Are Any of You More Experienced Agents Working on Insurance Designations?

Designations, like a college degree, is representative of something you accomplished in the past.

My college degree (BA, economics & insurance major) is older than most of the folks on this forum. I started on my CLU designation while in college and finished a year or so later. FWIW, I also completed additional coursed through the American College in retirement planning and employee benefit planning. I got half way through my CEBS before asking . . . why?

As indicated earlier, the designations mean something to other professionals but not the public.

An exception is CPA.

What I learned 30 years ago was applicable then but so much has changed in the interim makes my education almost meaningless.

I learned more about the industry (from the inside) in the 13 years I spent on the reinsurance side than anything before or since.

I learned more about selling by watching some truly incredible individuals work their magic with clients and carriers. Of all the sales people (mostly men) I have met and worked with over the years, I can name on less than one hand the number of them who are (IMO) truly masters of their craft.

There is so much more information available now than before, and is it so much easier to access.

The internet can make almost anyone an expert, or at least appear to be one. The biggest challenge to anyone seeking information on the WWW is in knowing what is truly accurate and what is BS.

When I re-entered this industry a few years ago (after a 3 year sabbatical) I sampled different markets. I no longer had the desire to tackle the large group market and wanted something different. Not bragging, but I had pretty much accomplished all I wanted or needed to do in that market and wanted something different.

After trying several different things, I settled on the individual health market. My only regret is that it took me way too long to find and focus on mastering that market segment.

The biggest challenge was the difference in underwriting individual cases vs underwriting for a 500 life group. Almost like two different worlds.

The big case is only interested in big claims.

Individual underwriters want to know if you had a hangnail.

I still think individual carriers are extremely anal in what they will approve and what they don't, but I have also learned to anticipate and deal with it.

Along the way I have spent quite a bit of time studying underwriting guides, locating medical sites with useful information and, most importantly, cobbling relationships with folks that have power in the home office of some of the top carriers.

A couple of carriers give me almost everything I ask for. That kind of relationship did not develop overnight. I had to earn their respect. I did so by becoming a master of the pre-screen, application and appeal process.

I have a "direct" line to the head of underwriting for one carrier.

The carriers that work with me know that I am "fair and balanced" in what I ask for and how I approach my craft. I will come up with creative suggestions that benefit the carrier as well as my client.

In doing so, it is a win-win situation.

In working my magic, I rely on things I learned in the past about risk management, underwriting philosophy, salesmanship and careful research before asking for favors.

So this is an extremely long way of saying what I am today (professionally) is a mixture of what I learned in the past blended with an eagerness to never stop learning.

Your degree or designation is nice, but no match for mastering your trade through continuous education and striving to be the best you can be for your clients.
 
"I thought that maybe you had some of these insurance industry designations "

I started way back in the day, as it was encouraged by my captive, but after about three courses figured it just wasn't worth the time. For me the materials at the time, just wasn't pertaining to whom I did business with.

Stuff like "your client has 20 million to shelter..... "
I wish.

It seemed like most of the training was for that one or two cases a year you may run across. It's going to depend on your market. My market isn't the guy who can live off his investments. At least, that is, I don't see enough of them to where I can make a living.

The majority of the work questions I deal with anymore have been over current or changing legislation or tax codes. Stuff that wasn't in the air a year ago.

So I guess I'm not the person to ask about having the designation. I started it, didn't see the value in it as it pertained to my market, so I put it on hold. I put money "into" my business to grow my business. It just didn't pencil out for my market. If I ever run across alot of those "20 millionaires" I'll reconsider.
 
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