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I'm make the transition from real estate/technology to Insurance and I feel like a deer looking into headlights.* This will be a ongoing documentary on how I made money in insurance OR failed in the insurance business.* I will highlight post from this forum that I found useful as well as other services that helped me along the way.
My goal is to prove that anyone can make it with hard work, but if I fail I will have to say that Insurance is not for everybody. I take on this challenge because I'm hungry, unemployed and think this is a great time to be in insurance because of the aging baby boomers who need life and final expense insurance also the new Affordable Car Act will force millions to get health insurance.
The Department of Labor (DOL) states that the occupation outlook for Insurance Sales Agents for years 2010-2012 is 22% Faster than average. The projected rate of change in employment for the 10-year timeframe between 2010 and 2020. The average growth rate for all occupations is 14 percent.)) bls.gov/ooh/Sales/Insurance-sales-agents.htm
So with this evidence I'm giving it a go but not this, I'm what you would call YOUR EVERYDAY JOE.
Now that you know why I have an interest in insurance, let look at the other content I will cover during my first year as an Insurance Agent 2013.
To start I will talk about:
The tools I used to get my insurance license in Georgia.
The cost of getting and keeping a insurance license.
What my education and background are made of.
Who I plan to work for or if I will work as a independent agent/broker
My long term goals in insurance
And how I plan to retire from this industry.* (God Welling)
Latter I will discuss the steps to writing my first sale, to include:
Where I got the lead(s) from
How much the leads cost
My sells pitch
My preferred product(s).
How I market MYSELF and my products.
I hope for lots of input along the way because I'm laying it all on the line with this career change.
Before I dive in I would like to give a Special thanks to:
This forum and its members for all of the great advice and the Georgia Insurance Commissioners Staff for being so helpful and knowledgable.
Lets start by discussing how I got my Insurance License in Georgia , the cost, time required and requirements . Here's a list of steps needed to get your licenses, I'll talk briefly about each:
1• Completion of 40 hour life, accident and sickness pre-licensing course. For pre-licensing provider listing, click here.
2• Passing score on Life, accident and sickness examination. For information regarding examination procedures, click here.
3• Completion of form GID-103. To print application, click here.
4• Payment of $115.
• Waiver of pre-licensing course and examination can be granted if applicant holds CLU or FLMI designation. Must attach copy of CLU or FLMI designation with application.
• Waiver of pre-licensing course and examination can be granted if applicant was previously licensed for same lines in prior home state; license in that state must be active at the time of moving to Georgia, applicant must attach original clearance letter from prior home state and must apply for licensure within 90 days of the date of the move to Georgia.
First you will need to take a 40 hour "life, accident and sickness" class before you can take the exam. If you also want your "property and casualty" license then you will need to take an additional 40 hour class for that.
I used an online self paced course from (XXXXX contact me for this information) their study materiel had a few errors in it a the support is not great, but I will probably use them for my Property and Casualty 40 hour class only because I'm now familiar with the interface. 4
*I'm not sure where I read it but the best advice I got on studying for and passing the state required exam was to "understand the concepts and don't just try to memorize the material"
40 HOURS!!! Don't let that scare you, you can do it in half the time but you may not be ready for the test until you are scoring over 80 on the practice test. You get 90 days with this online course and its best not to stop once you start. I started the course and found out that credit could be a factor in getting your license from the state in Georgia, and because I had a tax lien and a defaulted student loan I put the studying on hold until I got some clarification. The state didn't want to give me an answer on this, they just said that it was a case by case decision. I didn't find my credit to be a hold up in Georgia but other state may hold you up. Once I started back with the studying I basically read everything once, then I went back and read and highlight, then I went back and read all of my highlights. I got out of high school on a prayer so if your a little slow like me you can repeat this 2 or 3 times. You may want to schedule the state exam before you finish studying because sometimes the schedule is full and it ups a fire under you to finish studying. (YOU CAN DO IT)
After you complete the online or in person class you will get a certificate of completion, hold on to this because you will need to send a copy in with you application to the state.
Before you take the state exam, don't over cram for it, instead review your highlights/notes the day before and get a good nights sleep. Get to the testing site early (I scheduled my test in the morning) and try to relax. In the testing room each computer station had headphones to keep the noise down, I found these to be useful. Read each question well and choose the "most right answer"
Congratulations!!! you passed your exam. You will get a printout from the testing site right after the exam stating that you pass The original printout must be included in the application package you send to the state, not a copy.
The day I pass the exam ($90) I got my application in the mail the same day, this included getting fingerprinted ($75 got this done at the testing site), filing out the application ($115 app fee) and getting it notarized ($2) you will also need a citizen affidavit and have it notarized as well ($2)
You can download the forms from you states website. I mailed my application in because the online submission was new and not working completely.
