From San Angelo, TX Looking at Becoming a Final Expense Agent

[Frank Stastny]

What aspects of selling FE make it more appealing to you than any other kind of insurance?

I understand first year commissions are great but renewals are only a very small percentage of the first year commission. It takes a whole lot of clients in their thirteenth month and beyond before renewals amount to very much.

Charge backs are quite common especially among new agents.

The first question an agent usually has to ask is if the prospect has a checking account. Extremely low income people are usually the best prospects.

In large metro areas, the most undesirable parts of the city are many times the best places to prospect. Do you intend to sell face to face or over the phone.

There are several very successful FE agents here, I'm certain they will have some very good real life information for you. My comments are more from a short stint prospecting for FE. I have sold a lot of FE but it is always a cross sell to a new Med Supp client.

 

[Guest]

Frank,
I'm just kicking the tires on this Insurance Agent thing and I do not know, FOR SURE, that I am cut out for this so these couple of things about FE appeal to me:

First - I can get started in this pretty easily and without much outlay of cash because in Texas I can sell Life Insurance policies valued at $25K or less for my first 12 months without having to obtaining a license. (TX law says you do not need a license until you have written "polices totaling $20,000 in premiums, in the aggregate, the previous 12 months". Once you go over the $20K in premiums in 12 months you have to get your license. That gives me a chance to check this out pretty throughly before I commit. It will help answer the question, "Can I make a living doing this?"

Second - I REALLY LOVE WORKING WITH SENIORS. I've been working with them for years and serve as their advocate and protector via contacts and interaction I have with them at church, social functions and community activities. I would love to be able to provide them something that helps them and keeps them from falling victim to someone who might not care about them as much or in the same way I do. And, I wouldn't mind making some money while I do it.

I'm trying to consider all factors involved in making this a career, including what one person on this forum called "the wife factor" and taking this slowly will help keep me on her right side.

The city where I live is unique in several ways; we have a population of 90,000 so we're not tiny and we're not huge. And the only cities over 100K are 100 miles away. There is not a place in this city that I am even a little bit affraid to go. (And, also, after all, TX does allow concealed carry and I do make sure I'm protected at all times.)

I left the corporate world a few years ago and opened my own business which failed and caused me to have to declare bankruptcy. My wife and family suffered through that with me and I will do everything I can to avoid a repeat. So any opportunity that I get involved with will have to be one that grows slowly and pays for itself as it grows. I'm in no hurry and I think FE offers a less risky opportunity for me to test the waters.

 

[Frank Stastny]

Frank,
I'm just kicking the tires on this Insurance Agent thing and I do not know, FOR SURE, that I am cut out for this so these couple of things about FE appeal to me:

First - I can get started in this pretty easily and without much outlay of cash because in Texas I can sell Life Insurance policies valued at $25K or less for my first 12 months without having to obtaining a license. (TX law says you do not need a license until you have written "polices totaling $20,000 in premiums, in the aggregate, the previous 12 months". Once you go over the $20K in premiums in 12 months you have to get your license. That gives me a chance to check this out pretty throughly before I commit. It will help answer the question, "Can I make a living doing this?"

Second - I REALLY LOVE WORKING WITH SENIORS. I've been working with them for years and serve as their advocate and protector via contacts and interaction I have with them at church, social functions and community activities. I would love to be able to provide them something that helps them and keeps them from falling victim to someone who might not care about them as much or in the same way I do. And, I wouldn't mind making some money while I do it.

I'm trying to consider all factors involved in making this a career, including what one person on this forum called "the wife factor" and taking this slowly will help keep me on her right side.

The city where I live is unique in several ways; we have a population of 90,000 so we're not tiny and we're not huge. And the only cities over 100K are 100 miles away. There is not a place in this city that I am even a little bit affraid to go. (And, also, after all, TX does allow concealed carry and I do make sure I'm protected at all times.)

I left the corporate world a few years ago and opened my own business which failed and caused me to have to declare bankruptcy. My wife and family suffered through that with me and I will do everything I can to avoid a repeat. So any opportunity that I get involved with will have to be one that grows slowly and pays for itself as it grows. I'm in no hurry and I think FE offers a less risky opportunity for me to test the waters.

I believe that Med Supps can offer you the same opportunity with a few exceptions. You will have to get licensed but you will not have to purchase leads to sell it successfully. The licensing cost is minimal compared to the cost of having to purchase FE leads.

In your current position you have a natural market for selling Med Supps. I have found that Med Supps are a whole lot easier to prospect for, get appointments for and sell than virtually any insurance product I have sold. Also, FE becomes a smooth cross sell to a new Med Supp client. Not many FE clients will be in a financial position to be able to purchase a Med Supp.

I'd be glad to discuss it further with you if you would like to give me a call, 573.544.4091. Call anytime that is convenient.

 

[Guest]

Frank,

Thanks for the advice; I really do appreciate all that anyone is willing to share. I had not thought about the Med Supps until I started learning about them on this forum. Once I heard so many good things about them I went and researched what it would take to sell them and learned that in TX I would need the license. Based on that I decided to continue with my plan to sell FE. If that turns out well I do intend to persue other lines and build-up an agency and at that time I sure would like to talk with you about Med Supps.

 

[carol369]

Don't understand how Texas doesn't require a license to sell insurance products??

 

[Frank Stastny]

Don't understand how Texas doesn't require a license to sell insurance products??

Texas is a big right to carry state. Would you want to be the one that told someone they couldn't sell insurance?

 

[carol369]

Texas is a big right to carry state. Would you want to be the one that told someone they couldn't sell insurance?

Not me!! I'm a big chicken. cluck cluck

 

[STIBROKER]

Don't understand how Texas doesn't require a license to sell insurance products??

most likely a temp lic........easy to get.....just like guns........

 

[Newby]

I can't understand someone being opposed to getting their insurance license if they are going to sell insurance.

 

[Guest]

Newby - I'm not opposed to getting the license. In fact that is my plan. But, it's to my advantage that TX allows somewhat of a "trial period". I can check this out... see if I'm really cut out for the business before I spend a bunch of money on the regulatory compliance issues. I'm fresh off a failed business and I'm probably a bit over-cautious but from my perspective the TX system is to my benefit.

Here's the direct quote of the TX statue (pay particular attention to paragraph b):

SUBCHAPTER E. LIFE INSURANCE NOT EXCEEDING $25,000

Sec. 4054.201. LICENSE ISSUANCE; EXCEPTION. (a) The department shall issue a license to an individual applicant to act as an agent who writes only life insurance policies in an amount that does not exceed $25,000 on any one life on receipt of certification from a stipulated premium company, a statewide mutual assessment company, a local mutual aid association, or a local mutual burial association, that the applicant has:
(1) completed a course of study and instruction in compliance with this subchapter; and
(2) passed without aid a written examination administered by the insurer.
(b) A license is not required under this subchapter for an agent who, in the preceding calendar year, wrote policies that generated, in the aggregate, less than $20,000 in direct premium.