Thoughts on My First Year As an Agent

[Lowcountry 42]

Hello All,
First off thank you for all the good advice and comic relief that comes off this forum!

I am sitting here doing my PNL for 2012, I obtained my license in January of 2012, and was curious how good/bad my first year review would be if I worked in an office full of Agents. I would appreciate an honest opinion from y'all.

I started captive with AGLA for 6 months then jumped into final expense using direct mail leads,working out my home office. I have put all business and expenses from all my endeavors together, so here it is:

Lead Costs-$7000
Gas and misc expenses-$4500
Annual Premium-$58,300
Face Amount Insurance-$725,000
Commisson paid-$44,700

It appears I have made about $30k in my first year and the majority of that has been in the last 6 months, It has been a long strange trip to say the least. This month is starting of good so hopefully I will double my earnings this year.

Any input positive or not is appreciated!

 

[tins]

This might give u an idea of where u stand...


According to the BLS, the mean annual salary for insurance agents was $47,450 in 2011. The best-paid 10 percent made an average of $115,300, while the lowest-paid 10 percent were paid $25,910, on average. The highest salaries were paid by outpatient care centers, securities and commodities firms, and insurance and employee benefit funds.
Salary Range

75th Percentile$72,490 Median$47,450 25th Percentile$33,850

Is this for 1st year insurance agents, such as the OP?

 

[GreenSky]

Is this for 1st year insurance agents, such as the OP?

If you eliminate SAI the average goes WAY up.

Rick

 

[tins]

If you eliminate SAI the average goes WAY up.

Rick

I don't think he was counted, the study was only including 'Producing Agents'.

 

[Lowcountry 42]

I figured I was in the top 10% since 90% of all agents supposedly fail in their first year, now it appears I am in the bottom of the earning %. The good thing is all my bills are paid and I'm still selling!

 

[tins]

I figured I was in the top 10% since 90% of all agents supposedly fail in their first year, now it appears I am in the bottom of the earning %. The good thing is all my bills are paid and I'm still selling!

Sounds like you did have a good 1st year. Those numbers he was quoting were referring to experienced agents.

 

[Lowcountry 42]

If I were to include these stastics on a resume would they be considered positive for a first year independent agent with little or no mentoring and support:

[FONT=Arial Black","sans-serif]IndependentLife and Health Agent –January 2012-Present[/FONT]​

· Grew my book of business from nothing to over 100 clients, approximately $725,000 face amount life insurance, $58,300 in annual premium in my first year as alicensed life and health agent.

· Used cold calling, direct mail and referrals to generate qualified leads andconverted 25 to 30 percent of leads into clients.

 

[WinoBlues]

I believe you did OK. Most importantly you learned and earned. My fastest growth years were the first five years of being independent. If the majority of your growth was the last 6 months you should be able able to double your income.

Last year is behind you. It is all forward now.

 

[hammerken]

I would say you did well. Your first months were skewed I think by your AGLA relationship. Not a knock on them. You changed some of your processes midstream. You are on the right path.

 

[senior-advisor-indiana]

Hello All,
First off thank you for all the good advice and comic relief that comes off this forum!

I am sitting here doing my PNL for 2012, I obtained my license in January of 2012, and was curious how good/bad my first year review would be if I worked in an office full of Agents. I would appreciate an honest opinion from y'all.

I started captive with AGLA for 6 months then jumped into final expense using direct mail leads,working out my home office. I have put all business and expenses from all my endeavors together, so here it is:

Lead Costs-$7000
Gas and misc expenses-$4500
Annual Premium-$58,300
Face Amount Insurance-$725,000
Commisson paid-$44,700

It appears I have made about $30k in my first year and the majority of that has been in the last 6 months, It has been a long strange trip to say the least. This month is starting of good so hopefully I will double my earnings this year.

Any input positive or not is appreciated!

Those numbers are above average for a 1st year agent. When filing your taxes you might be better off taking off mileage instead of your gas expenses if you kept track of them.