Recent College Grad, Should I Work for New York Life?

[Norwayguy]

I want to interject something to this discussion something I know you haven't thought of. Your job is to find people willing to purchase your companies insurance and meet the underwriting qualifications of that company. New York Life is a mutual insurance company and I know the good things about mutuals here is the bad thing..They tend to be in the dark ages concerning underwriting and just plain dealing with an agent. I spent the afternoon unraveling a mess with the only mutual carrier I deal with...Now with Insurance carriers that sell to the BGA channel they tend to make doing business with them easy because they know if they piss you off you will be of to the next carrier. Mutuals do NOT act the same way and as a NYL agent you will be captive to NYL and yes you can broker some business but you dang well better be selling NYL products if you plan on making contract.

So beyond higher than average premium costs you will have to deal with slow underwriting systems that slow down the app process every step of the way...Just food for thought.

On a side note I am a former NYL agent and wouldn't trade in my experience there for anything I learned a lot about the business while there.

 

[johndewars]

I spent 10 yrs at NYL. i am also a CFP, CLU, ChFC.

you will not be a "financial planner" ala the CFP at NYL. the partner interviewing you knows this. i hope he has not used the words "financial planner" with you. nyl has struggled with the "fiduciary standard" issue. as such they are limiting the use of the CFP designation to members of eagles strategies, the company RIA. to be a member requires certain production, licensing and time. at least 5 years at MDRT levels - by then they will have banned it altogether!

at big blue you will be a nyl proprietary whole life salesman. nothing more, nothing less. your comp package is completely geared toward whole life. it fuels the pension - no other nyl product counts toward your pension! did you hear me on this? nyl has other products, average at best by industry comparisons, which you can sell. however, the comp is marginal. nyl has become a middle market, mom and pop company. look at their commercials. sure, they have a few big hitters but the average agent is non-registered, tries to sell 100 cases a year and is lucky to write $50k in premium at a 50% comish. consequently, nyl's agent recruiting is exploding in ethnic markets: indian, chinese, hispanic.

none of the above is inherently bad - it is what it is. if you are new to the biz you need some basic training. you can get it at NYL, MML, NML, GLIC. go in with a plan to learn as much as you can in a short time frame, 24-36 mos max. get all the licensure and designations the company is willing to pay for. dont drink the kool aid. around month 24 start looking at other firms in your area. by then you will know how to identify the best ones. remember, you are the value proposition! good luck.

 

[xrac]

I spent 10 yrs at NYL. i am also a CFP, CLU, ChFC.

you will not be a "financial planner" ala the CFP at NYL. the partner interviewing you knows this. i hope he has not used the words "financial planner" with you. nyl has struggled with the "fiduciary standard" issue. as such they are limiting the use of the CFP designation to members of eagles strategies, the company RIA. to be a member requires certain production, licensing and time. at least 5 years at MDRT levels - by then they will have banned it altogether!

at big blue you will be a nyl proprietary whole life salesman. nothing more, nothing less. your comp package is completely geared toward whole life. it fuels the pension - no other nyl product counts toward your pension! did you hear me on this? nyl has other products, average at best by industry comparisons, which you can sell. however, the comp is marginal. nyl has become a middle market, mom and pop company. look at their commercials. sure, they have a few big hitters but the average agent is non-registered, tries to sell 100 cases a year and is lucky to write $50k in premium at a 50% comish. consequently, nyl's agent recruiting is exploding in ethnic markets: indian, chinese, hispanic.

none of the above is inherently bad - it is what it is. if you are new to the biz you need some basic training. you can get it at NYL, MML, NML, GLIC. go in with a plan to learn as much as you can in a short time frame, 24-36 mos max. get all the licensure and designations the company is willing to pay for. dont drink the kool aid. around month 24 start looking at other firms in your area. by then you will know how to identify the best ones. remember, you are the value proposition! good luck.

Good advice.

 

[jdmiii]

I spent 10 yrs at NYL. i am also a CFP, CLU, ChFC.

you will not be a "financial planner" ala the CFP at NYL. the partner interviewing you knows this. i hope he has not used the words "financial planner" with you. nyl has struggled with the "fiduciary standard" issue. as such they are limiting the use of the CFP designation to members of eagles strategies, the company RIA. to be a member requires certain production, licensing and time. at least 5 years at MDRT levels - by then they will have banned it altogether!

at big blue you will be a nyl proprietary whole life salesman. nothing more, nothing less. your comp package is completely geared toward whole life. it fuels the pension - no other nyl product counts toward your pension! did you hear me on this? nyl has other products, average at best by industry comparisons, which you can sell. however, the comp is marginal. nyl has become a middle market, mom and pop company. look at their commercials. sure, they have a few big hitters but the average agent is non-registered, tries to sell 100 cases a year and is lucky to write $50k in premium at a 50% comish. consequently, nyl's agent recruiting is exploding in ethnic markets: indian, chinese, hispanic.

none of the above is inherently bad - it is what it is. if you are new to the biz you need some basic training. you can get it at NYL, MML, NML, GLIC. go in with a plan to learn as much as you can in a short time frame, 24-36 mos max. get all the licensure and designations the company is willing to pay for. dont drink the kool aid. around month 24 start looking at other firms in your area. by then you will know how to identify the best ones. remember, you are the value proposition! good luck.

