In the Insurance Business who are you actually working for???

I know this question is going to vary between IMO and the Carriers and whichever line you are selling. So I know that you have different contract levels such as Agent- GA- MGA- IMO-FMO and each one of those has different levels to it, and I know that contract level titles differ between carriers.

I know they say that when you are an Independent Agent or even Captive your "running your own business" in terms of creating your own schedule / and working on commission so you "eat what you kill."

My question is as an Agent who gets contract by a carrier through and IMO and gets put in another agents downline. Who are you actually working for- are you working for the agents in your upline, the IMO, or technically just the carrier.
 
You should never be put in an agent’s downline unless you requested to be.

Like you might want to go under a particular agent if they are local to you and her going to field train you or do something for you that you requested.

But if you called a particular agency you should be direct to that agency. If you get stuck under someone else without requesting it you probably got shaved commissions. Meaning the people between you and the agency are getting a portion of your commission. This is in addition to the normal override commissions that the agency already gets that is over and above your part.

Do a quick comparison with your commission grids to the ones on our website. If you are at the same commission levels then you are fine on that part but just need to know who you were working under and whether you choose to work with them or not. If your commissions are reduced then you know that you are already dealing with an agency that is not being upfront and transparent with you if they did not discuss that you will be getting reduced commissions and people in your up line that you were not aware of.

Here are the commission grids from Fex Contracting: Final Expense Commission Levels
 
You should never be put in an agent’s downline unless you requested to be.

Like you might want to go under a particular agent if they are local to you and her going to field train you or do something for you that you requested.

But if you called a particular agency you should be direct to that agency. If you get stuck under someone else without requesting it you probably got shaved commissions. Meaning the people between you and the agency are getting a portion of your commission. This is in addition to the normal override commissions that the agency already gets that is over and above your part.

Do a quick comparison with your commission grids to the ones on our website. If you are at the same commission levels then you are fine on that part but just need to know who you were working under and whether you choose to work with them or not. If your commissions are reduced then you know that you are already dealing with an agency that is not being upfront and transparent with you if they did not discuss that you will be getting reduced commissions and people in your up line that you were not aware of.

Here are the commission grids from Fex Contracting: Final Expense Commission Levels

I am new just licensed so not with an agency yet.

I get what you are saying. I was under the impression that as a new agent you were under either a GA or and MGA. And having a downline was having your own agency where you managed people.

I spoke with one agency, who I will leave nameless, and they were gonna have me at 80% and have me under a manager.

Just curious, I have read about Fex Contracting. When you are calling leads who do you say you are calling from. “hi this is John from Fex Contracting”? or can the agent llc or dba themselves and give themselves an agency name.
 
Unless you are on a salary (not a draw) you are working for yourself.

New agents need more training and support. That will vary considerably from agency to agency. Options are somewhat limited when you are green, but do the best you can to match the level of support you feel you need against the personality of those you report to.
 
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I am new just licensed so not with an agency yet.

I get what you are saying. I was under the impression that as a new agent you were under either a GA or and MGA. And having a downline was having your own agency where you managed people.

No. Whether you are brand new or 20 years in you can be under a GA, MGA, IMO or company direct. It all just depends on who gives you the better commission level and anything else you are looking for (usually training and lead programs.)

I spoke with one agency, who I will leave nameless, and they were gonna have me at 80% and have me under a manager.

That's fine but when you name agencies that try to pull stunts with new agents that are just learning how things work, it does help other new agents to not make mistakes. Especially if they were private messaging you on forums like this. The internet has a major underbelly. If they have a legitimate reason to put agents that low they will come on and explain it.

Just curious, I have read about Fex Contracting. When you are calling leads who do you say you are calling from. “hi this is John from Fex Contracting”? or can the agent llc or dba themselves and give themselves an agency name.

With any agency you can use the agency name if you want to (most agents don't) which FexContracting is the website name for us. The actual agency name is National Underwriting Service. But most agents just do a DBA. Senior Benefits of XYZ is very popular these days. Its better to create your own branding. Less confusing to the consumer if you ever switch agencies.
 
@Newby I think I get it, so all that GA and MGA stuff is basically level titles on a contract, but anybody can have an agency, so essentially two agents of two different contract levels can can partner up and create an agency.

And like you said Branding your business helps you in the long run and if for some reason you ever left the business then you could essentially sell you "Brand" and book of business,
 
You should never be put in an agent’s downline unless you requested to be.

Like you might want to go under a particular agent if they are local to you and her going to field train you or do something for you that you requested.

But if you called a particular agency you should be direct to that agency. If you get stuck under someone else without requesting it you probably got shaved commissions. Meaning the people between you and the agency are getting a portion of your commission. This is in addition to the normal override commissions that the agency already gets that is over and above your part.

Do a quick comparison with your commission grids to the ones on our website. If you are at the same commission levels then you are fine on that part but just need to know who you were working under and whether you choose to work with them or not. If your commissions are reduced then you know that you are already dealing with an agency that is not being upfront and transparent with you if they did not discuss that you will be getting reduced commissions and people in your up line that you were not aware of.

Here are the commission grids from Fex Contracting: Final Expense Commission Levels

Last question, I promise before I get the show starting. At what point to agents get to have a downline and manage other agents, or is it just GA's and MGA's. Or are downlines just with MLM agencies.
 
There are many agencies where they will encourage you to recruit downline agents from day one. You don’t have to even have one speck of knowledge or have even made your 1st sale yet and you can be the upline manager to some poor fools. Happens every day.

My belief has always been that it is insane to recruit agents under you until you have a number of very successful years under your belt which will provide you with increased commission levels and more importantly the knowledge and experience to actually help your agents become successful.

Until you are able to put your agents at proper starting commission levels (as posted on our website) what reason would they want to sign up for less? You don’t want to base your recruiting on their ignorance. Because once they become knowledgeable about the business they will fire you and move on.

Make your first fortune by selling insurance. Then if you want to recruit, you will be in a much better position to be successful at that too.
 
If you're a broker, you work for 3 parties. Yourself, the client, and the carrier you're writing for. You find an arrangement that everyone's happy with. To me that's like a 3 way partnership.
 
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