Best way to start P&C Career

[MindfulAction]

New P&C agent here. I have some minimal life insurance experience, but I am interested in learning and delving into P&C, especially commercial.

I'm wondering what the best route for me is. I'm open to any and all paths. I'm considering working for a State Farm agent, but am also open to other avenues. I've looked around at some independent agencies and they don't have too many producer positions listed, especially for fresh agents. They usually have account manger positions listed.

Will State Farm be a good place to learn commercial p&c or will I only really do personal lines? Would it be better to try to get an account manager position at an indie?

I'm in northern nevada if that matters at all.

 

[marindependent]

Does State Farm offer a lot commercial insurance?

The guy to ask about commercial insurance on this forum is @Markthebroker - listen to his sage advise [and ignore his sense of humor.]

 

[Markthebroker]

State Farm is a great organization to work for and learn from, but they have a fairly narrow commercial appetite which is why I am partnered with so many of them. Things may be different in NV, but I doubt it.

As for p&c, commercial generally has the biggest dollars and the brightest future, but is also the hardest to learn and get into. You're going to want to learn the business on someone else's nickel first, so getting a job as a State Farm team member or Indi account manager is going to be the way to go for the first year or two until you go off on your own. Plan on about 5 years or so until you have a good grasp of commercial. You can shorten that learning curve by establishing some niche's early on, but either way, plan on working very hard and making very little money in the beginning. I hope you like pasta.

Personally what I did was learn the business a bit as a State Farm team member selling personal and trying to sell some commercial, then I went Indi as a producer about a year later, and slowly transition to commercial, and now I am 100% commercial. I wish I had stayed 2 years at SF.

You could start at a SF office, or try to get a job as an account manager, and tell them what your plans are, maybe they'll work out a plan with you. Be aware, most independent commercial producers fail, and they will factor that heavily into their decision.

 

[shawnmwalker]

Well you have a decision tree here. I'll lead you down one path, but it is biased.



"Begin with the end in mind"- 7 habits of Highly effective people.

Decision #1:



What end of the Ins Spectrum do you want? if you answered P&C keep reading. If ''Other" wait for the others to respond



Decision #2: Captive or Independent.



Captive:

Pro: They will teach you a lot but inevitably you will go Indy at some point in your career. Another Pro, they will subsidize your life for a time.

Con: The District Manager will push too hard or force life on you or cut your commissions or change your contract, or, ext, ext. Your Captive will take rate increases and kill your production and you will have one price point while others dissect your book one policy at a time.



Independent: :

Pro: Control expenses. Get higher commission. Higher conversion. Higher retention. All of those factors equal more money.

Con: Starting out. Getting knowledge. Your personality type could sink yourself.



Decision #3:



Once you decide Indy is for you, in the next week or 22 yrs from now. The question will be how to do it. Your options include:



Buy an agency.

Join a group.

Become a producer for an agency.

Get direct appointments.

Get an agency that provides the back end service so you can hunt full time.



You decide which one is best for you.





Decision #4: What group should I join?



There are a lot. Consider the following. NOT ALL GROUPS ARE CREATED EQUAL! They range from good, better and best.



Any group claiming to be best of class should provide the following:

1. Transparency
2. Training and support
3. Carrier Alignment
4. and a great Contract

I have been in Insurance for 18+ years and the great thing in this industry is you can choose to never stop learning. Your learning curve is never ending. Meaning you will never get bored.

 

[SF_Anon]

Mark is exactly right. State Farm's Commercial lines guidelines are very...narrow. Great company to start out with though!

 

[ehall2]

As an agent for 50 years I say don't. The commercial market is a dog eat dog venture now. I have a friend in commercial and he just quote a risk for $30,000 per year which was a very competitive quote. An agent quoted $15,000 per year. I just quote a person that bought 685 acres of land with a hunting lodge. Nationwide quoted me $7,200 per year which is a good quote. Farm Bureau wrote it for $2,000 per year. You don't even have a 50% change of writing a commercial account today.

 

[fed up]

When you become independent, it is your job to know the competition and what they have to offer if you are not appointed with them. It is your job to know what your carriers like when it comes to risks. If your carriers like bake shops, it is not a good idea to quote the gas station down the block. If your carriers like mom and pop shops, it is time to walk away from a chance to quote Ford Motor Company. Every commercial carrier has a sweet spot and you have to navigate that territory

 

[ehall2]

Not so true in the real world. Every company has a sweet spot but that doesn't mean they are going to be competitive with their "sweet spot". There may be someone that is more competitive with their sweet spot than what your company is with the same sweet spot.

 

[Markthebroker]

As an agent for 50 years I say don't. The commercial market is a dog eat dog venture now. I have a friend in commercial and he just quote a risk for $30,000 per year which was a very competitive quote. An agent quoted $15,000 per year. I just quote a person that bought 685 acres of land with a hunting lodge. Nationwide quoted me $7,200 per year which is a good quote. Farm Bureau wrote it for $2,000 per year. You don't even have a 50% change of writing a commercial account today.

Weird. I'm commercial only and rarely have a quote that doesn't eventually bind.

With that said, I've build a network that refers to me, and use a carefully crafted conversation track that asks referrals of my clients. If and when I find out someone is getting a quote with another agent or broker, I usually decline to quote as they are already being helped.

Now, back when I was cold calling, and going off internet leads and x dates? Yeah, my close rate was about 20% or 30% or something like that.

 

[Nautilus5711]

As an agent for 50 years I say don't. The commercial market is a dog eat dog venture now. I have a friend in commercial and he just quote a risk for $30,000 per year which was a very competitive quote. An agent quoted $15,000 per year. I just quote a person that bought 685 acres of land with a hunting lodge. Nationwide quoted me $7,200 per year which is a good quote. Farm Bureau wrote it for $2,000 per year. You don't even have a 50% change of writing a commercial account today.

Are you sure you just don't have access to the right carriers?