I must say that you are very correct in everything that you said. I agree with you 100%. I was at NYL for a short period. It would take almost a month from the time I submit an application to the time it was acknowledged in their system.

 

[CamaroRacing12]

Haha he used the words "financial planner" ALOT! I have an interview with liberty mutual tomorrow and they pay a good base pay while u get 3 months of straight training no selling. I called NYL life back and told him i need something with a more steady income for the time being but id keep him in mind for the future, i left a voicemail saying that. Shortly after i got an email saying he decieded i am not right for this position and he is not allowing me any further in the hiring process... im like dude i jus told u im not interested lol but yea if liberty mutual has that paid straight training i think im going to take it. Plus the office is like 3 times closer to me then the NYL office is

 

[EB34]

That sucky recruiter sure was late on the take away close!

 

[DEGRI]

Depends on your situation. If you have enough time to go without paying your bills and want a great learning experience with the chance of making some solid money

@ MedicareSolutions:

I am looking to leave my job to sell insurance full-time. What would you quantify as "enough time to go without paying your bills"? Wondering how long this gap might be is what's holding me back.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[jlchan33]

One question I'd ask is the following, "how many of your new agents remain with NYL for at least one year." The answer to that question and the attitude of the person answering it will probably tell you everything you need to know.

I interviewed with NYL in the Washington D.C. area. I was impressed with them and they were upfront about everything except the following:

1) Not only is the job 100% commission-based, signing up for their very attractive "new agent commission plan" (I believe they call it a training bonus) precludes any other form of employment.

In other words, not only are you working without a guaranteed income from them, you also can't work a 2nd job to pay your bills until your commissions come through.

When I discovered that clause I passed despite some hard-selling from my potential mentor.

If you have enough income to keep yourself going for 6 months to a year, you might succeed. Otherwise, I'd pass because life insurance and financial products are tough to sell even when the market is good!

Good luck!

haha i think they sensed i was unsure.....

yes he mentioned project 200 lol. he said that it is all about referrals and once u make some deals connections will be made and leads would be generated. also he said its all about netowrking yourself and marketing urself out there.




those are very tough odds to beat but i believe I can do it. My situation is good. i have very little bills and live at home. but i would of loved to start making some money for hobbies I have (drag racing and boating) it sounds like 3/4's of the job of a financial planner is just meeting new people and getting your name out there. but like i said i have no idea.

all i know is i'd love to make good money



I also have been talking with liberty mutual and they offer $40k base pay for the first 13 weeks which would be all training before u start selling then when training is over base pay is cut in about half and commission starts. Does that sound better? that position is for life/auto/home insurance sales only

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If you're employed right now, I strongly encourage you to keep your job and work the insurance game part-time until/if it works out for you.

Recruiters will talk you up a tree about the glories of being your own boss but almost no one stays with life insurance for more than a year statistically speaking.

If you like the insurance world, I suggest getting a property and casualty license and working for an agency for a while. That's usually a salary + commission deal.

@ MedicareSolutions:

I am looking to leave my job to sell insurance full-time. What would you quantify as "enough time to go without paying your bills"? Wondering how long this gap might be is what's holding me back.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[blogman1]

let me weigh in on this one: run away while you can. i don't see a good reason to go captive. these folks know that there is a 99% chance that you will fail, and they get the policies that you will sell the people who have the misfortune to be in your project 100 (or whatever they call it now) the "training" is overrated and overpriced. you will get far better training for a lot cheaper from either iliaa or ihiaa or try using a search engine- there's plenty of free information out there that is a lot better than the "training" you will get. you will be surprised at what sales stuff is available on a torrent search engine. find the cheapest online insurance course you can find, take the test, pass it, go buy yourself some aged leads, pick up the telephone, and see if you're cut out for this biz. it's better to do this than give these crooks the names of your friends and family.

yes, there are successful nyl agents and prudential folks, and i know a few... they resent being treated as walking cash registers by their company.. they are overcharged for rent, e and o, training, their "benefits" and all of them wish they had gone independent.. if you can succeed in sales, you don't need to work for one of these blood-sucking companies, because that's all they will end up doing.