New to the Insurance Sales Industry (despritely Need Guidance)

[AllStatePro27]

I will be possibly beginning a new career in selling insurance for AllState. I interviewed at a private branch that is brand new and has just opened. Literally only about 2 people work there. Anyways, I have a few concerns being that I got burned pretty bad when I attempted to enter the Mortgage Sales industry. First of all I realize that I need to obtain a Property and Casualty license first. Much like taking the online proschools for the Mortgage licensing. Here are my questions:

• When I originally entered into proschools for the SAFE testing for the mortgage industry it was at 40hrs of online education, plus a final. I did the online courses, I took the 100 question National Exam and failed miserably (56%). I was blown away by how hard the questions were. I seriously didn't even recall learning half the stuff in the test that were on the national exam. I even had 6 nights of classes that were a joke. My main concern and question is will the Property and Casualty licensing test be just as hard? I looked it up on proschools and its only a 24hr online education requirement. Not sure how many questions the exam is.
• Other then just taking the final and passing are there any other requirements for the Property and Casualty license to be obtained? Such as Background Checks, Credit Checks, Etc. Like the Mortgage Licensing requirements.
• Is selling insurance worth it? Meaning is making 2 or 3 grand by my 1st or 2nd month obtainable? I understand that the results come from the amount of effort I put in, but I've been doing phone sales since I was 16. I'm very comfortable with it.
• And lastly, when I went for the AllState interview he mentioned that I would be making 10% commission. Does that mean 10% of the first payment? Or 10% of the term of the contract? And I would also be making 5% commission if they renew as residual income. How long could I expect to look forward to that?

 

[medsuptage]

Re: New to the Insurance Sales Industry (despritely Need Guidance

I'm not a P & C agent but just from what I have seen around the forums, allstate may not be your best bet, seems like they are having a hard time at the moment.

If your already trained and skilled at phone sales you might be better at going Indy rather then assigning your commissions.

There are a lot of great people on these forums, I would talk to some of them before you make any hasty decisions.

 

[VaDwayne]

Re: New to the Insurance Sales Industry (despritely Need Guidance

I will be possibly beginning a new career in selling insurance for AllState. I interviewed at a private branch that is brand new and has just opened. Literally only about 2 people work there. Anyways, I have a few concerns being that I got burned pretty bad when I attempted to enter the Mortgage Sales industry. First of all I realize that I need to obtain a Property and Casualty license first. Much like taking the online proschools for the Mortgage licensing. Here are my questions:

• When I originally entered into proschools for the SAFE testing for the mortgage industry it was at 40hrs of online education, plus a final. I did the online courses, I took the 100 question National Exam and failed miserably (56%). I was blown away by how hard the questions were. I seriously didn't even recall learning half the stuff in the test that were on the national exam. I even had 6 nights of classes that were a joke. My main concern and question is will the Property and Casualty licensing test be just as hard? I looked it up on proschools and its only a 24hr online education requirement. Not sure how many questions the exam is.
• Other then just taking the final and passing are there any other requirements for the Property and Casualty license to be obtained? Such as Background Checks, Credit Checks, Etc. Like the Mortgage Licensing requirements.
• Is selling insurance worth it? Meaning is making 2 or 3 grand by my 1st or 2nd month obtainable? I understand that the results come from the amount of effort I put in, but I've been doing phone sales since I was 16. I'm very comfortable with it.
• And lastly, when I went for the AllState interview he mentioned that I would be making 10% commission. Does that mean 10% of the first payment? Or 10% of the term of the contract? And I would also be making 5% commission if they renew as residual income. How long could I expect to look forward to that?

Way low!!! Are you getting any salary too? It will take a long time for you make a good living on just commission. Why, because you will get paid when the client pays their premium(as-earned). This means that when the pay a monthy premium of $100, you get paid $10, then renewals will be $5.

 

[b61mack]

Re: New to the Insurance Sales Industry (despritely Need Guidance

i believe P&C in pa is two test , you can do it as a combo... 100 if done one at a time ..or 150 combo.. . where in pa do you live? hartford has a call center in allentown pa... they pay a base + commission.. they also pay you to get your license.

 

[AllStatePro27]

Re: New to the Insurance Sales Industry (despritely Need Guidance

There are a few things that really turned me on to working for AllState.

1. The office is literally a 5 minute walk from my house.

2. They do offer a base, but it isn't much. Only $250 a week for the first month, then it drops and your on 100% commission. Which I'm not a fan of, but I'm pretty confident in my sales skills to build up rev in my first 2 months where I can actually make a living and build from there. I know with phone sales it's a law of averages and I'm used to making 200+ calls a day. I made just shy of 100 grand my first year working at NutriSystem till they severely cut our commissions.

Also, I'm very new to all of this. What would I need to do to go indy? I don't have my own insurance to offer, im not to familiar with how to sell insurance independently. Or do you mean sell multiple brands of Insurance?

Also, I live in Lansdale, PA. It's about an hour or so from Allentown.

 

[pghman]

Re: New to the Insurance Sales Industry (despritely Need Guidance

I will be possibly beginning a new career in selling insurance for AllState. I interviewed at a private branch that is brand new and has just opened. Literally only about 2 people work there. Anyways, I have a few concerns being that I got burned pretty bad when I attempted to enter the Mortgage Sales industry. First of all I realize that I need to obtain a Property and Casualty license first. Much like taking the online proschools for the Mortgage licensing. Here are my questions:

• When I originally entered into proschools for the SAFE testing for the mortgage industry it was at 40hrs of online education, plus a final. I did the online courses, I took the 100 question National Exam and failed miserably (56%). I was blown away by how hard the questions were. I seriously didn't even recall learning half the stuff in the test that were on the national exam. I even had 6 nights of classes that were a joke. My main concern and question is will the Property and Casualty licensing test be just as hard? I looked it up on proschools and its only a 24hr online education requirement. Not sure how many questions the exam is.
• Other then just taking the final and passing are there any other requirements for the Property and Casualty license to be obtained? Such as Background Checks, Credit Checks, Etc. Like the Mortgage Licensing requirements.
• Is selling insurance worth it? Meaning is making 2 or 3 grand by my 1st or 2nd month obtainable? I understand that the results come from the amount of effort I put in, but I've been doing phone sales since I was 16. I'm very comfortable with it.
• And lastly, when I went for the AllState interview he mentioned that I would be making 10% commission. Does that mean 10% of the first payment? Or 10% of the term of the contract? And I would also be making 5% commission if they renew as residual income. How long could I expect to look forward to that?

Hi there, I have been trolling these forums for 6+ months with little to offer anyone but I can help you with your questions.

I have recently just been licensed in PA. Property and Casualty can be done together or seperate. Together was 150 questions with a few extras that they add that don't count but are on test. They add approximately 5, I think they use these to test their wording for future tests. Life, Health and Annuities are also the same format done together or broken in to two. You will need to pass background checks including fingerprinting. You will likely need to pass some kind of credit check if you want to actually be an agent rather than a producer. I will help you as best as I can feel free to ask away.

I am currently a captive agent. As far as INDY goes there seems to be a lot of positive to it BUT you need lots of money to get going and there is no one to train you. I suggest if you are going to consider going in INDY, learn from someone else on their dime before doing so. Also, make sure you know in advance what happens to your customers that you add to the agency. Most likely you have or will sign a non-compete.

Let me know how I can help with PA licensing questions. As far as the insurance business itself goes there are plenty on this forum much more qualified than me. I will keep an eye on this post every few days for you.

