New Agent Looking for Answers and Advice

[no prospects]

hello all, first of all this is a very informative site and i am happy to be a member. i have been reading a lot of the newby questions since i joined a few days ago since most of my questions more than likely have already has been answered. however, i have not been able to find a post that ciphers (sp?) all the insurance word abbreviation jargon. also i have an idea what a "captive" and an indy agent is from reading but would like to know more in and outs on being in either status.
i'm also looking for guidance on which direction to take as i embark on a new career in insurance. i just completed the interview process with farmers to go through their reserve agent process (i have read the numerous horror stories on this site concerning them so needless to say i am concerned). however, i do need training so i need some advice on what to do as far as training and what product to start out selling. i also have been contacted by monumental life. i don't know if they have p/c products but i don't know if p/c or l/h is what i should concentrate on.
presently, i am looking to keep my job until i am comfortable i can so this full time.
i just received my license to sell lh/pc in tn.
sorry this is so long and thanks for reading.

 

[jhuang]

Monumental Life is life insurance products, no P&C.

If you are truly new to the industry, Farmers isn't too bad. They can provide the formal training. If you go independent to start off, you have to do a lot of the learning yourself.

The formal training will (hopefully) be more than just generating leads and working prospects but also have a avenue for policy and product knowledge.
Good Luck

 

[donamese]

Captive means you work for someone so they tell you which products you will be selling. They will typically provide training and support with leads.

Indy = Independent, you work for yourself and are responsible everything. You can use whatever companies you wish and work under an IMO or direct to a company. Some IMOs will provide training and lead support but less than captive for the most part. Your commission % will usually be indicitive of how much assistance you get.

P&C is typically better on the long term renewal side where L&H can be much stronger on the front end.

 

[no prospects]

Great...thanks for the replies. I'm definitely open to any/all advice as I embark on my new career.
I'm still reading a ton of threads daily to gain as much knowledge as I can but I cannot figure out some of the abbreviations nor what some of the professional titles are.
Whats an IMO, and what exactly is a Broker?
BTW...is there a sticky that deciphers some of the insurance jargon and abbreviations?

 

[b61mack]

It really depends on what kind of insurance you want to sell. P&C Farmers,nationwide,allstate.etc. is more on the auto, and business, insurance. It is harder to break into. Farmers could be a good stepping stone.

 

[arnguy]

No prospects, is the Shift key on your keyboard broken? No capitalization makes for hard reading for these old eyes.

 

[no prospects]

No prospects, is the Shift key on your keyboard broken? No capitalization makes for hard reading for these old eyes.

Lol...it's fixed now. You will notice I fixed it prior to my second post. I belong to a lot of car forums and most of us don't do caps nor much punctuation.
It seems to be a more mature crowd on this board so I will adapt.