Building Your OWN Book of Business

[TFord7]

I suppose this question is going to be primarily dependent on the terms of ones contract but my questions is ..

Is it possible to build your own book of business while working with a captive company?

Background to the question: I met with an Allstate GA and he was telling me that if he were to start again from age 25 he would get his FL 2-20 first and then get is FL 2-15 .. He basically was saying although the life insurance gives a higher upfront pay they are fewer and further inbetween & he talked about people not being able to get underwritten, people requesting 10,000 (pretty much funeral insurance) etc.

He felt that P&C gives a stronger residual opportunity. I'm currently in the hiring process with Nortwestern Mutual however they do not even offer P&C so I didnt think it would be much of a conflict of interest if I were to build a P&C book independently of them especially if it might afford me the opportunity to talk about life & or health later on.

Every now and then I'll see someone suggest using p&c to get your foot in the door for life ins and ive also seen the opposing view suggesting to specialize in one area (life&health) or (p&c)

 

[Josh]

You're probably not going to be able to build a P&C book at Allstate.

Splitting your time between two difficult efforts is likely to make you fail at both.

An Allstate guy (in his right mind) isn't going to go along with that game plan.

Using P&C to get your foot in the door for life insurance is something that is rarely executed well.

P&C itself isn't a bad gig.

NWM itself isn't a bad gig.

Trying to work with an Allstate agency and NWM, even if they both went along with it, probably isn't going to be helpful for you.

 

[TFord7]

well i guess i was more so thinking of it as being "independent" in P&C while working captive w/ NWM but i can understand the "jack of all trades is the king of none"

a piggy back question: it has been mentioned several times by the guys at NWM that they can sell anything but only "we" can sell NWM... the policies sold outside of NWM, are those owned by the rep?

 

[senior-advisor-indiana]

You're probably not going to be able to build a P&C gook at Allstate.

Splitting your time between two difficult efforts is likely to make you fail at both.

An Allstate guy (in his right mind) isn't going to go along with that game plan.

Using P&C to get your foot in the door for life insurance is something that is rarely executed well.

P&C itself isn't a bad gig.

NWM itself isn't a bad gig.

Trying to work with an Allstate agency and NWM, even if they both went along with it, probably isn't going to be helpful for you.

No need to be racist, Josh. Your first line is very offensive!

 

[Josh]

No need to be racist, Josh. Your first line is very offensive!

Thanks for keeping me honest.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

well i guess i was more so thinking of it as being "independent" in P&C while working captive w/ NWM but i can understand the "jack of all trades is the king of none"

a piggy back question: it has been mentioned several times by the guys at NWM that they can sell anything but only "we" can sell NWM... the policies sold outside of NWM, are those owned by the rep?

Allstate is a captive gig so you'd be limiting yourself to a single carrier that may or may not be competitive.

If they say you can sell anything you want (indi-captivesque) then anything you sell outside of NWM is yours. The problem is that financial products (life insurance, annuity, DI, LTC, etc) are a very different gig than P&C. It'd be like trying to learn to to do finish work on a car and paint commercial buildings, they're both paint work, but very different techniques/equipment/etc.

I know life agents that switch to P&C and do well. I don't know (m)any P&C agents that switched to life and did well. Life and financial products are a tough sell and take more refined skill to sell, P&C is more of a mass farming operation.

 

[nyc2phi]

I say pick one or the other, master it, and build your own book.

If you want to do p&c work as a producer somewhere, learn the business, branch off and build your own book.

If you want to do l&h work as a producer somewhere like met, axa, or pru and branch off.

 

[TXInsuranceAgent]

Seems like NWM would not allow you to P&C independently as that could/would be a conflict of interest. Especially since P&C claims are way more prevalent than life claims.

 

[Josh]

Seems like NWM would not allow you to P&C independently as that could/would be a conflict of interest. Especially since P&C claims are way more prevalent than life claims.

How would that be a conflict of interest?

 

[TXInsuranceAgent]

How would that be a conflict of interest?

Maybe it's just me but I don't see how it couldn't be. Wouldn't a captive company want their agent to devote their time and energy promoting and selling only the types of coverage/s they offer?

 

[Josh]

Maybe it's just me but I don't see how it couldn't be. Wouldn't a captive company want their agent to devote their time and energy promoting and selling only the types of coverage/s they offer?

That's not what is generally meant by a "conflict of interest". Conflict of interest is more along the lines of an agent working as a w2 employee for a carrier and then independently selling another carrier. Competing priorities aren't really a conflict of interest.

Here is a better explanation: Conflict of interest - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia