Pitfalls of Selling Just One Carrier?

[juggerburn]

For life insurance, I'm going to get started selling just Assurity, and I don't even want to sell anything for Health unless it's Assurant. I know that it limits my options to sell to customers, but is there some kind of way to spin this positively? Say you run into someone who says "Well such and such company is cheaper (or better in some other way) than what you've quoted me." I want to be prepared for that.

 

[Newby]

For life insurance, I'm going to get started selling just Assurity, and I don't even want to sell anything for Health unless it's Assurant. I know that it limits my options to sell to customers, but is there some kind of way to spin this positively? Say you run into someone who says "Well such and such company is cheaper (or better in some other way) than what you've quoted me." I want to be prepared for that.

That's not going to be your problem. Your problem is going to be declines and rate ups.

Assurity is not a company that you could successfully sell a lot of less than perfect health seniors to. They are not a true FE company. Their point of sale interview goes way off script.

Why sell only them?

 

[juggerburn]

That's not going to be your problem. Your problem is going to be declines and rate ups.

Assurity is not a company that you could successfully sell a lot of less than perfect health seniors to. They are not a true FE company. Their point of sale interview goes way off script.

Why sell only them?

Well, they are the best life insurance company I have right now. And they pay the most. I don't believe they have FE products. But I understand they can be hard to qualify for. I heard West Coast Life and American General are easier to qualify for.

 

[Josh]

Assurity is a good company and I like them a lot. Why would you only want to limit yourself to a single carrier though?

 

[juggerburn]

Assurity is a good company and I like them a lot. Why would you only want to limit yourself to a single carrier though?

I guess I was lazy about getting other appointments, I just accepted what my GA gave to me, and everything was overwhelming, so I wanted to get good with one company first, learning the ins and outs of them. Would you say it is going to difficult to get people approved for Assurity?

A lot of people are captive and they somehow make it happen with one company, so I was guessing it wouldn't be a big deal.

 

[Josh]

It's not hard to get appointed with most life carriers. Generally they want a piece of business first (depends on your state). There is absolutely no reason to not have at least a few carriers. I started off captive and did fine, but it's silly to not have multiple carriers if you're independent.

 

[juggerburn]

It's not hard to get appointed with most life carriers. Generally they want a piece of business first (depends on your state). There is absolutely no reason to not have at least a few carriers. I started off captive and did fine, but it's silly to not have multiple carriers if you're independent.

Understood, and I'll try to get some more over the next month. I guess I'm asking is it something that will make or break a sale for UL, whole life, and term insurance? Over the course of the next 2 weeks, I'm going to spend around $550 (free from the GA I work with) on leads.

 

[Newby]

Assurity has a nice selection of products. Non-med term, critical illness, disability, underwritten whole-life, 3-tiered FE product, etc. so if you were going to only have one company to make a living they would be a good choice. They are also priced pretty well on most products. They also pay very nice commissions and renewals.

The frustrating part about what you are doing will be the declines and/or rate ups that will lose sales for you. Their approvals are more unpredictable and strict than most companies.

There is no reason to not have a couple back up companies so you can sell the ones that Assurity doesn't want.

 

[WinoBlues]

I guess I was lazy about getting other appointments, I just accepted what my GA gave to me, and everything was overwhelming, so I wanted to get good with one company first, learning the ins and outs of them. Would you say it is going to difficult to get people approved for Assurity?

A lot of people are captive and they somehow make it happen with one company, so I was guessing it wouldn't be a big deal.

You are correct. Many people make a living selling only NYL, Primerica or Lincoln Heritage. All captive and high priced. It can be done. Being an independent I could not do that. Just not part of my DNA.

However, there is a lot to be said for learning one company's products well then adding more later. Information overload can be worse for your career early on. That may be what your GA is thinking.

BTW, There is no West Coast Life any longer. They are Protective Life now.

 

[pcbinsurance]

I thought West Coast Life is still around but they are a subsidiary of Protective.