First Insurance Producer Interview- Need Some Help.

Kramminn

New Member
12
Hi All,

As the tittle states I am posting about having my first insurance producer interview which is scheduled for Monday the 15th and thought this would be a great place to get advice/direction on how to knock this interview out of the park.

A little about me first. I am 27 years old and I am from Canada and I just finished my Insurance Broker Licence Course- I am still waiting on a exam date. I had in the mean time applied for some positions as a broker/agent all which are aware that I am not fully licensed yet.

Why did I choose to go for a producer position then going with a structured pay scale job? Well I already that my long term goals are to own my own book of business and why not start on that path from the get go then wasting time. I feel like if I would go with a company and be on a another employee on a salary job + commission I will eventually get comfortable where I am and it will be harder to step away from that to start from zero again. I dont have any obligations to anyone or anything, no mortgage so I can make that move while im young with having nothing to loose ( some may agree this is great some may not , which is fine with me)

I have my first interview with a smaller local brokers from the city I am from on Monday. I would like to get some feed back from of you on typically how a interview for a position would go? What are some good questions to ask? I am not sure how much different the commission structure is different from the US/CAN but what would be a standard split for someone starting out?
I have a bunch more that will eventually come to mind but I dont want to ask to much off the bat.

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated in advance.

Thank you.
 
You seem eager, which is always a good start. You have genuine desire to be in this field and have demonstrated that by obtaining your license already. These are positives working in your favor. I'd just be yourself.

As for commissions, that's harder to answer. Typically the more support you get, the less you're going to make on the split. I know producer getting 80/20 or even 90/10 initial and slightly less on renewals, but they provide their own everything. As a newer agent you're going to need more mentoring and resources, so I would expect something closer to 50/50 or 60/40 at the onset. This is assuming you're not earning a base. Good luck and keep us posted!
 
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You seem eager, which is always a good start. You have genuine desire to be in this field and have demonstrated that by obtaining your license already. These are positives working in your favor. I'd just be yourself.

As for commissions, that's harder to answer. Typically the more support you get, the less you're going to make on the split. I know producer getting 80/20 or even 90/10 initial and slightly less on renewals, but they provide their own everything. As a newer agent you're going to need more mentoring and resources, so I would expect something closer to 50/50 or 60/40 at the onset. This is assuming you're not earning a base. Good luck and keep us posted!

Thank you for the reply.
The person I spoke to on the phone was actually one of the owners. Like I said it's a smaller brokerage. He said he has access to 15 major insurance companies for personal lines.

He said it was an entrepreneurial position - which I was well aware of - where I would have to go out and get my old leads but at the end of the day I own my own book of business which is exactly what I wanted before I even did my course.

He said they would supple me with training and that he would give me some leads here and there but I should be getting my own. I know the role works. I'm more interested in the compensation structure. What's good and fair? How do I know if I'm being taken advantage of?
 
As far a knocking the interview out of the park - market can be huge.
If you're newer to the area, have a plan for getting involved in the community (church groups, rotary, chamber if commerce, sport teams, whatever), talk about how comfortable you are calling on new people.

Good luck from a fellow Canadian.
 
You seem eager, which is always a good start. You have genuine desire to be in this field and have demonstrated that by obtaining your license already. These are positives working in your favor. I'd just be yourself.

As for commissions, that's harder to answer. Typically the more support you get, the less you're going to make on the split. I know producer getting 80/20 or even 90/10 initial and slightly less on renewals, but they provide their own everything. As a newer agent you're going to need more mentoring and resources, so I would expect something closer to 50/50 or 60/40 at the onset. This is assuming you're not earning a base. Good luck and keep us posted!

I think Verbgravy is right on point here. Although commissions can be a difficult topic to be on the same page about (everyone has a different idea on what they want to pay their producers) I wouldn't focus on that too much. If I had one piece of advice it would be to look at your contract VERY closely. Anything more than a one year non-compete would send up some red flags.

Focus more on finding an agent or agency that is willing to invest time and resources in you, and not stick you in a cube and tell you to bash the phone for 9 hours a day with little to no help. Who knows, that agent or agency that takes the time to invest in you may look to you one day to take things over. Good luck!
 
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