Feel Great About This Agency

[motoxxx]

$$$$$

Don't have the capital up front to make that happen. Don't have a home phone either, just a cell. Don't have unlimited minutes either. The list goes on. But primarily...

$$$$$

Got it! Been there myself more times than I care to remember. Going the independent route is really tough at the beginning but the rewards for me were very much worth the risk. I didn't have any money at all when I started as an independent. My poor wife worked herself to death (well almost!) supporting us as I got started.

I hope they make you a good offer and that every thing goes well. Please let us know how that all works out. I am seriously hopeful for you and hope to hear good news.

 

[InsuranceGuru]

So, I expect I'm going to need to be able to answer some questions from owners of this agency regarding health, so I'm going to get a head start now and throw some things out here that I need feedback on... so anyone with any insight on these matters, feel free to chip in on the discussion from here.

I need to be able to pitch a market niche and a product. I have the market in mind - Small Businesses, because there are just SO many of them in my area. The product? Health. I can deal with Life and Commercial later on down the road (the commercial is in their hands, as most of their accounts are commercial). So, speaking specifically about health products, I have the following companies in mind for my offerings...

On the group side in Tennessee, we have BCBS, Aetna, Cigna, and Cariten. On the individual side in Tennessee, we have a LOT, but I think I can narrow it down to a handful of companies: UHC/Golden Rule, Assurant, BCBS, Aetna, Cigna, and Celtic (I don't know ANYTHING about Celtic). There's also the Heartland Accident plans that are pretty common among farms and rural areas, and of course there's UA/Lib Nat'l for Supplements/Basic Ind. Life. AIG is also in the area, but I'm skeptical on what the offerings are for them.

So, I'm thinking I'd start small:

Group: Cigna or Aetna (not both at first)
Individual: Golden Rule, Assurant, and/or Aetna/any good company that can underwrite more pre-existing conditions

Staying away from Medicare at the moment, since I need to focus on a market related to commercial in the hopes that producers in the office are open to cross-selling multiple lines.

One more thing I'd like to be able to do is create a solid issue business portfolio between the cherry-picking companies and those that might have less stringent underwriting guidelines. So, in the case an individual wouldn't qualify for UHC or Assurant, I'd have something nice to offer them that they might qualify for.

I've done no group insurance, but I believe they might have that expectation of me, and since my mother-in-law had Cigna and has been taken care of very well by them, I'm leaning in that direction.

One more thing, I read a "free online e-book" by an agent, I believe in MD, that talks about a few companies that he writes for. He makes a very persuasive argument for the companies, but then he doesn't say who the companies are. Any recommendations on how I might go about finding out without asking the agent directly (likely he will want to protect this info to use as his own exclusive marketing campaign or charge someone for the info, which I'm not really capable of paying for at the moment)? Maybe those companies he writes for are located in Tennessee as well.

Maybe they're only local companies that write only in this agent's state. In any case, it would be good to know what kind of insurance might be available in Tennessee similar to his individual health package that he pitches in his book. I can point to the website, but in order to read the book, you'd have to sign up on his e-mail list. The .pdf download should start immediately after you sign up for his newsletter or there is a button you click to begin the download - can't remember.

Home

Anyways, that's all for now. Any input is always welcome, and thanks again!

 

[arcains]

If that does not work out, try Insurance Service Group in Clinton. I believe they still have an office in Knoxville. I am not sure if the Arrowoods still own it, but it is another large agency in east TN.

 

[theinuranceguy]

Id still go indy.

You dont necessarily "need" money to start this, its easier, but get a phone book and start cold calling.

 

[wfs]

$$$$$

Don't have the capital up front to make that happen. Don't have a home phone either, just a cell. Don't have unlimited minutes either. The list goes on. But primarily...

$$$$$

$2.95/month for unlimited Skype Out and a $15 headset. You can set the outbound caller id to your cellphone #. I've been "beta" testing it for reliability and it works great so far.

Or $25 for unlimited VOIP ala Vonage, Packet 8, etc...

You can keep your costs pretty low as an independent producer. As long as you have internet and voip of some sort, you've got your basics covered.

 

[moonlightandmargaritas]

but get a phone book and start cold calling.

...and prepare to starve.

 

[motoxxx]

...and prepare to starve.

Yes, it can be tough going this route. When I first started, I was going broke buying leads but figured it was do or die and I just grabbed the phone book and worked out my pitch cold calling. You got a ton of hang ups at first but then eventually you get your dialog rolling and I would get about 1 in ten to at least let me do some quotes for them. I ended up getting about 5 deals per 100 calls which was enough to survive on.

Also try Goleads.com for about $10 per month. You can use that for cold calling businesses and categorize the leads in several different ways. I got a bunch of deals this way and it really helped me to survive the lean years.

As far as the phone systems go. I use Vonage VOIP and it works really well. I also have a toll free number set up via Toll Free Max. My systems allow me to work from home competely online.