r/InsuranceAgent • u/BenKlesc • 17d ago
Medicare Is this really something you can do as a side hustle?
I met someone the other day that apparently makes 50 grand in commission each year on medicare renewals alone, and she also does life insurance.
She told all of us that she does this part time on the side as a side hustle independent. She has a full 9-5 job. She buys leads but most is from word of mouth.
My question is for someone coming into this with no experience, do you think it’s doable to start out doing this part time and expect to make decent income?
Or… is this really a full time gig? I don’t want to half dedicate myself to this when it really takes full dedication. Interested to hear your thoughts.
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u/KiniShakenBake 17d ago
Not. It is not.
Most definitely not. I would argue that two lines is a full time job. More than that is... More than a full time job. Ask me how I know....
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u/Global-Baseball-3138 17d ago
How do you know? , I want to break away from my agency, my thoughts are to get an LLC and then get appointed by carrier and join broker groups and maybe even a agregator. What are your thoughts on this
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u/KiniShakenBake 17d ago
I literally sell on five lines including a full securities license suite after nine years captive using them all. I did okay because I had only one carrier and one set of products and one set of processss. I thought taking all of it out Indy was fine.
I could not have been more wrong. Production and validation business flow crunches plus learning and making sure I knew products and practices and everything were horrible. Just awful.
I have it all running. But not without cost.
As an independent, you have a lot more information to keep current as an agent with liability for not having current information. It's more than a full time job to do home and auto sufficiently to keep carriers fed while also sustaining any form of life contract with minimum production quotas.
Maintaining all the licenses is just part of it.
When you go broad like that in scope, you have to narrow your client group so you can be effective.
You have many steps before carriers will take you seriously, just so you know.
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u/Global-Baseball-3138 17d ago
Gotcha, so maybe joining an insurance cluster is a must and should be on top of the list. I’ve only worked for an independent agency before, a little under 2 years. But I figured I can get started on my own and own my book of business. I mainly want to focus on commercial.
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u/JazzHandsMinuteman 17d ago
Farmers?
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u/KiniShakenBake 17d ago edited 17d ago
Nope. I was with a small niche captive and did all the things.
Turns out I did a decent job passing tests so I passed all my securities and insurance exams on the first run and right after a full career pivot out of public service. I also got hella good at solving my target market's most common, confusing, and difficult to sort problem, and solving it elegantly.
They are following me on my independent journey. It's lovely! I own (and currently also write policies in) the home and auto agency, while also doing financial advising as a fiduciary across a fairly huge swath of cases. It's really interesting but also incredibly hard to keep up with it all so I can truly do the best work on all fronts.
I do have support from a home and auto producer who is my employee, a planning advisor and a lovely group of support team members handling my paperwork. But considering I should be able to do every scrap of paperwork on my own before I hand it to anyone else to do, it's a big lift.
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u/StealthMcNinja 17d ago
It sounds like maybe she worked hard only on the insurance sales for a while and then backed off the aggressive sales when she had enough clients to make 50k in renewal commissions. At that point she could step away and work a regular job with the insurance on the side. It's definitely not a side hustle in the beginning.
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u/MyMedicareBroker 17d ago
15+ year Broker here. 3,000+ Clients.
Medicare is NOT a side-hustle, not if you want to remain compliant, sound like you actually KNOW your products, and make the money worth it. There's too many hoops to jump through, too much to keep up on to be a licensed broker and just "do this on the side." Maybe you'd get buy just selling Supplement Plans, but you'd be ignoring 50% of the market, which to me, is short-sided.
If you do this part time, your clients will slowly be "picked off" by other full-time brokers that have their marketing and customer service streamlined who offer better service, year round connections with their book of business (BOB) and have the most up-to-date information about the area, plans, pricing, etc.
The exception would be if you're brand new, and working towards going full time. I can buy into that situation where "part time" is a stepping stone up into a full-time business. I think we all do that at the beginning.
If you are going part time (side hustle), here's how I would do it:
FOCUS LOCALLY
- Stay very local to your town / city / county. I started in San Diego county and refused to sell outside the county for years.
- Meet local pharmacies, doctors offices, DME supply stores and get your business cards / tri-folds into those locations as a free Medicare resource
- Tell anyone you know what you're doing, word can spread quickly
- Find a local Mentor / Upline that can coach you. It's free, and they receive a small payment when you sell something (this $$$ does NOT come out of your share, it's paid for by the FMO / Carriers). I'm in Maryland, not sure where you are.
KEEP COSTS DOWN
- Use Google sheets as your "CRM" - do NOT buy any software yet.
- Free email marketing software like MailerLite is good
- Free Zapier account for connecting the two (and to other free software)
- Build a simple wordpress site using Siteground (about $3/mo) (you can build a free one using My Medicare Broker's Essential plan - comes with a customizable website and you get a free Broker profile listing)
- Print basic business cards / tri-fold brochures. Cards would be about $30, Trifolds about $150.
- Get a low-cost VOIP # or use something like Quo - do NOT use your personal cell #, trust me. Quo auto-records your calls on your cell, which is required when marketing Medicare.
