menace and demanding we talk to her during a holiday weekend.

At the end of the day it is not our decision to non-renew these people. Yes it is our job to rectify where we can and notify in a timely manner in case they didn’t receive the letter. But I don’t feel we deserved this. This is what I have the biggest issue with when it comes to our current society. Everyone has gotten so accustomed to instant gratification that, if they have to wait a couple days, they get absolutely unhinged. Now I’m sitting here wondering if I need to start offering instant gratification to be considered a good employee and that is just not sustainable. Most situations in this industry aren’t truly urgent. And if I start loosening on that boundary, treating everything like its an immediate priority, then everything will be “urgent” and that is a good way to allow your job to destroy you. And allow clients to get even more entitled. I’m stuck between maintaining boundaries but simultaneously not appearing neglectful. I’m now worried that if she leaves I’ll be blamed because it’s my job to do these follow ups.

For the record, I did not call her. She will be followed up with on Monday.

I responded because why not. She wants to set up a zoom call next week but I said before I commit to that I want to know what the role is and what makes me a good candidate.

Here is the original email:

Hello

I hope you’re doing well. I wanted to reach out because your background stood out to me, and I thought you might be interested in learning more about a Financial Services opportunity.

For someone with management experience, this can be an especially interesting career path. In addition to offering professional development, flexibility, and long-term growth potential, it can also be a strong fit for someone who enjoys leading, mentoring, building relationships, and helping others succeed. Over time, it may also create opportunities for broader leadership and team development.

If you’d be open to a brief conversation, I’d be happy to share more details and answer any questions you may have.

Best,

Employee Name

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What is going on here?