by AGD » Sun Feb 03, 2013 12:33 am
I have been on the computer for days looking for information to be more informed about this field.
Life insurance is the main sell at this location but I don't know what other products it sells. Was told that three days out of the week,Tue-Thur, that you would work late and could be up to around seven or eight in the evening dealing with clients in or outside the office(clients home) at those hours because they are at work during the day. Told me the add he had out for compensation was $55,000. You also get commission and residual as well. Asked him what he would start me out at a month and he told me $2,000 and after about three or four months I would be at around $3,000-$3,500.. I would also have two weeks of training that would be paid for by the company. Something about dealing with quotas each month and the one he mentioned the number was 12.. I just don't want to get bound by any kind of contract and do to lack of experiance in this field be taken advantage of.. Can anyone please help me on this as I would like to be fully confident and understanding of what to expect. This is about becoming an insurance agent. I am looking to make a career of this. I still have other questions but this is a start.
Life insurance is the main sell at this location but I don't know what other products it sells. Was told that three days out of the week,Tue-Thur, that you would work late and could be up to around seven or eight in the evening dealing with clients in or outside the office(clients home) at those hours because they are at work during the day. Told me the add he had out for compensation was $55,000. You also get commission and residual as well. Asked him what he would start me out at a month and he told me $2,000 and after about three or four months I would be at around $3,000-$3,500.. I would also have two weeks of training that would be paid for by the company. Something about dealing with quotas each month and the one he mentioned the number was 12.. I just don't want to get bound by any kind of contract and do to lack of experiance in this field be taken advantage of.. Can anyone please help me on this as I would like to be fully confident and understanding of what to expect. This is about becoming an insurance agent. I am looking to make a career of this. I still have other questions but this is a start.
Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 03:45 pm Post Subject:
First, before you can even be compensated for selling any insurance products, you must be licensed by the state. You don't mention what state you are in, but many states have a "prelicensing" education requirement (in CA it can be up to 52 hours for a life & health license). Then you have to pass a written exam. And of course, all this costs money -- yours, in most cases -- and that can amount to several hundred dollars.
Second, rarely do agents receive a "salary" in the life insurance industry. Most of us receive commission only, and even that is usually on an "advance" basis, which means that if a policy is not taken or the application is declined (or the policy is cancelled within the first 9-12 months), you have to pay back some or all of the commission you received.
You will be bound by contracts to represent insurance companies as their agent. This simply means that you agree to their rules of business conduct. It does not force you to stay with any particular company for any length of time, but it obligates you to return those "chargeback" commissions.
Advertisements (and interviews) for insurance agents make all sorts of "promises" that are untrue or unrealistic -- like earning $100,000 per year after six months in the field. Some folks achieve that kind of success, but not many, and most don't do that in their first year.
Be wary of sales quotas . . . they can pressure you into doing things that would be considered unethical -- like lying to a person to make that 12th sale for the month. Trust me, you don't want to go down that path. Folks like me work to put those agents out of business. The states work to put them behind bars.
Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 06:24 pm Post Subject: Location
I'm in Texas. And the company is Texas Farm Bureau.
Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 06:55 pm Post Subject:
Are you a city slicker, or do you have some country in you? It's probably an acceptable place to start a career. It's not like no one in Texas has ever heard of them.
There is no prelicensing requirement in Texas that you must satisfy before taking the license exam. There are exam prep courses available and usually run two days in a live setting. Providers include AD Banker, Kaplan, and others. You can do it by self-study, but I don't recommend that. Having a live instructor available to ask/answer questions is worth the added cost. Taking a live exam prep course will improve your chances of passing to between 80% and 90% on the first attempt.
All the information you need about licensing and exams is here: http://www.asisvcs.com/publications/pdf/124400.pdf
At least you don't have to apply and pay for your license until after you pass the license exam. CA just adopted that path a couple of months ago. The life license fee is $50, the exam fee is $48, and the fingerprint fee is about $41. Farm Bureau also offers property and casualty insurance, and there is a separate license and exam for that. There is a combined "General Lines" license for P&C and Life & Health" and the exam fee is $62 for that license. I'm not sure if the license fee is $50 or $100.
You'll also have continuing education to complete every year, too, but that's relatively inexpensive online these days. .
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