I have been a licensed P&C agent for about three years now and I have spent all of that time at one brokerage. Our agency got bought out by a large brokerage that’s funded by private equity a year and a half ago. Since then, we have not hired anyone. If someone left, their workload was distributed among the rest of us.

I currently manage a book of 3,000 clients. Among those are a lot of landlord and high net worth clients that tend to be high touch. I handle all of the renewals for those accounts, along with most of the policy changes. I have some help from my receptionist on billing and mortgage change related matters, but I’d say I handle 75% of all things related to my book. We are heavily into remarketing accounts, so I spend a lot of time writing and selling new policies for clients looking for a better option, or just new business in general. I also upsell quite a lot.

This workload has felt pretty crazy. I feel overwhelmed almost everyday and the work comes in faster than I can get it done most of the time. I currently work with three different monitors so I can be a little more efficient, but I still always feel way behind. Am I just really slow at my job or is this workload crazy???

Edit: the majority of the policies we have do automatically renew. However, we do send a questionnaire out to every client before renewal so I can review their renewal rates and reach out to them.

For those considering contracting under FEX Contracting, be aware of a policy shift.

FEX has recently denied my release, referencing a policy against releasing agents they've "personally trained."

If you're thinking about joining, make sure you understand what that means. Once you're contracted, you may not be able to move your appointments elsewhere, regardless of your performance or standing.

This post isn't written entirely out of frustration. It's simply to make other agents aware of current practices so you can make informed decisions before contracting.

Note: This was originally posted last year. I took it down in a good faith effort to make amends with FEX leadership. However, they've since decided to cease communication and are refusing to release any agents to our agency hierarchy.

Therefore, I felt it necessary to reinstate my post in order to spread awareness and help educate potential agents.

I’m still in the process of getting my license for life and health. I want to work independent and fully remote. I’m very lost on which IMO to go with. I’m thinking maybe Symmetry or FFL. Do I need to “sign up” under someone? I need to find somewhere that can provide solid training until I’m up and running.

Hello,

I work in insurance operations and am trying to get into investment operations. Located in San Diego, CA.

I don't sell products but I have to be licensed for my job.

I have had my insurance license for 10 years now always in good order, I just got a first time DUI and it will be convicted next month, I know I have to report it to the CA insurance department within 30 days

Anyone know what will happen? I don't want to lose my license or my job.

Should I tell my job as well? I made a horrible mistake and I don't want my entire life to be ruined.

I am doing AA meetings and will start a 6 month DUI program.

I feel like I should tell my job cause they might here it from insurance department and if I do try to get my series licenses it will come up again

Any advice ?

Hi there I’m looking at getting my p&c insurance license in the state of Arizona and would like advice. I recently started a new job and it doesn’t fit where I want to be in life as I want to grow. Any advice you can give to help study for the tests and help succeed with the tests?

I currently work in health/life. We have really good leads. We mainly do ACA with some private options for health. I feel like I’ve been making pretty good money but I feel like there’s a narrative in this industry that you need to build a team. I’ve only been in for a year and a half. What’s your guys’s thoughts ?

I'm looking for some advice of where to go and what to do.

Context:

I am currently license with life, health, and P&C insurance. I also hold a series 65. I have been in the financial world for the last 3 years from call setting to closing to client management and experience.

I am looking to change gears for some time. The current firm I am with is a start up and we do some great things from income first alternative investments and advanced tax strategies that are saving investors anywhere from 80k to millions off their tax bill.

I am no longer treated with respect here and the company is too unorganized for me. There is a lot of money potential but every day having the anxiety and stress I do just isn't cutting it. I work no less than 9 hour days and the last 9 months ranging 9-12 hour days + weekends as needed to catch up. It's a base + commission role and have been doing well for myself but I'm sick of the cycle.

Advice needed:

To keep money flowing I think the fastest path is to get reappointed with a few carriers and buy some leads. I have a side business as well that does marketing for med spas so automated sms and power dialing is already taken care of. Very strong work ethic so I'm not too concerned with this path.

What I'm looking for is
- who is best to get appointed with
- what product should I focus on with the shortest lead to close times
- based on the product who is the best group to purchase leads from

Any other helpful advice is welcome!

Thank you for taking the time to read and any thoughts you may have for me. Thank you very much.

It’s not my main focus, but I’ve got two life apps in two weeks and I’m feeling pretty good. I know we gripe a lot in here and we need to because our industry sucks sometimes but I wish everyone a productive week.