 

[Insurance-Guy]

Re: New to the Insurance Sales Industry (despritely Need Guidance

There are a few things that really turned me on to working for AllState.
2. They do offer a base, but it isn't much. Only $250 a week for the first month, then it drops and your on 100% commission. Which I'm not a fan of, but I'm pretty confident in my sales skills to build up rev in my first 2 months where I can actually make a living and build from there. I know with phone sales it's a law of averages and I'm used to making 200+ calls a day. I made just shy of 100 grand my first year working at NutriSystem till they severely cut our commissions.

Also, I'm very new to all of this. What would I need to do to go indy? I don't have my own insurance to offer, im not to familiar with how to sell insurance independently. Or do you mean sell multiple brands of Insurance?

Also, I live in Lansdale, PA. It's about an hour or so from Allentown.

Find an agent that wants to give you a good contract and tell this guy thanks but no thanks. That is a B S contract. You should be getting at least 50-60% commission if you don't have a strong base with benefits. Now if you got a good base and benefits then the 10% would be ok but not great either. You will starve on that contract.

 

[AllStatePro27]

Re: New to the Insurance Sales Industry (despritely Need Guidance

Well you guys definitely know more about this then I do. It's just really depressing that the contract sucks. But realistically I'm not surprised at all, I have had no luck what so ever finding a good sales job since NS tanked. Unfortunetly I'm not in a position where I can afford to sponsor myself in getting licensed. And I don't believe I know of any call centers that are within a 30 minute commute from here where I can really lay some ground. Does anyone know of anyone who is willing to sponsor me and hook me up with a good contract? I live in Lansdale, PA. It's about an hour and 15 minutes outside of Philadelphia.

Also, do any of you think it possible that I can try and reason with this guy to give me a better contract? or do you think it's just a waste of time?

 

[Insurance-Guy]

Re: New to the Insurance Sales Industry (despritely Need Guidance

Also, do any of you think it possible that I can try and reason with this guy to give me a better contract? or do you think it's just a waste of time?

I am not in PA but if there was a IA close by you I would check that out.

I would recommend that you go and talk to this guy if you want and just tell him that as much as you would like to come to work for him looking at the numbers he is offering you it just wouldn't work. Unless he is offering you 10% commission and not a split of 10% of the commission. I guess i should have been more clear on that If he is giving you a 10% commission of the premiums than that isn't as bad but you would have to issue 25k just to make 2500 and then chargebacks would apply so anything that cancels is coming off of that. So it is possible but it will take some time.

Here is what I would do...make sure it is 10% commission and not a split 1st, if it is a split I think I would just tell him you just can't work for nothing. Now if it is truly 10% off of the premiums your way tell him you want to come and work for him but you would like a base for 3 months...to get started and tell him you also want to get you life and health license. Life insurance will help you get some $$$ in your pocket while you are building a base of P an C and I always encourage new producers with me to try to get a few life cases off of the bat! There are so many people that don't have life insurance that you are truly doing a great service and you will pick up other lines of business. Think about it like this. Car insurance policy $1200/year you make $120.00 on 10% however if you sold a life policy of $1000.00 a year you could be looking at 60-90% commission $600-$900 1st year commissions. This would get you started in the right direction.

I have a couple guys that work part time as producers for me and I give them a 60 - 30 split 60 on new business their way and 30 on renewals with no base. So this is close to what you are getting if the % of the commission is from the premiums like it should be. Now I have a few commission based producers full time and here is how I work that $300 a week base every week (400 a week for the first 3 months) ...plus 50% NB, 25% RN commission and benefits.

Hope this helps...

 

[AllStatePro27]

Re: New to the Insurance Sales Industry (despritely Need Guidance

Definitely helps me substantially. Thank you! I have never sold insurance before tho, is getting 3 or 4 sales a day obtainable? Forgive my curiosity I just want to make sure it's going to be worth getting into for me at this point, and not just something that I should do part time then later transition into full time when I have a stronger foundation.

Also, I will keep you guys updated on how the conversation goes with the IA that I should be hearing from today. Hopefully everything goes well and he can give me a solid base for 3 months.

And being completely green to this industry, what can I expect to make (realistically) my first year?