Interviewed with New York Life

[Death Cab For Tootie]

Why do people call it an "interview" with these career recruitment shops? You are the one being recruited not interviewed. Mutual companies are the only life insurance companies, yea right.

GA's, like wirehouses and other investment firms, make money off the people they bring in. So, yes, their main focus is to recruit. However, career shops do interview and can be selective, depending on the local GA. The candidates they don't offer a career contract to either get shown the door or get an 'alternative' contract where they need to place a certain amount of business before they become full-time.

And I agree, there are other options besides the mutuals. Ultimately, the local management should be the number one reason to choose one insurance company over another. Another reason to choose one company over another is dependent on the market you focus on. White-collar prospects will generally be better-suited to the mutuals. Grey and blue-collar do better with more moderately-priced companies like Met, et al.

 

[Consultant]

PM me for elaboration on the below. I was an agent for 2 years 10 months.

1. Education was priceless.
2. There's a certain type of person that will make $ at NYL.
3. Over 90% leave within the year.
4. I received a class action lawsuit settlement check.
5. Two people made it big in Norcal offices combined. One was a Nokia executive selling his colleagues. The other was an Asian woman with the largest family known to man, with the need and ability to buy. NYL after 2nd year made her cry at functions after selling her entire family because of the pressure. She now says it is the worst experience in her life.
6. You are given no leads. They are lying to you.
7. If you make money elsewhere they will not pursue you until you get a big client. i.e. I almost made it to year 3. They told me to stop receiving health renewals of a substantial amount when I had 3 private schools totally locked in.

Would I do it again? Yes, because I was so young at the time. If I had a family, no way in hell. You should have seen the eyes of these people when they finally refied their homes so many times to stay in it and then finally left.

The class action lawsuit was because they did not let us have income when in training. In fact I spent thousands in training, going to far away seminars constantly. Then there's the lost opportunity cost of having a real income. They only pay you 50%!

So yes if:

1. You have a huge drive to learn.
2. Have no children or family looking at you with puppy eyes.
3. Have a huge warm market. You need at least 50 solid names. I mean so very solid. You have to have power of authority with this group as well and this group must have a huge ability to buy.
4. Understand that they will force you to have someone next to you your first 5-10. TIP: so you should make those smaller cases first so they don't take all your money.

If you do decide to go: Tips:

1. The education there is endless. It really is. Do not wait for education to do a certain type of app. Just do it like the nike commercial. The more you learn the more you feel you don't know.
2. Do not follow what the other newbies are doing in that call center/ lab rat office they stick you. They chatter and whine and talk about no clients blah blah... Just keep calling and studying.. get your 10 minute and high networth 40 minute appointment scripts down where you can do it with your eyes closed. NYL is huge on procedure.
3. You have to think out of the box. Right away put yourself in a seminar with one of the top dogs in the area. Go to your local business guides of top ceo's. usually have to pay for this. Start calling with a script to get a financial wellness or what have you education for their employees.
4.And finally, if they NYL, push you to get a certain number and your close and they ask you to buy a product to make the numbers or find yourelf buying a product for the 1 year annualized income. It is time to leave.

Hope this helps!

Best in Health,

-S

 

[WinoBlues]

Damn! That was good.
Took me back to my John Hancock days. Only lasted 1.5 years. But was worth it. 25 years ago.
Pleasanton,CA office. Dialing for dollars, Fun times.

PM me for elaboration on the below. I was an agent for 2 years 10 months.

1. Education was priceless.
2. There's a certain type of person that will make $ at NYL.
3. Over 90% leave within the year.
4. I received a class action lawsuit settlement check.
5. Two people made it big in Norcal offices combined. One was a Nokia executive selling his colleagues. The other was an Asian woman with the largest family known to man, with the need and ability to buy. NYL after 2nd year made her cry at functions after selling her entire family because of the pressure. She now says it is the worst experience in her life.
6. You are given no leads. They are lying to you.
7. If you make money elsewhere they will not pursue you until you get a big client. i.e. I almost made it to year 3. They told me to stop receiving health renewals of a substantial amount when I had 3 private schools totally locked in.

