New Insurance Agents: Always Negotiate A Release Upfront

[Rearden]

Let's say you've done your part as an insurance agent. You've produced business, and have worked hard.

There's just one problem...

Your agency is FAILING you.

They aren't getting you leads as promised. Or maybe they're not treating you right.

In my opinion, not only do you have the RIGHT to leave the agency failing you, but to also take your final expense contracts where ever you please (so long as you're not indebted with policy charge backs to the original agency).

I've experienced this first-hand. My agency failed at filling my weekly lead goal multiple times.

And unfortunately this particular company did NOT release me.

Instead, I had to sit out 6 months with each carrier before I became a "free agent," moving them wherever I please.

Why is not getting a release on your carriers a problem? It boils down to the competitive fundamentals of this business.

Sure, you can sell final expense with other carriers. But losing access to competitive carriers may make a measurable difference in closing and keeping more deals.

Picture this: what if you only had access to higher priced carriers with restrictive underwriting. How would that affect persistency and your closing ratio?

Now imagine an agent with access to competitively-priced carriers with underwriting flexibility, coming behind your business and replacing it.

Wouldn't it frustrate you to lose out on business that you KNOW you could have written with the carriers your effectively locked out on?

Always ask any new insurance agency you're considering joining, "Do you offer releases? If I don't like the way things are going on, or if I don't like the job you're doing, will you let me go? Will you release me. Can I migrate my carriers on-demand?"

That way you can tell VERY quickly if they're TRULY interested in your success... or ONLY interested in what's good for themselves... at YOUR expense.

 

[goillini52]

Let's say you've done your part as an insurance agent. You've produced business, and have worked hard.

There's just one problem...

Your agency is FAILING you.

They aren't getting you leads as promised. Or maybe they're not treating you right.

In my opinion, not only do you have the RIGHT to leave the agency failing you, but to also take your final expense contracts where ever you please (so long as you're not indebted with policy charge backs to the original agency).

I've experienced this first-hand. My agency failed at filling my weekly lead goal multiple times.

And unfortunately this particular company did NOT release me.

Instead, I had to sit out 6 months with each carrier before I became a "free agent," moving them wherever I please.

Why is not getting a release on your carriers a problem? It boils down to the competitive fundamentals of this business.

Sure, you can sell final expense with other carriers. But losing access to competitive carriers may make a measurable difference in closing and keeping more deals.

Picture this: what if you only had access to higher priced carriers with restrictive underwriting. How would that affect persistency and your closing ratio?

Now imagine an agent with access to competitively-priced carriers with underwriting flexibility, coming behind your business and replacing it.

Wouldn't it frustrate you to lose out on business that you KNOW you could have written with the carriers your effectively locked out on?

Always ask any new insurance agency you're considering joining, "Do you offer releases? If I don't like the way things are going on, or if I don't like the job you're doing, will you let me go? Will you release me. Can I migrate my carriers on-demand?"

That way you can tell VERY quickly if they're TRULY interested in your success... or ONLY interested in what's good for themselves... at YOUR expense.

So that others don't have the problem that you had, which agency wouldn't release you?

 

[Rearden]

So that others don't have the problem that you had, which agency wouldn't release you?

DM me for details...

 

[Todd King]

DM me for details...

Aw, come on Dave. You know we don't play that game on here!

 

[DonP]

What form are you getting them to sign saying they'll release you? Also can't an imo argue that advanced commissions you received is debt and not release you?I've also noticed some Imo's that provide leads only have a 3 month exclusive on those leads.

 

[Rearden]

You can ask for a generic release form signed in advance. Sure, they can. Make sure to have those discussions up front. It's a good way to test their transparency and how they react to your requests.

 

[rousemark]

Sure, you can sell final expense with other carriers. But losing access to competitive carriers may make a measurable difference in closing and keeping more deals.

Picture this: what if you only had access to higher priced carriers with restrictive underwriting. How would that affect persistency and your closing ratio?

Now imagine an agent with access to competitively-priced carriers with underwriting flexibility, coming behind your business and replacing it.

I have come to the conclusion that having access to competitive carriers is vastly overrated.. More than anything else, it may provide a psychological advance giving an agent confidence... You can take almost any carrier you want and you will find agents making bank with them. LH is a prime example.. They aren't competitive on price but they have agents (not recruiters) making an exceptional living selling their products. Sure they get replaced but they also do a good amount of replacing (a fact no one discusses)...
The same holds true with Senior Life, Columbian, or any other of a number of companies that are spoken of on the forum as not being competitive.

If you loose your "competitive" companies, pick another one or two, go to work doing what you know to do and you will just fine.

I once had a district manager that would tell agents, "Don't dwell on what you can't write, focus on the market you can write."

 

[Newby]

What form are you getting them to sign saying they'll release you? Also can't an imo argue that advanced commissions you received is debt and not release you?I've also noticed some Imo's that provide leads only have a 3 month exclusive on those leads.

If they only provide a 3-month exclusive on the leads there isn’t much need to consider them any further than that is there? Unless you are getting a HUGE discount on the leads I can’t see any reason an agent would consider going with an Upline that would re-sell his leads on him.

I’ve never seen anyone that considers advanced commissions as debt. Only chargebacks are the kind of debt that has to be cleared up before a company will accept an agent transfer.

 

[Newby]

I have come to the conclusion that having access to competitive carriers is vastly overrated.. More than anything else, it may provide a psychological advance giving an agent confidence... You can take almost any carrier you want and you will find agents making bank with them. LH is a prime example.. They aren't competitive on price but they have agents (not recruiters) making an exceptional living selling their products. Sure they get replaced but they also do a good amount of replacing (a fact no one discusses)...
The same holds true with Senior Life, Columbian, or any other of a number of companies that are spoken of on the forum as not being competitive.

If you loose your "competitive" companies, pick another one or two, go to work doing what you know to do and you will just fine.

I once had a district manager that would tell agents, "Don't dwell on what you can't write, focus on the market you can write."

I would love to see the company that LH is replacing. I bet that happens about once per year.

 

[rousemark]

I would love to see the company that LH is replacing. I bet that happens about once per year.

Come on Scott, you have been in the business long enough that you know better than that. There are companies out there that have higher premiums according the FEXquotes.. Plus, how many times has it been said that low premiums are not the end all, be all. Replacements are made by touting supposed company advantages, added benefits such as the funeral advantage or even the bonding between the agent and client. Some LH agents probably have replaced the KSKJ plans using the possibility of assessments against them..

But the main point of my post was there are agent making a far bettr than averge living even with all of LH's shortcomings.. Would you deny that?