by Joe Nieto » Tue Nov 29, 2011 09:48 pm
Hello My name is Joe and I want to get into the Insurance Industry but I'm a little unsure if I should get my L&H 2-15License first or the P&C 2-20. I have no previous expirence in this industry but I'm willing to work long hours or whatever it takes to build my book of business. I live in south Florida and there's lots of business in this area. Eventually I would like to obtain both licenses and I want to work as an agent for Statefarm, Allstate or any well known company. Can someone help clarify my questions please. Also how are agents usually paid.. Comm+salary or just comm?
Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2011 04:50 am Post Subject:
There is a learning curve for P&C, so you should look for a job at a State Farm or Allstate agency to learn the business. There is a lot to learn, and there is not a lot of money in it, until you have your own agency and have a nice-sized book of business. State Farm & Allstate like to sell life insurance, but are really about home & auto insurance -- and selling home insurance in South Florida is probably difficult, since many companies don't want to sell home insurance in Florida due to the hurricane exposure.
If you are a good salesman and want to work for yourself, mortgage protection life insurance or final expense life insurance is easy to learn and can be lucrative. Some people get rich at it, some make a living, and many fail. There are a lot of life insurance marketing organizations promising the world -- namely great leads -- and not delivering. You will need to do a lot of research.
Why do you want to work in the insurance industry, and why do you think you will be successful? Knowing this can help me point you in the right direction
Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2011 06:24 pm Post Subject:
selling home insurance in South Florida is probably difficult, since many companies don't want to sell home insurance in Florida due to the hurricane exposure.
BS! There are plenty of insurance companies writing homeowner's insurance in Florida. It's simply more expensive there than in many other parts of the US due to the earthquake exposure.
Joe . . . you should find a local State Farm or Allstate or other nationally known insurance company agency/agent in your area and talk to them about the career opportunities. That's the best place to start if you were thinking of working for those companies.
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 01:55 am Post Subject:
No, Max, it's not BS. I do not sell insurance in Florida, but I have been following the news about the Florida homeowners insurance market. Many homeowners insurance companies have pulled out of the Florida market -- I believe Allstate is one one of them.
I believe there to be very strict underwriting and an insurance availability problem for many Florida homeowners.
Now, I could be wrong, and I don't mind being corrected by someone selling Florida homeowners insurance, with first hand knowledge of the market, but I don't think you are that someone.
Max, you are a knowledgeable agent, but you are occasionally wrong with your pronouncements. I know I have bruised your ego in the past by correcting you. My ego gets bruised, too, when I am wrong. I'm sure we both wish to provide the best information possible, but it's hard to reach that goal when it's more important for you to be right (or me to be wrong), than the information you provide.
Unless you have recent & extensive experience selling every type of insurance product, from every insurance company, in every state, you should not speak with certainty & authority.
I think when I learned to try to temper my ego & feelings of expertise, with the humility of knowing my knowledge and experience might lead me to incorrect conclusions in a given situation, it made me a better agent.
How about you think twice before you call something out as BS?
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 11:40 am Post Subject:
I agree that some insurers have left the Florida market in the past few years, mostly because they were not granted the rate increases they asked for by the DOI. But there are still companies writing there and the state has its own risk pool that people can join, called Citizens Property Insurance Corp, and they recently announced that they now have something like 1.5 million policyholders. Additionally, Florida has established its own Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.
People are not foreclosed from obtaining homeowners insurance in Florida, and no one should suggest to an agent that it's hard to sell the product there. How many seniors can afford the high cost of final expense insurance you would have the OP sell instead?
Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 01:42 am Post Subject:
Plenty of seniors can afford final expense, as long as you target above a certain income level, but I'm not recommending the sale of any product, simply mentioning a simple product a newbie can learn to sell quickly.
From Joe's perspective, it doesn't matter if Florida homeowners has a risk pool for homeowners insurance, but if he wants to work for Allstate selling homeowners insurance, only to find Allstate is unwilling to write it, nor wanting their agents spending a lot of their time on writing for the risk pool, if that is an option.
Homeowners insurance is a challenging market in Florida. I would be doing a disservice to Joe by not mentioning it.
I really have no interest in discussing this with you.
Unless Joe replies, I will not comment further in this thread.
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