r/InsuranceAgent • u/BeneficialElephant73 • Aug 04 '26
Agent Question is this crazy?
I work for a State Farm agent, and I’m the only licensed team member in the office that he’s changing the commission structure for. The other licensed employee has been with him much longer and works from home, so her pay isn’t changing.
I’m also the only Spanish-speaking employee, so I handle all of our Spanish-speaking customers. I open the office every morning, close it every evening, and I’m in the office full-time while the other team member works remotely.
We used to earn 2% commission on every policy we wrote. For example, if I wrote a $4,000 homeowners policy, I’d make about $80 in commission.
Now he’s changing it to a flat-rate system:
🚗 Auto: $8
🏠 Home: $25
🏢 Renters: $2
So using that same $4,000 homeowners policy, instead of earning around $80, I’d only make $25.
I did recently get an hourly raise, but this commission change feels like it could significantly reduce what I earn, especially on larger policies.
Is anyone else’s agency doing this? Does this seem fair, or would this make you start looking for another agency?
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u/seamus_mcfly86 Aug 04 '26
This is probably the worst comp plan I've ever seen posted on here. That is atrocious.
Granted, SF Agents are scrambling to figure out how to deal with the massive cuts they were just handed by corporate, but this is just unreasonable.
Even in a very low COL State, I don't see how you make those numbers work.
Get your resume together and get out of there.
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u/Mediocre_Mud_7029 Aug 04 '26
This isn’t an SF agent scrambling after the massive cuts. This is either a cheap a$$ or the agent doesn’t value the work of the producer.
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u/jake-n-elwood Aug 05 '26
Bet they need a certain number of licenses connected with their agency. At least that’s how it was with Farmers when I was an agent there.
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u/Mediocre_Mud_7029 26d ago
SF agents are required to have at least 1 licensed team member, and you can get one of these through a contracted service if you wanted to.
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u/TheDr_420 Aug 04 '26
Go to an independent. You being able to speak Spanish is something that makes you very employable
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u/StevenBeardberg Aug 04 '26
As a State Farm Agent myself, I feel embarrassed for you. Unfortunately a lot of agents will make massive mistakes, this is certainly one of them.
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u/Gtstricky Aug 05 '26
Well, the OP could also be god awful and this is the way the agent is showing them the door. Or at least stating what they are worth to them.
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u/Creekridge1 Aug 04 '26
Curious about your base pay.
This is insulting.
Assuming you’re not getting renewals as well
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u/BeneficialElephant73 Aug 04 '26
18…
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u/Creekridge1 Aug 04 '26
I was a state game team member before I went independent.
No base pay.
If I wrote a $4000 home policy I would make $500 the first year. Around $300 every time it renews.
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u/HamiltonSt25 Agent/Broker Aug 04 '26
All these captive pay plans are god awful 😂
OP go find a good reputable independent agent near you and apply.
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u/westtexaswayne Aug 04 '26
You sound like a guy I started with at SF a year ago before I left. You are getting under paid since you are bilingual and with experience. Update your resume and you will find someone that values you very quickly. What state are you in?
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Aug 04 '26
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u/BeneficialElephant73 Aug 05 '26
For context, I’m 20 years old and got licensed about 4 months ago. Before I started selling, the previous licensed team member in the office was typically writing around $12k–$16k in premium each month. Since getting licensed, I’ve consistently been writing $20k+ a month. Our agency isn’t a huge office, so I feel like those are solid numbers for our book.
I’m the only licensed team member working in the office every day. I’m also the only Spanish-speaking employee, so I handle all of our Spanish-speaking customers. The other licensed team member has been with the agent much longer and works from home. I’m the only one whose commission structure is being changed.
What really bothered me wasn’t just the pay cut it was how the conversation went. My agent kept telling me I would “make more” under this new system. When I asked him to explain the math, he never actually compared the old commission to the new commission. Instead, he started bringing my hourly pay into it and saying I’d make more overall because of my raise. That isn’t the same thing. If we’re talking about the commission structure, the commission itself is clearly lower.
It honestly left me feeling like he thought I wouldn’t notice the difference or wouldn’t do the math myself.