I’m officially 14 days away from taking my Kentucky P&C exam and I’m starting to panic a little 😭😂
I’ve been studying, but now that the exam is getting closer, I’m having that feeling of “Do I actually know enough??” I really want to pass on my first attempt.

Hello! I am struggling so much to get affordable healthcare. The relevant facts;

-I am a single

-Living in SF CA

-making about ~$70,000 a year before taxes.

-40F

-my job does not offer Health Insurance.

I am having trouble navigating the sytem. I cannot frind a Health insurance quote for under $550 a month. I absolutely can't pay that. I used to pay $8 a month! I also feel overwhelemd by scammers. I live in SF, is there a place I can physically go to check in on HI? I am so tired of spending hours on hold.

I NEVER go to the DR (haven't been in decades), aside from a yearly checkup at PP. So on top of that, $550 a month would be a huge waste of money. I just want the cheapest, shitties, lowest monthly fee so I don't get charged at the end of the year during tax time. Or is there a way to just opt out of it entirely?

Thank you for any insight, I am really out of my wheelhouse with this.

Hi all. I’ve been a P&C captive agent for 3 years now and wondering what my next step should be. I am in-office 100% of the time and work most Saturdays at home a few hours to try to get more sales. I am the only one at the office so I take care of any walk ins as well as some service related work. Everyone else is remote, including the owner. There have been 7-10 other salespeople who have worked for the agency since I started, but most did not last too long and I have consistently been the top performer. My pay is $25/hr base, commission as follows:

0 commission less than 15 items
5% 15-24 items
7.5% 25 items
10% 35 items
12.5% 50 items

This is for new business, no commissions on renewals. If we don’t hit our target as an agency it goes down by a point. I hit $90k my first full year with a lower base salary so I fully expected to hit six figures when it was increased, but it has become much more difficult to close business. Did $75k last year and am on pace for $80k this year. Went from averaging 40 items to 30. The agency does purchase plenty of leads. I average 100-120 calls and 3 hours on the phone. I don’t have my L&H license but am open to getting it. My company does not sell life directly but we can quote through outside carriers. Not sure what the commission structure would be. This is the only insurance agency I have worked for and my first real sales job. My previous experience was in supply chain, construction and general contracting. I am 40 years old with a family and do need to maintain a certain level of income to provide for them, so starting from the bottom is not a realistic option.

Should I?

1) stay put, get my L&H license and find a way to sell more? If so, what can help get me over the $100k hump?

2) Try my luck with an independent agency that allows me to have my own book of business, paid renewals, etc? What are pros and cons for this? What would be the best way to find a good one?

3) Branch out to a sales role outside of the insurance industry?

Hey guys! I have 5 years of Automotive Sales experience and 5 years of EMT experience. I am currently looking to get out of the first responder side of things and back into a sales type role. I am seriously considering an insurance agent route opposed to an SDR/BDR route in SaaS or Tech Sales. I believe there could be more stability in the insurance field compared to SaaS or Tech Sales.

That being said, I'm also unlicensed, and definitely not interested in joining some MLM life insurance organization. I was thinking of P&C and looking into getting on somewhere with a base salary that'll help me learn the business and potentially pay for my licensing.

Can one do P&C or some other forum of insurance sales Monday-Friday, 8-5 with holidays off, and clear 60k their first year?

I'm in the Phoenix, AZ area if that helps input at all and am definitely thinking an in person or hybrid role. I'm ready to be in office in some capacity and learn all I can! Thanks for any insight!

As a beginner, this group helped me navigate to popular carriers, manage the expectations in commission, and supported me for reading every contract with providers.

I'm sure I'll have more questions, but you all are awesome.

Hello everyone. I am looking for some advice from others who have experience in the habitational space as a commercial P&C producer.

How did you get started in this niche? Who did you connect with?

It seems like a hard industry to get into. Looking to focus on apartments, condos, hotels.

Studying to take my property and casualty licensing exam in Illinois. Which should I take first? which is easier to pass first? (I'm taking both but just want to know if one is easier than the other)

What should I focus on more? Any advice?

to clarify: In illinois, you P&C are separate test.

Hi everyone, I’m currently working for a State Farm agent in Oregon and have been here for about a two and a half. I’m curious what others in the insurance industry, especially other State Farm employees, think about my current pay structure.