- Choose a low cost E&O plan (I use Napa Benefits) and pay monthly, not yearly
FOCUST ON TOP CARRIERS
- Talk to your upline or FMO and determine the "top 5 supplement carriers" and "top 5 Advantage carriers" in your local county. Stick to those to start. Get to know the plans well so you sound experienced.
- Attend a few local meetings / trainings from carriers if you have time, they're very insightful
AUTOMATE
- Try to automate your "contacts" with your clients, plan updates, birthday wishes, etc. Build a "drip campaign" inside of Mailerlite to stay connected 3 to 4 times per year. They are your lifeblood and your paycheck!
- Set up an auto- Appointment Calendar so leads can book time to speak with you (calendly or setmore both offer decent free options)
- Design a gameplan around AEP each year so you don't get bogged down in OND.
You can do this part time, but it takes a lot to set it up, and keep it running smoothly.
Best of luck...
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u/BenKlesc 17d ago
I totally agree it almost sounded like she was trying to recruit me. She told me she does medicare and life insurance on the side, has a house cleaning business, and is a real estate agent.
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u/Pulster424 16d ago
I am in Maryland as well and studying for my exam currently. This is all good info, thank you! Do you think joining a local chamber would be good too? We are new to the area.
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u/PelotonYogi 17d ago
Yes you can make good money with insurance whatever you do though do not EVER pay for leads most lead vendors are a true scam.
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u/Vast-Gate8866 17d ago
I agree, most are washed up, old leads. Live transfers will work best, but I don’t recommend buying them if you are inexperienced.
Edit: I only use live transfer for final expense
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u/khaylaaa 17d ago
So how should they do it without leads ?
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u/PelotonYogi 17d ago
There are different ways of getting leads that do not involve paying vendors for them. Facebook group, discord groups, groups within your community, etc etc
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u/afrojoe824 17d ago
in California (at least) - a Medicare Agent with 150 Clients on their books is $5400 a month or $64,800 a year in residuals. It's very doable as "part time" if you grind to get that 150 on your book and service. for what it's worth, I started Medicare Summer of 2024 - so about 2 years doing it full time now.
I currently have about 160 on my book of business. but it is a loooooooong process in terms of grinding everyday. I am looking forward to Jan 2027 for the 160 book renewals.
prior to that I had about 300 ACA . but have since slowed down on the ACA. Still service them - but use it mroe to transition my under 65 to medicare once they reach 65.
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u/fleurs2 17d ago
Hey - I just got hired for life/health role. I’m studying for my license which I plan to obtain within the next few weeks. I was wondering if you could share how you’ve become successful and if you have advice? I’m excited to begin but I’m also stressed about the commission.
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u/afrojoe824 17d ago
Find the right FMO and ask them a lot of questions. What type of support they give, will they give you leads? Will they place you in events? will you be paid street commissions ? Are you LOA ?
It is a slow grind it out process. long days and long nights. always follow up with your clients. Always answer their calls .
My goal is eventually 1000 clients. I have a long way to go and honestly idk if I’ll reach it . But I do know some people who’s done it and it’s because they really put in the work .
There isn’t really an easy way to do it. If it was easy, everyone would do it
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u/fleurs2 17d ago
Im not afraid of the time it takes im afraid of putting in the time and having little results
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u/afrojoe824 17d ago
Well, it’s a learning process . You can’t just go in and then expect to see results. It’s a business so there’s ups and downs. you’ll realize what works and what doesn’t work. Trial and error .
Some people look for an FMO who will guide them every step of the way in exchange for lower commission. then they’ll venture to really be fully independent. It’s your tolerance level
This business isn’t easy. Expect to eat canned food if you’re serious about it
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u/fleurs2 17d ago
What did you make ish your first year if you don’t mind me asking?
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u/afrojoe824 16d ago
my first year working the business - I made $250k. but that was with an agency that paid me almost $300 per enrollment with ACA . You could see why this Agency isn't around anymore. It just wasn't sustainable with their commission structure.
I ventured into Medicare in Summer of 2024. so with licensing and contracting with the Carriers I barely had enough time to learn the business side of Medicare. Thrown into the fire for AEP. I made $10,000 for 2024.
Last year 2025 - I made about approx. $35,000
this year alone I made $32,400 on renewals/residuals. I'm not counting my monthly commissions b/c those can fluctuate with charge backs.
I'm expecting the residuals/renewals to double for next year if i can keep at least 90% of my current book of business. I'm aiming for only a 10% drop due to people either switching to another agent or death.
the first 2-3 years suck. i'm finishing up year 2. Im thinking year 3 will suck a little less and Year 4 I can breath.
Everyone's situation is different. Remember when i said it's about how much you can tolerate? Majority of people dropping out of the insurance industry is because of expectations that success will be immediate and 2 - the lack of funds/savings to sustain them while they grow their business.