Would I do it again? Yes, because I was so young at the time. If I had a family, no way in hell. You should have seen the eyes of these people when they finally refied their homes so many times to stay in it and then finally left.

The class action lawsuit was because they did not let us have income when in training. In fact I spent thousands in training, going to far away seminars constantly. Then there's the lost opportunity cost of having a real income. They only pay you 50%!

So yes if:

1. You have a huge drive to learn.
2. Have no children or family looking at you with puppy eyes.
3. Have a huge warm market. You need at least 50 solid names. I mean so very solid. You have to have power of authority with this group as well and this group must have a huge ability to buy.
4. Understand that they will force you to have someone next to you your first 5-10. TIP: so you should make those smaller cases first so they don't take all your money.

If you do decide to go: Tips:

1. The education there is endless. It really is. Do not wait for education to do a certain type of app. Just do it like the nike commercial. The more you learn the more you feel you don't know.
2. Do not follow what the other newbies are doing in that call center/ lab rat office they stick you. They chatter and whine and talk about no clients blah blah... Just keep calling and studying.. get your 10 minute and high networth 40 minute appointment scripts down where you can do it with your eyes closed. NYL is huge on procedure.
3. You have to think out of the box. Right away put yourself in a seminar with one of the top dogs in the area. Go to your local business guides of top ceo's. usually have to pay for this. Start calling with a script to get a financial wellness or what have you education for their employees.
4.And finally, if they NYL, push you to get a certain number and your close and they ask you to buy a product to make the numbers or find yourelf buying a product for the 1 year annualized income. It is time to leave.

Hope this helps!

Best in Health,

-S

 

[kingkrazy]

PM me for elaboration on the below. I was an agent for 2 years 10 months.

1. Education was priceless.
2. There's a certain type of person that will make $ at NYL.
3. Over 90% leave within the year.
4. I received a class action lawsuit settlement check.
5. Two people made it big in Norcal offices combined. One was a Nokia executive selling his colleagues. The other was an Asian woman with the largest family known to man, with the need and ability to buy. NYL after 2nd year made her cry at functions after selling her entire family because of the pressure. She now says it is the worst experience in her life.
6. You are given no leads. They are lying to you.
7. If you make money elsewhere they will not pursue you until you get a big client. i.e. I almost made it to year 3. They told me to stop receiving health renewals of a substantial amount when I had 3 private schools totally locked in.

Would I do it again? Yes, because I was so young at the time. If I had a family, no way in hell. You should have seen the eyes of these people when they finally refied their homes so many times to stay in it and then finally left.

The class action lawsuit was because they did not let us have income when in training. In fact I spent thousands in training, going to far away seminars constantly. Then there's the lost opportunity cost of having a real income. They only pay you 50%!

So yes if:

1. You have a huge drive to learn.
2. Have no children or family looking at you with puppy eyes.
3. Have a huge warm market. You need at least 50 solid names. I mean so very solid. You have to have power of authority with this group as well and this group must have a huge ability to buy.
4. Understand that they will force you to have someone next to you your first 5-10. TIP: so you should make those smaller cases first so they don't take all your money.

If you do decide to go: Tips:

1. The education there is endless. It really is. Do not wait for education to do a certain type of app. Just do it like the nike commercial. The more you learn the more you feel you don't know.
2. Do not follow what the other newbies are doing in that call center/ lab rat office they stick you. They chatter and whine and talk about no clients blah blah... Just keep calling and studying.. get your 10 minute and high networth 40 minute appointment scripts down where you can do it with your eyes closed. NYL is huge on procedure.
3. You have to think out of the box. Right away put yourself in a seminar with one of the top dogs in the area. Go to your local business guides of top ceo's. usually have to pay for this. Start calling with a script to get a financial wellness or what have you education for their employees.
4.And finally, if they NYL, push you to get a certain number and your close and they ask you to buy a product to make the numbers or find yourelf buying a product for the 1 year annualized income. It is time to leave.

Hope this helps!

Best in Health,

-S

Thanks for the great input.

