Any insurance agents here? Would you recommend it as a ....

[cantdrv55]

Retirement gig?

What preparation and education did you need to embark on that career field? Is the job something that can be done part time? My friend just needs some income to pay for healthcare expenses. He has savings for everything else.

TIA.

[LWJ]

I have been in commercial insurance since 2004. No. Not recommended. There is a large learning curve. It sucks when you start. It takes about 10 years to develop any skills at all. Many / most still never develop skills after that!

If you are doing it part time, it will be even worse.

I was absolutely at the top of my field when I was in manufacturing sales. Seriously, I may have been the best in the country. Certainly in the top 5. Now? No way. The competition is so very much tougher and better.

I really think that insurance is a career and not something to dabble in.

PM me if you want to talk.

[drcoastline]

Originally Posted by LWJ

I have been in commercial insurance since 2004. No. Not recommended. There is a large learning curve. It sucks when you start. It takes about 10 years to develop any skills at all. Many / most still never develop skills after that!

If you are doing it part time, it will be even worse.

I was absolutely at the top of my field when I was in manufacturing sales. Seriously, I may have been the best in the country. Certainly in the top 5. Now? No way. The competition is so very much tougher and better.

I really think that insurance is a career and not something to dabble in.

PM me if you want to talk.

LWJ spot on, highly competitive cut throat business where only the best thrive. I am also in the insurance industry and specialize in commercial insurance, Asset protection, risk management. I own my own agency with seven licensed agents.

Tell your friend to get a Real Estate License ( I am also a RE Broker) or an insurance adjusters license both are relatively large sums per transaction fast with little knowledge. What LWJ and I do is a long term perpetual profit center best suited to a young person to grow into. building a career. Ten years in you have a good perpetual income.

[cantdrv55]

Great info you and advice, you guys. My friend thanks you. ��

[Eric Hahl]

I'm with Larry as well. My father spent his entire adult life selling insurance. Early on he studied and got his CLU, Chartered Life Underwriters. He worked day and night his entire life. Sure it paid off for him but it took a decade or so until the income started coming in. He did quite well 20-30 years into it.

[ckcarr]

Don't laugh but when my dad got to retirement age, he went and worked at Wal-Mart. Wanted low stress. He did it for a little extra cash, to continue seeing people, and mainly the insurance. He also participated in the employee stock purchase plan and I think was surprised how much value he accumulated over the years.

[Ziggythecat]

The only quick way to make money selling insurance is by selling Business Interruption insurance
The mafia had hundreds of agents, all making 6 figures, and as long as the premiums are paid...no interruptions

[Rick Lee]

I'm about two years into selling final expense life insurance. It has a 90% washout rate in the first year. I won awards and trips before I was a full year in. I'm making more than I ever have, work for myself, answer to no one, will never be unemployed and now I really don't want to ever retire. I really enjoy it. Once in a while I make more in three days than I did in a month at my previous best job. This niche is beyond insane. If you're not in the FE biz, you simply would not believe the insanity you see out there in the field. People always say I should write a book about some of my stories. But Wile E. Coyote and the Acme rocket skates is far easier to believe than what goes on this field. I was thinking about starting flying lessons soon, but learning Spanish will be a lot cheaper and come in more handy for this job.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

I'm about two years into selling final expense life insurance. It has a 90% washout rate in the first year. I won awards and trips before I was a full year in. I'm making more than I ever have, work for myself, answer to no one, will never be unemployed and now I really don't want to ever retire. I really enjoy it. Once in a while I make more in three days than I did in a month at my previous best job. This niche is beyond insane. If you're not in the FE biz, you simply would not believe the insanity you see out there in the field. People always say I should write a book about some of my stories. But Wile E. Coyote and the Acme rocket skates is far easier to believe than what goes on this field. I was thinking about starting flying lessons soon, but learning Spanish will be a lot cheaper and come in more handy for this job.

A couple of things.

