How much can you prosper as an insurance agent?

by Guest » Sat Mar 08, 2008 07:41 pm
Guest

Insurance agents can have quite a rewarding career. The commission that they earn from each policy they sell can be handsome, depending on the policy as well as the company they belong to. It is a job that requires a lot of hard work and success does not come easy. However, once you learn the ropes of the trade, there may be no limit to how much you can earn.

How much do life and health insurance agents earn?

  • Life Insurance Agents: Commissions earned by agents selling life insurance can vary depending on the kind of policy sold. It may also vary from one insurer to another but in general, the insurance agent typical commissions would be around 30% - 50% in case of a term policy and 90% - 95% in whole life policy. This would be the earning in the first year. However, the earnings from premiums in the subsequent years would be much lower. The average earning then would be around 6% from whole life policies and 4% per year from term policies for as long as they last.

    Some companies do not offer any fees. The only money their agent earns is from the commission he/she gets by selling a policy. Such agent may have a tendency to push a policy to the customers in order to earn more from the commissions.

  • Health Insurance Agents: Commissions paid on health insurance is almost 20% of the premiums for the first year and 5% for the subsequent years till the duration of the policy.
Some insurance companies may have flexible work policies while some may have very rigid ones. Not all insurance companies are like that, and if you are an independent agent, you need not be under the control of any company. However, independent insurance agent commission also centers on the number of products he/she can sell. Know more about how much insurance agents make.

Hello all,
I have decided to pursue a career as an independent ins. agent and am thinking of just focusing on health and life. I want to get to know all I can about these two lines of insurance and I am wondering if these two are a good choice to pursue as far as insurance agent commission goes. Can some one tell me what an average premium is for each of these policies and how this relates to my commission. How much do insurance agents make ? Thank you and I understand there are many variables but I am just talking about a ballpark figure. Say something like an auto policy 1000/yr and 15% new insurance agent commission, 10% renewal. TRhanks again.

Total Comments: 47

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 05:27 am Post Subject:

A lot depends on the state(s) that you write business.

Auto...about 2000 per year at 15% insurance agent commission.

Health...about 3500 per year at about 20% insurance agent commission.

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 02:53 pm Post Subject:

Ohio Health nailed it - 20% commission on average however my average premium is $4,100 per copy since I market to small business owners.

Renewals average 5% and health is much easier to market and sell as an independent agent then life or vehicle insurance policies.

Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 06:39 am Post Subject: Analyzing things should be your 1st priority!

Dear guest....don't you think it would rather be difficult for you to operate at both of these arenas...Life & health would often go hand-in-hand for many companies...but when it comes to working as an individual agent...to earn a handsome figure each term...you need to ensure that your database grows upon its potentiality. So, it could be better if you take one thing at a time.
Thanks,
RosalindM

Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 09:04 am Post Subject:

Dear guest....don't you think it would rather be difficult for you to operate at both of these arenas...



Yeah it may be easy to sell auto policy as it is the state requirement, but in terms of revenue earning the life and health insurance may get a rate higher than the auto policies.

Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 12:20 pm Post Subject:

It's much easier to prospect for health than auto. Where do you find auto prospects outside of your natural market? However, people looking for affordable health insurance are everywhere.

Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 01:16 pm Post Subject:

Guest,

Where are you located? My company is looking to contract some independent Life agents and each one of them are getting a very high insurance agent commission. Please let me know if your interested.

Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 02:30 pm Post Subject:

Okay, I realize its early Monday morning and I might still be a bit "foggy" but, think I missed something here.

I have decided to pursue a career as an independent ins. agent and am thinking of just focusing on health and life. I want to get to know all I can about these two lines of insurance and I am wondering if these two are a good choice to pursue as far as commisions go. Can some one tell me what an average premium is for each of these policies and how this relates to my commision. Thank you and I understand there are many variables but I am just talking about a ballpark figure.



Doesn't it seem that we're gathering a little information about the L&H industry here?

Say something like an auto policy 1000/yr and 15% new commision, 10% renewal.



Then, from way out in left field, someone decides to throw in a little P&C. That should be illegal.............

If we have questions about L&H, we'll darn well address those. If you'd like to stick with the auto insurance challenges, you guys'll have to cover that.

Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 08:25 pm Post Subject:

auto is a tougher arena to make it in...what other areas are overlooked..?

Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2008 08:50 am Post Subject:

I think we just have too many auto-explanation threads at the forums to make things simpler in terms of auto..

Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2008 03:54 pm Post Subject: Health Insurance Commission

I think I have to move out of NJ :shock: ... an Ind Agent in NJ gets get 5-5.5% insurance agent commission on new small group health, 4.5-5% on renewals and about 7% on mid-large group health. Small group has to be written through a GA in NJ. No renewal commission on Life policies as far as I know.

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