Anyone Here Went from Mortgages into Insurance?

[HZ900]

I signed up on this site to do some research on possibly becoming an insurance agent. I have had my licenses in the past for various reasons so I am familiar with the business although never went full time agent. I am currently a licensed Mortgage Loan Officer, been so for 6 years and currently have my own branch, and I'm hoping to hear from any of you who might have been in my situation before. Here are a few questions to get this thread started:

How was the transaction for you?

Is the insurance biz easier/harder than the mortgage biz

How are regulations on the insurance side? In the mortgage biz it seems like every time I turn around I'm getting more regulations making it increasingly difficult to get anything done.

I am also trying to figure out if it is legal or not to have and maintain both licenses but no one will say one way of the other. Yes I have contacted HUD and my state insurance commissioner. Waiting to hear back from my state OFI.

What are the pros/cons to selling P&C and Life/Health

 

[KenK]

I've worked with a couple of real estate/mortgage agents who attempted to transition into Life sales, but neither was able to make it work. The main reason? They refused to give up on trying to close real estate deals while also trying to get into insurance. One cannot do both (at least, not well) as you will continually take your eye off of the activities needed to achieve success. Insurance sales success = nonstop prospecting. Try this career part-time and you will definitely have only part-time success, i.e. your production will stink.

 

[HZ900]

I've worked with a couple of real estate/mortgage agents who attempted to transition into Life sales, but neither was able to make it work. The main reason? They refused to give up on trying to close real estate deals while also trying to get into insurance. One cannot do both (at least, not well) as you will continually take your eye off of the activities needed to achieve success. Insurance sales success = nonstop prospecting. Try this career part-time and you will definitely have only part-time success, i.e. your production will stink.

Life sales are pretty tough IMO. They are one of the things that no one thinks they need until they can't get it plus no one wants to talk about the possibility of death. I'd want to try starting out with PC. I've got the contacts with the realtors and other mortgage agents in town for the HOI and I'm used to making F2F sales calls as that's part of what I do now to get business. Thoughts on this?

 

[Bertolinoins]

The best personal lines and commercial property insurance brokers I have worked with come from a mortgage background. I have three agents that have made that transition and one of my personal lines CSR's is a former processor. I like the pace at which those employees can work. They can do 40-50 transactions a month while putting them to bed without any lingering issues, etc. They are more process oriented than lifelong insurance people and they already have built in referral sources. The only green employees I will look at are from the mortgage or title industries.