About 12 days after dropping my application off at the post office, I saw my name on the states website as a licensed insurance agent!!!!
I got the license in the mail about a week later.
I'll continue this post asap
My goal is to prove that anyone can make it with hard work, but if I fail I will have to say that Insurance is not for everybody. I take on this challenge because I'm hungry, unemployed and think this is a great time to be in insurance because of the aging baby boomers who need life and final expense insurance also the new Affordable Car Act will force millions to get health insurance.
The Department of Labor (DOL) states that the occupation outlook for Insurance Sales Agents for years 2010-2012 is 22% Faster than average. The projected rate of change in employment for the 10-year timeframe between 2010 and 2020. The average growth rate for all occupations is 14 percent.)) bls.gov/ooh/Sales/Insurance-sales-agents.htm
So with this evidence I'm giving it a go but not this, I'm what you would call YOUR EVERYDAY JOE.
Now that you know why I have an interest in insurance, let look at the other content I will cover during my first year as an Insurance Agent 2013.
To start I will talk about:
The tools I used to get my insurance license in Georgia.
The cost of getting and keeping a insurance license.
What my education and background are made of.
Who I plan to work for or if I will work as a independent agent/broker
My long term goals in insurance
And how I plan to retire from this industry.* (God Welling)
Latter I will discuss the steps to writing my first sale, to include:
Where I got the lead(s) from
How much the leads cost
My sells pitch
My preferred product(s).
How I market MYSELF and my products.
I hope for lots of input along the way because I'm laying it all on the line with this career change.
Before I dive in I would like to give a Special thanks to:
This forum and its members for all of the great advice and the Georgia Insurance Commissioners Staff for being so helpful and knowledgable.
Lets start by discussing how I got my Insurance License in Georgia , the cost, time required and requirements . Here's a list of steps needed to get your licenses, I'll talk briefly about each:
1• Completion of 40 hour life, accident and sickness pre-licensing course. For pre-licensing provider listing, click here.
2• Passing score on Life, accident and sickness examination. For information regarding examination procedures, click here.
3• Completion of form GID-103. To print application, click here.
4• Payment of $115.
• Waiver of pre-licensing course and examination can be granted if applicant holds CLU or FLMI designation. Must attach copy of CLU or FLMI designation with application.
• Waiver of pre-licensing course and examination can be granted if applicant was previously licensed for same lines in prior home state; license in that state must be active at the time of moving to Georgia, applicant must attach original clearance letter from prior home state and must apply for licensure within 90 days of the date of the move to Georgia.
First you will need to take a 40 hour "life, accident and sickness" class before you can take the exam. If you also want your "property and casualty" license then you will need to take an additional 40 hour class for that.
I used an online self paced course from (XXXXX contact me for this information) their study materiel had a few errors in it a the support is not great, but I will probably use them for my Property and Casualty 40 hour class only because I'm now familiar with the interface. 4
*I'm not sure where I read it but the best advice I got on studying for and passing the state required exam was to "understand the concepts and don't just try to memorize the material"
40 HOURS!!! Don't let that scare you, you can do it in half the time but you may not be ready for the test until you are scoring over 80 on the practice test. You get 90 days with this online course and its best not to stop once you start. I started the course and found out that credit could be a factor in getting your license from the state in Georgia, and because I had a tax lien and a defaulted student loan I put the studying on hold until I got some clarification. The state didn't want to give me an answer on this, they just said that it was a case by case decision. I didn't find my credit to be a hold up in Georgia but other state may hold you up. Once I started back with the studying I basically read everything once, then I went back and read and highlight, then I went back and read all of my highlights. I got out of high school on a prayer so if your a little slow like me you can repeat this 2 or 3 times. You may want to schedule the state exam before you finish studying because sometimes the schedule is full and it ups a fire under you to finish studying. (YOU CAN DO IT)
After you complete the online or in person class you will get a certificate of completion, hold on to this because you will need to send a copy in with you application to the state.
Before you take the state exam, don't over cram for it, instead review your highlights/notes the day before and get a good nights sleep. Get to the testing site early (I scheduled my test in the morning) and try to relax. In the testing room each computer station had headphones to keep the noise down, I found these to be useful. Read each question well and choose the "most right answer"
Congratulations!!! you passed your exam. You will get a printout from the testing site right after the exam stating that you pass
The original printout must be included in the application package you send to the state, not a copy.The day I pass the exam ($90) I got my application in the mail the same day, this included getting fingerprinted ($75 got this done at the testing site
), filing out the application ($115 app fee) and getting it notarized ($2) you will also need a citizen affidavit and have it notarized as well ($2) You can download the forms from you states website. I mailed my application in because the online submission was new and not working completely.
About 12 days after dropping my application off at the post office, I saw my name on the states website as a licensed insurance agent!!!!
I got the license in the mail about a week later.
I'll continue this post asap