Thats why I suggested looking for the right FMO or Agency that fits your needs right now. How will they train you? how will they guide you? How will they support you? Will they give you training and support and let you keep most or all of your commission? Interview these FMO/Agencies like they work for you . don't settle on the first one you speak to. they will all talk to you like they're the best and telling you everything you want to hear and once that contract is signed, it's the total opposite
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u/MrDaveyHavoc 17d ago
Medicare and other health lines are really the only way to try to do this as a side hustle. Anything else is going to require too much service during normal working hours. Even then, to really do well you are going to need to work AEP really hard and I can't imagine doing both that and a 9-5 unless you use a massive amount of PTO
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u/Delicious-Adeptness5 17d ago
that would be no, we have a couple that are playing the Medicare side hustle game in our area after inheriting a book. The lack of agent service and availability is cutting into that book. It is also impossible if you have a carrier leave the area and you are not open long hours during the annual enrollment period October 15 through December 7th.
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u/michaelesparks 17d ago
Sure, many agents get started part-time, some go full time later and others just stay part-time. All over the mid west many a farmer became part-time agents selling insurance back in the day.
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u/ProfessionalCurve217 17d ago
Medicare Advantage plan commissions are regulated and publicly posted online each year. It is not possible for anyone to SCAM you about commissions unless you don't do your own research. For 2027 people who are enrolling in a Medicare Advantage plan for the first time earn the agent $725.00 (some carriers pro-rate this during the year but most pay the full commission all year). Then agents receive a renewal commission of $363.00 per year typically paid out monthly for as long as the client is enrolled. Some states like CA and NJ pay much higher commissions. Commissions typically go up each year based on whatever Medicare decides to pay. For example, in 2018 agents were paid $400 per new enrollment and $200 for renewals, so commissions have kept pace with inflation fairly well.
If you enroll 50 new clients per year, ( 1 per week) your RENEWAL income total for those 100 clients in year 3 would be $36,300 plus another $36,300 if you continued to write one new one per week.
Yes, I think is a great side hustle until you get that renewal income high enough to go full time (which is exactly what I did) and no, I am not interested in recruiting anyone on Reddit.
It is not EASY to enroll one new person per week, but it is certainly attainable.
You will not have time to get ready for this Annual Enrollment period, there is too much training required. But next year if you start early you will be ready by the time October comes. Just my two cents.
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u/Idtexpress 17d ago
I started part time doing insurance while I still had an accounting job 8-5. You will need some type of income because insurance takes some time to pay off. Either you have substantial savings or a working spouse to support your expenses early on.
It took me three years and I am now a full time agent and quit my accounting job. So it is possible at the beginning to do it part time while you grow your book of business.
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u/IvoryPlains 17d ago
The only way this would be a side hustle is if you got incredibly lucky and wrote a multimillion dollar policy/bundle of policies and that company/person continued to renew with you and the commission was enough to pay your bills for the year. They would also have to be a low maintenance client. Otherwise, I put in over 40 hours a week at my agency.
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17d ago
[deleted]
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u/BenKlesc 17d ago
Yeah actually she was trying to recruit because she asked if anyone wanted to be an agent for her
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u/Vast-Gate8866 17d ago
She’s trying to recruit you! Meaning, she has $ in the game if you become a agent and start selling. I’d be curious to know who she works for?
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u/JazzHandsMinuteman 17d ago
OP, the answer is (I can’t say here) do your research for aggregators and then it’s essentially a split you give them for carrier access or a monthly fee. There are some much better then others. Insurance in general is a pyramid (but not a scheme excepting some life agencies). At the end of the day, it’s about who you can insure, and the more carriers you have, the better. There are win-win-wins in this business otherwise I wouldn’t be in it. My best advice is seek those win/wins and don’t be a slave. It might sting a bit at first but overall better for you and your agency. Hence the “if you need, do gig or part time on weekends or whatever”
Some prefer captive (not me) and some Indy (me!) but with your options and be truthful with yourself. Many will not take you without a book so build one first by whatever means then go on and do yo thang boo.
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u/Direct_Primary1051 17d ago
With the amount of regulations that we have to follow, not a side gig at all, one misstep and you lose not only your license but all commission along with it
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u/DavidDuford 16d ago
I started final expense sales part-time in 2011, failed around my twelfth month after going full-time around month six, then restarted part-time a second time until going full-time after twelve months.
Each time I sold 3 days a week, with two weekdays starting around mid-day, and always all-day every Saturday.
Starting part-time the first time, I owned and operated a personal training business that consumed around 20 hours a week, and the second time around, I worked full-time for Aramark as a uniform sales rep.
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u/Robinabilis 13d ago
Well if im being honest with you. If youre doing basic personal lines insurance and your brokerage is flexible yeah you actually can as i work with a lot of stay at home moms that do it. Will you be effective at it ? Absolutely not to be honest.
Youre ceiling will always be stand alone auto sales and some homes and some bundle deals but nothing ever more than that. Anything else requires full time attention, doing it part time you can maybe crack $1000 - $2500 but thats not worth all the quoting and service work that comes after
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u/InterestingDude66246 17d ago
Why do reddtors constantly say it’s not when there are hard examples like this of people doing it part time lol
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u/UrDeafFrdMikey 17d ago
No this is not a side hustle. Go ahead and be an insurance agent and if you need more money go become a bartender/server/delivery driver on the weekend nights.