1 WTF is FE life insurance?
2 You were in sales before too, right?
3 You can't post stuff like that and NOT tell us a story or three.

[Rick Lee]

FE = final expense - basically small face amount life insurance for people between 50-85 yrs of age. If you're independent and have some good carriers, you typically get paid 100% of the first year premium for each policy you write. Most companies cap face amount at $25-30k and the monthly premium can range from $25 - $200. Write $333 monthly premium per week and that's a $4000 commission for the week. Best week I've seen in my group, I think the guy wrote $13k. That's the pay for ONE WEEK. Now, there are a lot of costs involved, but it can be very lucrative and you can make well into the six figures working under 40 hrs/week.

But you generally deal with very poor and/or unhealthy people. I've had people living in their cars mail in a request for info. One guy lived in a trailer that blew up in a gas explosion. Insurance denied his claim, so he bought a chain link fence to surround the rubble and he lives in the rubble. I've probably met 10 amputees in the last two months. One had lost both arms below the elbows and a foot, but not due to diabetes - he had been electrocuted in a freak accident. I see squalor, pit bulls and guns all day, every day. But 99% of the people are the nicest people you'll ever meet, will offer food and drink, give referrals, even ask me to stay for dinner.

That's not even scratching the surface of what I see out there.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

FE = final expense - basically small face amount life insurance for people between 50-85 yrs of age. If you're independent and have some good carriers, you typically get paid 100% of the first year premium for each policy you write. Most companies cap face amount at $25-30k and the monthly premium can range from $25 - $200. Write $333 monthly premium per week and that's a $4000 commission for the week. Best week I've seen in my group, I think the guy wrote $13k. That's the pay for ONE WEEK. Now, there are a lot of costs involved, but it can be very lucrative and you can make well into the six figures working under 40 hrs/week.

But you generally deal with very poor and/or unhealthy people. I've had people living in their cars mail in a request for info. One guy lived in a trailer that blew up in a gas explosion. Insurance denied his claim, so he bought a chain link fence to surround the rubble and he lives in the rubble. I've probably met 10 amputees in the last two months. One had lost both arms below the elbows and a foot, but not due to diabetes - he had been electrocuted in a freak accident. I see squalor, pit bulls and guns all day, every day. But 99% of the people are the nicest people you'll ever meet, will offer food and drink, give referrals, even ask me to stay for dinner.

That's not even scratching the surface of what I see out there.

Wow!

What I don't understand is if these people are this poor, how/why are they buying that sort of insurance? This is insurance that pays out to a beneficiary after they die? So I guess they are concerned with family getting the shaft, which is admirable. Crazy!

Wow, sounds like a crazy gig, but worth it.

[Rick Lee]

There is a HUGE demographic out there with a fanatical belief in life insurance. They are poor, they know it, they'll always be poor, they know it and they know the cost of a funeral would have their family out in the street panhandling for funeral funds. And I see plenty of that when I'm running appointments.

One more quick story:

Yesterday my first appt was in a sort of decent trailer park. The lady was on the front porch having a smoke, husband still in bed at 9am. She said they really wanted $5k of coverage on each other, had had it, but couldn't afford to keep it and needed help keeping their gas and electric on. I asked some health questions, wrote them up a quote and, even though it was less than they had been paying, she said they just couldn't do it. I asked how much they smoked. She said she smokes a pack a day and he smokes a little over two packs a day. I gingerly explained that that ran about $700/mo and, cutting back just 4-5 cigarettes each per day would easily save them enough to pay for the life insurance they wanted. She still said it was just not possible. I then got a little tougher and said, "Lady, if you can't keep the lights on in your trailer, what are you going to do when you have to bury your husband? It's not like he's going to live to 100 when he already has COPD and has been a lifelong heavy smoker." Anyway, no sale.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

There is a HUGE demographic out there with a fanatical belief in life insurance. They are poor, they know it, they'll always be poor, they know it and they know the cost of a funeral would have their family out in the street panhandling for funeral funds. And I see plenty of that when I'm running appointments.

