New Insurance Broker trying to get Appointed...

[allsourceinsurance]

Hello everyone! First off, I would like to introduce myself. I am a young professional in Southern California that recently acquired his P&C and Life Licenses in the State of Caliornia. I am interested in being involved in this community and so far from what I have read and can see, it is very helpful!

I am starting up my own insurance brokerage and am in the process of getting appointments through different companies. Most of the major insurance companies have requirements such as having your own book of business and several years of experienc in the industry. Since I am new to the business, I really don't meet those qualifications.

I was wondering if you guys could reccomend some good Life & P&C Insurance Companies that are easier to get appointed with as a start-up broker.

Thanks in advance!

 

[GreenSky]

Life and Health is no problem. No company I know of requires an existing book.

P&C is a different story. Unless you want to sell a narrow range of products (high risk auto, surplus lines stuff, etc.), carriers will require a book of business. The only way I know of getting started is to buy an agency.

Good luck.

Rick

 

[tommyk]

Rick:

You selling?

 

[GreenSky]

Rick:

You selling?

Well, I have some zero premium life insurance we can talk about.

Rick

 

[Mr. Bill]

Interesting. Why do carriers want an existing book of business?

 

[MattSell]

I have to add in my 2 pennies here since I ran into the same problem when I drove an hour to woodland hills to meet with New York Life only for them to tell me in 2 minutes that since I didn't have an existing book of business or 200 plus possible prospects I couldn't be an agent for them.

But as far as if you want to be independent besides some companies (health) wanting you to submit your first case to be appointed you can get contracts no problem. I am new as well but wanted to throw that in there since I ran into the same situation. Good luck to you.

 

[Krstopher Jagiello]

Hi Allsourceinsurance,
Congratulations on your licenses! I am a web developer and I'm working on insurance industry websites. I came across this thread doing research to learn about the business. I have seen a lot of agents and brokers who are struggling with the insurance agent appointment or insurance broker appointment process. As you can seen from the responses you received on this thread already, you are not alone.

One website I have been working on may be able to help you. This company ClickAndBind.com provides a platform for selling insurance online. The purpose of it initially was to enable agents and brokers (who maybe are not technical) to sell insurance online 24x7. However they realized that the appointment process is another area in which to add value. If you want to get an appointment, if you use the ClickAndBind system I believe it is easier to get the appointment because you are now participating in a pool of business rather than just being a solo entity. ClickAndBind not only makes it easier to get appointment approval but they also expedite the process. They are very interested obviously in getting agents and brokers online selling insurance so they do what they can to help you in that respect.

The platform lets you use your own domain name and branding. Here's an example of a site running on it to sell auto, collector car, boat insurance etc: PolicyDOG - Your Loyal Friend for Insurance. I can't comment on approval rates or anything like that as I'm strictly on the technical end of the site development as I am still a learner. However I hope this helps you find an easier way to get your insurance agent appointment. Good luck!

The link to the site is clickandbind.com

Krstopher

Hello everyone! First off, I would like to introduce myself. I am a young professional in Southern California that recently acquired his P&C and Life Licenses in the State of Caliornia. I am interested in being involved in this community and so far from what I have read and can see, it is very helpful!

I am starting up my own insurance brokerage and am in the process of getting appointments through different companies. Most of the major insurance companies have requirements such as having your own book of business and several years of experienc in the industry. Since I am new to the business, I really don't meet those qualifications.

I was wondering if you guys could reccomend some good Life & P&C Insurance Companies that are easier to get appointed with as a start-up broker.

Thanks in advance!

 

[adell50]

They may say it on the sign, but I don't take it as the final answer..

Of course, every company wants you to come with a book of business, why wouldn't they?? But everyone of them had to start somewhere. If you have lived in California for more than a month and like to talk, you should not have any trouble at all putting 200 names on a piece of paper.

I started my sales career in California as a Realtor in Brentwood (Westside Los Angeles) and they door sign said the same thing for me. It was a high end firm, but I walked in, head held high and said I was their man. They gave me a chance and I still hold my license their.

If you can show that you have the skills and drive to get it done, why wouldn't they give you an opportunity? Remember, part of sales is not taking no for an answer..

 

[ticker_shuffle]

They may say it on the sign, but I don't take it as the final answer..

Of course, every company wants you to come with a book of business, why wouldn't they?? But everyone of them had to start somewhere. If you have lived in California for more than a month and like to talk, you should not have any trouble at all putting 200 names on a piece of paper.

I started my sales career in California as a Realtor in Brentwood (Westside Los Angeles) and they door sign said the same thing for me. It was a high end firm, but I walked in, head held high and said I was their man. They gave me a chance and I still hold my license their.

If you can show that you have the skills and drive to get it done, why wouldn't they give you an opportunity? Remember, part of sales is not taking no for an answer..

NYC wants you to come with a book of business, but you won't be able to leave with it based on their agent contract.

 

[topster]

Often, when a prospective agent applies for a job at an agency, the agency uses an outdated method of lead generation: "warm leads." Even though warm leads don't cost anything, the conversion ratio isn't what you would expect. If you supplied an agency with a list of 200 friends, family, and acquaintances, you would be lucky to sell a few accounts from that list. When you fail to be successful at that agency, the agency can harass people from your list after you leave. Don't go with an agency whose main focus is on warm leads. Those agencies only care about your list and not about your success.