fun2drum
Super Genius
- 140
Welcome, Melina!
As an agent who's been around through several years captive, more years as a career employee agent, and then independent, I can say that independent gives the most opportunity for growth IF you're a self-starter and have a VERY strong work ethic. And a thick skin. A Very Very thick skin.
A captive agent at the RIGHT agency should get a better leg up starting and support through leads, training, and general oversight which can be valuable to an agent starting out. Do your research though because a bad agency can be your worst nightmare and it can be hard to leave once you figure it out.
The other way of going about it would be to get hired as a career agent with a large carrier such as Humana. That's the hardest gig to get but the easiest way to go and start making money with benefits. You get things like real leads that actually want you in their homes, salary plus commission, health, 401K, etc. That situation does mean you're a corporate employee with lots of required oversight, training, meetings, events, and other basic micromanagement stuff, but they take care of everything. Leaving that situation is difficult once you're established. In other words your book of business is owned by the company so if you're to take any of them with you then you must leave before the AEP and move your customers to a different plan so you get them as agent of record. Also, it's difficult to leave a situation where everything is taken care of for you such as health insurance and retirement. I did leave a situation like that but it was well-planned with the company and my transition to independent was smooth as silk. My age and seniority helped me greatly with that.
Anyway, what's best for you? That's your call, but in my short forum experience I've found there are a lot of good people here on the forum with a huge amount of combined experience, so take advantage of that. Also keep in mind some people posting advice or helpful links MAY receive personal financial gain by influencing you to go in a given direction or take action with a product or service. I'm not saying that is all bad because some of those recommendations you see may be absolutely perfect for you or may not be. Just be aware of that as you're wading through the forums looking for advice.
As an agent who's been around through several years captive, more years as a career employee agent, and then independent, I can say that independent gives the most opportunity for growth IF you're a self-starter and have a VERY strong work ethic. And a thick skin. A Very Very thick skin.
A captive agent at the RIGHT agency should get a better leg up starting and support through leads, training, and general oversight which can be valuable to an agent starting out. Do your research though because a bad agency can be your worst nightmare and it can be hard to leave once you figure it out.
The other way of going about it would be to get hired as a career agent with a large carrier such as Humana. That's the hardest gig to get but the easiest way to go and start making money with benefits. You get things like real leads that actually want you in their homes, salary plus commission, health, 401K, etc. That situation does mean you're a corporate employee with lots of required oversight, training, meetings, events, and other basic micromanagement stuff, but they take care of everything. Leaving that situation is difficult once you're established. In other words your book of business is owned by the company so if you're to take any of them with you then you must leave before the AEP and move your customers to a different plan so you get them as agent of record. Also, it's difficult to leave a situation where everything is taken care of for you such as health insurance and retirement. I did leave a situation like that but it was well-planned with the company and my transition to independent was smooth as silk. My age and seniority helped me greatly with that.
Anyway, what's best for you? That's your call, but in my short forum experience I've found there are a lot of good people here on the forum with a huge amount of combined experience, so take advantage of that. Also keep in mind some people posting advice or helpful links MAY receive personal financial gain by influencing you to go in a given direction or take action with a product or service. I'm not saying that is all bad because some of those recommendations you see may be absolutely perfect for you or may not be. Just be aware of that as you're wading through the forums looking for advice.
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