State Farm or Allstate? CA?

[No Pvmt]

Hi everyone,
I am new to insurance and I am an Investment Adviser Rep. I hold a S7 & S66. I am looking at making a move to insurance to provide a greater diversity of products. I am at the point of doing a business plan with SF. I like both companies and see some pros and cons in both. What my question is that which co. do you all think will be better for the short and long term? I am in looking at selling my home to open a scratch with SF and can probably stay if I open a scratch with AS. I live in CA and I am willing to move out of state which may allow me to pick up an existing office. Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

 

[xrac]

Hi everyone,
I am new to insurance and I am an Investment Adviser Rep. I hold a S7 & S66. I am looking at making a move to insurance to provide a greater diversity of products. I am at the point of doing a business plan with SF. I like both companies and see some pros and cons in both. What my question is that which co. do you all think will be better for the short and long term? I am in looking at selling my home to open a scratch with SF and can probably stay if I open a scratch with AS. I live in CA and I am willing to move out of state which may allow me to pick up an existing office. Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Read all of the posts on here about both. I personally wouldn't do either one.

 

[VolAgent]

Honestly, if you have a 7 & 66 and a book of business, I doubt you would be happy at either. I doubt you'll like the compliance at either, or the restriction on products. When you say insurance, do you mean P&C? You'd probably be happier teaming up with a local P&C shop that doesn't have a L&H specialist, or a weak one. Get your license and get a cut of the action you refer to them.

 

[No Pvmt]

Xrac & Volagent- Thank you for the responses. I recently got my lic. I am building a book and and see the benefit of offering P&C and L&H (cross selling). My wife is a little scared if I go Inde. due to name branding. My thought is that my E&O would be very expensive to hold all my licenses and still having to have a broker dealer for trades. Are you both inde's? If so what was it like starting and how long till you started to see some green? How hard is selling against the big box companies?

 

[VolAgent]

How do you have a 7 & 66 without a sponsor?

It is tough however you start. I started with a big mutual, so at least they reimbursed me for my licenses and sponsored me for the 6 & 63.

I'd suggest going with someone like MassMutual, NWM, NYL, MetLife, Pru or Guardian. They can help you learn how to build a practice. If you are dead set on the P&C route, I return to my earlier advice. Find a local agency that doesn't have a L&H specialist, get a B/D to hold your license and assign a sales manager to help you, and then try to work out an agreement with the P&C agency. At the risk of pissing off all the SFers, Allstaters, Farmers, etc of the world, you can't do both well. And you really can't do both well early in your career.

Just make sure that whoever you sign up with doesn't hold you captive to only their products and will support you. Your sales manager means much more to your success than the name on the card. You want the client to buy you, not the name of the insurance company.

 

[TheInsuranceGuy63]

They are both good

 

[wornout]

I wouldn't waste your time or money with either company right now. Read the Tica forum at National Assoc of State Farm Agents site. Talk to Allstate agents who have been there 3-7 years. Even Nationwide is having struggles these days.

 

[moonlightandmargaritas]

I wouldn't waste your time or money with either company right now. Read the Tica forum at National Assoc of State Farm Agents site. Talk to Allstate agents who have been there 3-7 years.

My belief is that the Allstate/State Farm agent model is a dinosaur, and will soon be extinct...