One more quick story:

Yesterday my first appt was in a sort of decent trailer park. The lady was on the front porch having a smoke, husband still in bed at 9am. She said they really wanted $5k of coverage on each other, had had it, but couldn't afford to keep it and needed help keeping their gas and electric on. I asked some health questions, wrote them up a quote and, even though it was less than they had been paying, she said they just couldn't do it. I asked how much they smoked. She said she smokes a pack a day and he smokes a little over two packs a day. I gingerly explained that that ran about $700/mo and, cutting back just 4-5 cigarettes each per day would easily save them enough to pay for the life insurance they wanted. She still said it was just not possible. I then got a little tougher and said, "Lady, if you can't keep the lights on in your trailer, what are you going to do when you have to bury your husband? It's not like he's going to live to 100 when he already has COPD and has been a lifelong heavy smoker." Anyway, no sale.

Wow, not a huge surprise, but wow.

I assume your quote was considerably less than $700/mo.

[Rick Lee]

I didn't suggest they quit smoking altogether, just that a very modest reduction would easily cover the total of about $90/mo for the coverage they wanted on each other.

I have an appt setter, who's a southerner and doesn't speak a word of Spanish. So when he calls those leads and they say they don't speak English (usually lying about it), I door knock them. Usually they speak English just fine, but at worst they have a kid in the house who translates for me. My best ever was a Mexican couple who really didn't speak a single word of English and the woman had a horrible policy I knew I could replace and help her out on. I called a former appt setter I had, who's Mexican, said I'd pay her for an hour of her time, and she translated the whole discussion with my phone on speaker. I got that lady 3x the face amount she had for the same premium she was paying. She was overjoyed. I'm not a do-gooder, but once in a while it's nice to help poor folks get more bang for their buck.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

I didn't suggest they quit smoking altogether, just that a very modest reduction would easily cover the total of about $90/mo for the coverage they wanted on each other.

I have an appt setter, who's a southerner and doesn't speak a word of Spanish. So when he calls those leads and they say they don't speak English (usually lying about it), I door knock them. Usually they speak English just fine, but at worst they have a kid in the house who translates for me. My best ever was a Mexican couple who really didn't speak a single word of English and the woman had a horrible policy I knew I could replace and help her out on. I called a former appt setter I had, who's Mexican, said I'd pay her for an hour of her time, and she translated the whole discussion with my phone on speaker. I got that lady 3x the face amount she had for the same premium she was paying. She was overjoyed. I'm not a do-gooder, but once in a while it's nice to help poor folks get more bang for their buck.

Nice!

[Rick Lee]

Anyway, the most lucrative part about independent insurance sales, if you're mid-to-late career, are the residuals. They're super low in the final expense biz because the upfront commissions are so high. Most other areas of insurance pay lower upfronts and higher residuals than FE. And if you do Medicare, those upfronts are around $570 for year one, but around $270 per year thereafter .... for as long as the person is alive and keeps your policy. Rock it hard for a few years and you have six figures in residual income before you get out of bed in the morning. I just could not get into the whole Medicare thing after getting my AHIP cert. But it's a very good business for people like FE agents who are already buying leads for and getting into the homes of retired people who often ask about Medicare stuff. Easy cross-selling.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

Anyway, the most lucrative part about independent insurance sales, if you're mid-to-late career, are the residuals. They're super low in the final expense biz because the upfront commissions are so high. Most other areas of insurance pay lower upfronts and higher residuals than FE. And if you do Medicare, those upfronts are around $570 for year one, but around $270 per year thereafter .... for as long as the person is alive and keeps your policy. Rock it hard for a few years and you have six figures in residual income before you get out of bed in the morning. I just could not get into the whole Medicare thing after getting my AHIP cert. But it's a very good business for people like FE agents who are already buying leads for and getting into the homes of retired people who often ask about Medicare stuff. Easy cross-selling.

Crazy stuff. Makes me wish I was a people person.