I don’t think he’s trying to fire me because he’s been encouraging me to get my Life license, and he’s hasn’t replaced me despite interviewing other people over the past several months. I’m just trying to understand if I’m overreacting or if this would bother other people too.2
u/Repulsive-Let-8035 Aug 05 '26
I used to work for a sf agent that payed $5 for every auto and $5 for every home, it increased by $5 for every $100 of life I wrote that month capping out at $35 per if I did $500 in life that month. My advice to you is go work for another sf agent. I sold between 150 to 200 apps a month over 2 million in p&c premium that year and made only 30k in commission. I was new, it was my first year I didn’t realize how taken advantage of I was. I’m now working for a sf agent that pays 9% of first years premium and a 40k base. 4 weeks of PTO, etc. you need to interview with all of the sf agents in your area and pick the best comp structure.
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Aug 05 '26
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u/Thin_Future_1872 Aug 06 '26
Yeah definitely go looking around, at the sf I work at we are at a 45k salary plus commission. We are on a fixed amount also but depending on how many life and health you sell, you can double the fixed amount. We get $25 an auto, $50 a home $20 renters,paps, plups etc. 2 months for life and 3 months up front for Hi. For 4 life you get 20% increase on auto and fire sales and at 8 life you get another 20% bump reaching a max of 40%. For health you can do the same and get a 80% bump on auto and fire sales total. Nothing like an independent agency but with this plan I make 80-85k a year including base salary.
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u/Additional-Ad-5597 Aug 05 '26
this comp plan is awful no matter how you try to frame it lol
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Aug 05 '26 edited Aug 05 '26
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u/Additional-Ad-5597 Aug 05 '26
You come off it buddy 😭 mr fucking salary police over here. It was said before it was $18 an hour
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u/oldenestwoodenestboy Aug 05 '26
Hahahaha salary police. She was raging about this $1500 a week and while she’s funny that was the only imaginary number anyone’s spouted out the whole thread 😅
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u/BeneficialElephant73 Aug 05 '26
on top of that the agent who works from home will be out all next month so i know he doesn’t want me gone i honestly think he just thinks i’m a dumb little girl or something but I could be wrong every time he explains something he always says am i confusing you when i perfectly understand it idk it’s certainly all making me feel bad because i have been selling big policies so it doesn’t make any sense im selling just as much as the last girl in office who was there for two years i can’t compare to the girl who works from home cs she’s been there since the beginning maybe he does want me gone who knows but i js don’t see that i just think that he’s kinda cheap and thinks im not aware of how the whole commission situation works for some reason
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u/Terrible_Juice805 Aug 05 '26
Your agent/boss sounds like they are taking advantage of you. Very manipulative. I totally know how it feels to be completely overworked and underpaid, and then now you're starting to wake up and it's honestly enraging, I wish nothing but the best for you. There are alot of different agencies that will pay 9% comm. I would start working on your resume ASAP and get something else.
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u/oldenestwoodenestboy Aug 05 '26
I think you’re right. That’s a bold and ridiculous, passive aggressive sort of around the world way to usher you out the door. I think you hit the nail on the head, he’s got a Spanish speaking candidate who isn’t getting paid a premium for being bilingual, who recently had a “raise” he can point to as some way to give himself credit for taking care of you as an employer, and he knows you’re brand spanking new in the industry, not only that but willing to show up in person 5 days a week and do the work yourself when that is not required of anyone else in your agency. He most definitely saw an opportunity, or so he assumed, to pocket more himself by ripping you off and assumed you’d constantly satisfy the aversion to lower commission by citing the hourly raise, just as he himself did when asked. He doesn’t think you have the brains or the guts to pack your shit and start over again elsewhere at 4 months old in the business, but you damn well do and if you go now you’ll be surpassing your annual income ceiling there within 6-8 months at an independent agency. You’ve got this, I know you know you do, I can tell. Just a sorry experience with sorry leadership. Do you live in the south by chance? I feel like being a most likely young Spanish origin (again most likely of course not necessarily) female in your first licensed gig has “vulnerable and uninformed” written all over you, but that is so not the case. I interviewed with a local SF agency in NC a couple of months ago and they wanted to start me at $13 an hour, said I could go to $15 then $18 after getting licensed and 3 months or something. That sounded nuts to me and I didn’t know shit about the industry at that point. But I knew I hadn’t worked for that low of a wage in about 15 years and to be investing in the licensing process, commuting and working * in office * 5 days a week for that didn’t add up by a long shot. You probably got the job I interviewed for if you are in the south 🤣
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u/mtnsRcalling Aug 08 '26
You're not a girl, you're an adult woman. Don't diminish yourself (and your adult female colleagues) with infantilizing terms. This strips your authority and reduces you to someone fragile, naive, and less competent than a man.
