Looking for a Little Advice on Becoming an Agent

[VGS]

I have been considering the possibility of getting into the agency side of insurance for several years now. I have worked in a medical claims department for a large insurance carrier in the past before working with my father in our family business of real estate and accounting.

My father passed away, he was terribly under-insured, and my mother chose to sell the business to pay off some rental homes. I have a client list of over 300 households from my father’s business. I am allowed to use this client list in an unrelated business and from the research I have done, insurance sales seems like a decent option.

I am planning on getting licensed in property and casualty. I started a plumbing company and I have sold real estate. I understand I can’t sit around and wait for the phone to ring, that it’s a numbers game and I have to get myself out there, but I haven’t worked on the agency side of insurance before.

What is the best way to start? Captive or independent?

Should I work under another agent to start?

And what can I expect the first year or two?

Having suffered a divorce I do have some credit issues, how does that affect me in this industry?

 

[fearsback]

I have been considering the possibility of getting into the agency side of insurance for several years now. I have worked in a medical claims department for a large insurance carrier in the past before working with my father in our family business of real estate and accounting.

My father passed away, he was terribly under-insured, and my mother chose to sell the business to pay off some rental homes. I have a client list of over 300 households from my father’s business. I am allowed to use this client list in an unrelated business and from the research I have done, insurance sales seems like a decent option.

I am planning on getting licensed in property and casualty. I started a plumbing company and I have sold real estate. I understand I can’t sit around and wait for the phone to ring, that it’s a numbers game and I have to get myself out there, but I haven’t worked on the agency side of insurance before.

What is the best way to start? Captive or independent?

Should I work under another agent to start?

And what can I expect the first year or two?

Having suffered a divorce I do have some credit issues, how does that affect me in this industry?

Every ones opinions will differ but I would recommend starting independent. By having more carriers this will allow you to grow quicker.

Working under a large independent with all the carriers would be a decent idea to get you experience and fix the credit issues.

What you can make is a very broad question depending on what type os insurance you are selling mainly. It can be as little as 20k per year to 300k. Depends on how hard you work and how many in the office with you.

What state are you in?

Good luck with everything.