 

[HealthGuy]

Death Cab: Why do you and others think that mutual companies like NWML are more suited for "white collar" types. I hear this statement all the time and think it is ridiculous. Why can't a public life company suit the white collar crowd and save them money? Its laughable that companies especially like NWML tout they are so special because they have paid more dividends on thier whole life products than any other company. The only reason this is the case is because they overcharge for their life insurance and "give" the overcharged amount back to the policyholder and call it a dividend. Its deceptive.

I also think its terrible that they sell white and blue collar types whole life and layer increasing premium term on top of the whole life (as a separate policy) and as time goes up the pricing on their term life policies becomes ridiculous and people either end up canceling the term and/or the whole life policy as well.

Why can't NWML sell a competitively priced 30 year LEVEL term and forget about it. Instead they lowball an increasing premium term and layer it with an overpriced whole life policy and it does their clients no good.

The client gets a crap box term policy that will become overpriced within 8-10 years and NWML argues its great because in the first 10 years most term life policies are "overpriced" so sell folks the increasing premium term.

About all the NWML clients I speak with have no idea their term life policy rates are going to explode in years 8-12, but the NWML agents keep selling that crap. Some good if the clients become uninsurable in those years and want to buy more term life for a good price. They are clear out of luck.

NWML just complicates the whole life market and in my opinion is deceptive. They would rather sell an individual 2 life policies verses 1 to get bonused on volume. Ridiculous.

And the argument that a mutual company is the only way for white collar types? Come on. A life policy is a life policy is a life policy. It pays when you die. Don't hype it to be more than it really is. Pay the least for your life insurance and be done with it - don't turn your life policy or your life company into something it is not. I have met many NWML career guys and I find their perception of what they do and the perception of their company arrogant.

 

[DHK]

1. You don't understand how life insurance companies make a profit.

2. You don't understand how dividends are calculated by an insurance company, nor do you understand that your definition of a dividend is used so the IRS can grant it a special way.

3. You don't understand how life insurance companies calculate the premiums that they charge and why.

4. You don't understand how a whole life policy is beneficial to a client. (compared to term, etc.)

5. You don't understand the psychology behind selling ART when a qualified agent is selling it and reviewing the policy regularly (perhaps this isn't happening in your area).

6. It's not just NML but every company that sells whole life. The reason you're finding these policies later is (probably) because the agent is no longer in the business.


I would say that you are the least qualified to talk about whole life until you understand the above.

 

[Death Cab For Tootie]

Death Cab: Why do you and others think that mutual companies like NWML are more suited for "white collar" types. I hear this statement all the time and think it is ridiculous. Why can't a public life company suit the white collar crowd and save them money? Its laughable that companies especially like NWML tout they are so special because they have paid more dividends on thier whole life products than any other company. The only reason this is the case is because they overcharge for their life insurance and "give" the overcharged amount back to the policyholder and call it a dividend. Its deceptive.

Mutual companies gear their marketing towards white-collar executives and successful business owners because they have the means to, and would prefer to pay for products like par WL and non-can, own-occ disability insurance. These are the products that require a higher initial out-of-pocket outlay. With par WL, the longer you hold it, the net cost goes to $0. Blue- and grey-collar people can buy the same stuff, but they're generally not going to have the means to pay for it.

I also think its terrible that they sell white and blue collar types whole life and layer increasing premium term on top of the whole life (as a separate policy) and as time goes up the pricing on their term life policies becomes ridiculous and people either end up canceling the term and/or the whole life policy as well.

How do you know the reason for putting this setup together? I do this on a lot of my clients' policies because they WANT to convert from term to WL over time, but don't have the means to do so today. The increasing term lights a fire under the client to do it quicker. The problem with this strategy is many agents fail and as a result, the client forgets why they are doing this particular strategy. In this kind of senario, it sucks for the client. However, it's not an unreasonable strategy for the right client.

Why can't NWML sell a competitively priced 30 year LEVEL term and forget about it. Instead they lowball an increasing premium term and layer it with an overpriced whole life policy and it does their clients no good.

I don't work for NML, but I'm guessing they have (or did have at one point) T-30. There's a reason a lot of companies are doing away with it.

The client gets a crap box term policy that will become overpriced within 8-10 years and NWML argues its great because in the first 10 years most term life policies are "overpriced" so sell folks the increasing premium term.