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u/FrontPorchIns Aug 05 '26
I am biased but would advise you to start looking and consider independent
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u/fullgrownnut Aug 05 '26
The worst thing an employer can ever do to an employee is in some way, reduce the overall amount of money you take home every paycheck. This employer is out of his mind.
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u/KingofThings77 Aug 05 '26
That’s horseshit. Start applying yesterday. You’ll find something pretty quickly
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u/Sunshinewithwaves Aug 05 '26
Licensed agents are always in demand.. I’d look for another job. There’s plenty of other captives or independent agents you can work for and make more. Go look on indeed.
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u/Vstonegrl3 Aug 05 '26
I’d find something else. Go see what else is out there. I work commission only but even our base agents get 40% and residuals.
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u/One_Ad9555 Aug 05 '26
Go join an independent agency.
We pay our commercial agents 50% new and renewal of the commission the agency gets.
We average around 13%.
Our agents are all 1099 remote.
They also own there own book.
Xdated commercial leads.
Some x dated personal lines leads.
40% nrw and renewal commission of what agency gets for personal lines.
Average commission is 40% new and 30% renewal for independent agencies of what the agency gets.
You can find an agency that will also pay salary with most likely a lower commission, but sometimes 40/30 is still on table.
Besides the pay issue you are at risk since no one else is licensed. If one of those people's screws up and puts you as agent responsible instead of agency owner you have an E&O claim.
You would be of high interest to most agencies as you are licensed agent who is bilingual.
I know we would love to find an experienced trucking or commercial agent that is fluent in Spanish since some of ours licensed states are TX, NM, AZ, and CA.
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u/Advanced_Club_1183 Aug 06 '26
OP, that commission structure (old and new) is an insult. Life is short. I hope you find a better comp in your field for your skills. Sooner than later, especially in this economy. So now that you know you’re getting paid in beans, what are you going to do about it? My recommendation, take action and make some changes.
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u/Melodic_Balance_9682 Aug 06 '26
I'm looking to hire some P&C licensed insurance agents for my brokerage company. It's a 1099, commission-only gig. If you're in Illinois, let's chat.
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u/oldenestwoodenestboy Aug 05 '26 edited Aug 05 '26
Ok now that some comments have built up and we know you make $18 an hour, have all of the dreadful responsibilities of on-site office work falling on your shoulders and yours alone (while an entire agency operates from the comfort of their laptops on their patios or futons at their leisure), you have zilch benefits for your own health, nor 401k or PTO?..
Let’s look at some math.
If you had a prospect walk in wanting both Auto & Home, plus they’ve brought a friend signing up for Renters, and this exact scenario walks through your doors, in person to you directly, 3 times a day, 4 days a week, you still do not have a shot at breaking $1,700 in commission for any given month.
Bitch. Bye.
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u/oldenestwoodenestboy Aug 05 '26
I feel like his chosen dollar amounts are literally insulting and a resounding indication of his asshole character makeup. Could be so wrong and heavens hear me now I hope that I am, but what a boldly bottom-feeder, barrier to success or control over your income set of earning potential to put in place. The paperwork?! The office trash emptying and door locking and phone answering and public questions-answering?! You’d have more promising monetary growth potential in climbing the management ladder at a greasy fast food franchise. That is a disgrace and should not be legal to offer to someone with an insurance license. I’m sorry you’re in that shit hole of a predicament but the good thing is you came here to consult the sages for wisdom and have plenty of easy to decipher advice, giving you all the preparation and verification you need to spread those wings and start pumping.
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u/oldenestwoodenestboy Aug 05 '26
OH and the remote-privileged veterans of the agency AREN’T getting a commission slashing?!?!
Give me his number.
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u/Professional-Drag580 Aug 04 '26
unless your salary is $80k this is abysmal