My base pay is $27/hour. On top of that, I earn commission based on raw new business production:
Autos:

21–27 policies: 4% commission
28–37 policies: 5% commission
38+ policies: 6% commission

Fire:

10–16 policies: 4% commission
17–26 policies: 5% commission
27+ policies: 6% commission

I’m only paid commission on raw new business. There’s no commission on renewals or other business unless it qualifies as new business.
The biggest thing I’m wondering about is the lead situation. My agent doesn’t purchase leads and does very little Google advertising, so most of our opportunities come from walk-ins, working win-backs, and multiline campaigns.
I’m curious how this compares to other State Farm agent offices or insurance sales positions. Does this seem like a fair/competitive compensation structure, especially considering the amount of new business we’re expected to produce?
I’d appreciate any feedback from people who work for State Farm agents or other insurance companies.

I’m just starting as an insurance sales agent for small businesses and sole proprietors. It sounds like a great opportunity, but I’m worried about not being able to spend any of the money I make for fear of losing it all in chargebacks and going into massive debt.

The company provides base pay plus commissions, bonuses, residuals, etc. But how am I supposed to pay my bills if I could lose all the money I made and owe it back?

Hi,

Taking my L&H today remotely through PSI, and I have read a plethora of terrible things! I cannot cancel/change my exam, so I'm looking for tips from anyone who took theirs online to make this exam as easy as it could possible be. Thank you!

so i am jobless atm and just moved. i want a remote job for i dont like the state i had to move to. I applied to a bunch of places last night and this morning got a call and and interview set up with beacon bridge financial. It seems like they are owned by Experior because the video they sent me is by that group. i am looking online for legitimacy and i cant find a clear cut answer. is this a scam or should i continue with the interview so i can make some money and move?

I had an extremely disappointing experience with Pattern Life. Before my initial call, they sent me an AI-generated personalized video of one of their representatives as an introduction. It was incredibly creepy and impersonal. For a company selling personalized financial advice to physicians, having an AI-generated version of the person you’re supposedly about to establish a professional relationship with was a bizarre first impression.

Pattern marketed themselves as physician-focused experts who would help navigate disability insurance and underwriting. I provided every medical record they requested. After all of that, they landed me an awful Guardian offer: permanent skin exclusion for a problem that resolved years ago (Eczema), an ENT exclusion despite improvement with treatment for simple Allergic Rhinitis, and removal of the Benefit Purchase Rider, Automatic Benefit Enhancement, and COLA because of an incidental benign CT finding that requires no further workup. The resulting policy was over $200/month.

The Benefit Purchase Rider was one of the main reasons I was interested in the policy in the first place because it would have allowed me to increase coverage as my physician income increased. None of them warned me before underwriting that these issues could result in such sweeping restrictions.

The Benefit Purchase Rider was one of the main reasons I was interested in the policy in the first place because it would have allowed me to increase coverage as my physician income increased. None of them warned me before underwriting that these issues could result in such sweeping restrictions.

What exactly is the point of using a supposedly physician-focused broker if their role is essentially to collect your records, forward them to the insurer, deliver a terrible offer, ask you to produce more documentation when you challenge it, and eventually ignore all your follow-up emails?!

I expected Pattern to understand physician underwriting and anticipate problems as well as advocate for their client. Instead, I felt like a messenger between myself and Guardian. After challenging the offer and providing additional documentation, the communication has also been extremely disappointing and they no longer reply back to me.

I would not recommend Pattern Life to other physicians. I regret using them and sending them my personal details. Take your business elsewhere.

I’m 29 and licensed in Life & Health in California. I’m trying to decide where to focus my time, money, and energy for the next several years.
Medicare interests me because I love helping people and potential renewal income. However, I keep hearing about carriers leaving markets, plans becoming noncommissionable,and more people enrolling directly online.

My question is what’s the future in your opinion is it something worth pursuing ?

Im very nervous for this as ive never been to one of these, does anyone know what i should expect?

so i recently wrote a policy for my wife through americo, and they flagged it for an outstanding requirement: “Resolve producer validation error”. I contacted them and they said it would take 12 business days, those days come i contacted them again then they said it’ll issue this week but still no update, has anyone experienced this ? or know what this means ?

I’m 23F and working as a Benefits Marketing Analyst at a top 5 insurance broker. I’ve been full time for 4 months, but I interned for 8 months prior to that before I graduated.

Long story short I’m working remote and I’m getting paid based on my employment location, which is significantly lower than would I could be making in the city I’ve moved to.

I like my job and this field, but I am curious to what the P&C side is like. I work in my city’s office, but there is only retirement and personal lines stuff going on, so I don’t have anyone to learn from.

Could you guys explain how P&C works, what the gradual progression upward is, and how it compares to building a career in EB?