About all the NWML clients I speak with have no idea their term life policy rates are going to explode in years 8-12, but the NWML agents keep selling that crap. Some good if the clients become uninsurable in those years and want to buy more term life for a good price. They are clear out of luck.

Again, the strategy itself is not bad, the implementation is. Quit generalizing and I can take you more seriously. Otherwise, you sound like you have a chip on your shoulder.

NWML just complicates the whole life market and in my opinion is deceptive. They would rather sell an individual 2 life policies verses 1 to get bonused on volume. Ridiculous.

So, if I sell a burial policy plus a T-30 policy to a client, that's ok. But if a NML agent does it with a 2-in-1 policy, they're evil?

And the argument that a mutual company is the only way for white collar types? Come on. A life policy is a life policy is a life policy. It pays when you die. Don't hype it to be more than it really is. Pay the least for your life insurance and be done with it - don't turn your life policy or your life company into something it is not. I have met many NWML career guys and I find their perception of what they do and the perception of their company arrogant.

A lot of the NML agents I've met are arrogant and drink the proverbial kool-aid. However, there are a lot who do the right thing and take of their clients well. There is no right or wrong. There are situations that include a lot of grey area. This isn't a business of absolutes.

 

[LGilmore]

I have this feeling someone's lost some business to NWML.

 

[HealthGuy]

DHK: Mr. Whole Life Know it All - No need to school me, I used to be a NYL agent. I guess you must know more about life insurance because you declare it so. NWML is still an overrated company, as are their "agents". And yea, I don't like the company and how they operate their business model. A bunch of 23 year old punks that get into then out of the biz in 6 months peddling whole life to people that cant afford it and usually never convert their crappy overpriced term into whole life anyway. Sign up your family and friends so a fat cat senior agent who has been in your recruitment office can take on your cases after your ass is gone in 6 months. This process is the rule not the exception....If I've seen one NWML agent I've seen them all, very very few of them are worth a dime. I would rather drink my own piss than their kool aid. LGilmore, I get a kick out of you too you whole life defender. I love reading your boring whole life defense posts. I would rather spend my money on great family vacations than a dime on whole life. Especially overpriced NWML whole life....Overcharge me so I can beg for a dividend. Nice, deceptive marketing NWML. I laughed at their recent tv commercial touting their company dividends. WOW, huge dividends because we rape you on your whole life premiums.

 

[DHK]

Are you saying that WL is a ripoff BECAUSE you get a dividend?

Have you compared premiums (and underwiting) on similar policies that are NON par whole life?

Look, companies need to bring in enough in premiums for expected death claims and continue to operate at a profit. Then it is the excess that is distributed to the policy holders based on time in force, underwriting class, premiums, etc.

The fact that the IRS treats the dividend as NON-TAXABLE is a good thing - and the companies argued to the IRS that it is a "return of excess premium" to keep it non-taxable. That doesn't mean it was a rip-off at the original premium amount.

What YOU don't like is that the agents aren't properly servicing the policies and (you think) they are setting them up to fail anyway. You're right - particularly if the agent leaves the business.

Look, I don't care about NML, but your criticisms are about ANY company that sells whole life, not just NML.

BTW, any agent that sells whole life because you get dividends is an ***. That's ONE facet of a par wl contract, but it isn't the "be all and end all" of it.

Also, every life insurance company "brags" about their dividend. Mass put in full page ads in the Wall Street Journal about their 7.5% dividend. The problem is that agents DON'T KNOW WHAT A DIVIDEND REALLY IS! They talk about it like "you'll earn 7.5% on your policy! See?"

Idiots.

Dividends are only paid out of the company has a profitable year along with its other investment interests. But that 7.5% (or whatever) is a divisible surplus of all earnings to be distributed to the PARTICIPATING whole life policy owners.

If you only want/need life insurance until you can "self-insure" then by all means, buy term. If you want retirement income benefits (direct and indirect), you'll want a policy that will last you through retirement. UL can't do that (unless it's guaranteed).

Only whole life gives you the most in living benefits... but those benefits are useless unless the agent knows about them and makes it a part of his practice.