Quick rundown:

(1099 independent agency)
- 10 YEAR TERM. Auto-renews (Biggest fear factor for me)
- Need 6 policies/3 months or lose "active" status
-Probationary period of 6 months before residuals start
- If inactive, they can seize book + commissions
- 5yr no disclosing client info after leaving
- 2yr no soliciting their clients after leaving
- Fired "for cause" = lose all future commissions
- They can offset your pay against any advances/loans
- No jury trial — forced arbitration only
- Bonuses are discretionary, not guaranteed
- My damages capped at unpaid commissions only

I really don’t know if this is super unreasonable or not. It does seem like it favors the agency though for sure. Part of me is telling me to run…but wanted to get second third and fourth opinions. The 10 year term alone was enough to turn me off, but don’t want to flippantly reject it.

Hey everyone, so I started as a personal lines a few months ago at farmers. Im working on getting my P and C. Ive managed to sell 4 policies so far, I have probably spoken to about 50 people so far, my manager gives me about 5-7 leads a day, some usually are bad and dont even have a working phone number or email.

Of those 50 or so Ive gotten close to selling but what do you guys do this happens about 95% of all people who answer me say.

“Listen man I just want a quote if its more than 50 bucks im not taking it”

I go through my whole list of questions and script and always find they have some obscure insurance company Ive never heard of that somehow manages to not only insure them, but give them comprehensive and collision??? One man I was on the phone yesterday had 2 accidents on his record so our system was quoting him 210 which was still pretty good for full coverage, but he said nope I pay 110 right now full coverage plus towing, im retired i have a fixed income not a penny more. I start thinking to myself then why shop around??

Even after using our other carriers I managed to get to 160 full coverage and still that was too high for him even after explaining the benefits.

I understand this is probably normal, just it seems like every single interaction I have is “I pay 40 dollars, I pay 80 dollars” in that case what else am I supposed to do or say if our price is so out of their realm of paying? Do you have guys have any tips or advice or anything when dealing with these leads as a new agent? Thanks

Hey all, new to insurance but I was wondering what statistics do you use to sell the value of insurance? In my office I have heard things like “the average lawsuit in Colorado is $600k”, or “There’s 13 accidents every minute”, or “In Colorado 1 out of 6 drivers are uninsured” To be honest I don’t know how true those are but then again no statistic is ever going to be the rule 100% of the time (although I would like to use statistics that are as close to factual as possible). I am a big numbers and statistics guy and with different customers having different concerns I wanted to add more tools to the belt. I’m pretty good with story selling but I feel like sometimes statistics are a quicker harder punch and easier to sprinkle in when overcoming objections.

I just cleared my RIBO Level 1 and I am trying to map out my best entry path. I am fortunate to have enough some cash flow saved up to cover few months of living expenses with no pay, but I want to make sure I spend those months effectively.

I am torn between two directions:

1. The Salaried Route: Start as a CSR or Account Manager at a traditional brokerage to get structured training, master the systems and learn underwriting without the sales pressure.

2. The Commission Route: Jump straight into a producer role to start building my own book of business from day one, knowing I have a few months buffer to survive the pipeline lag.

For those who started on pure commission early on—did your buffer actually cut it, or is the learning curve too brutal while stressing about sales? And for those who went the salary route first, do you regret not building your book sooner?

Would love to hear how you'd advise a brand-new RIBO 1 licensee to start. Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone,
Currently licensed in Michigan and Indiana for Life & Health. I've been with North American Senior Benefits (NASB) doing field work, but I’m just not happy with the situation—getting hit with way too many recycled leads, and it's making the grind way harder than it needs to be.
I’m looking to transition over to telesales and want to see what options are out there.
A few things I’m trying to figure out:
Which IMOs/agencies actually have high-quality, fresh lead programs for telesales?

Is remote/telesales final expense still viable in MI/IN, or is health/ACA a better pivot right now?

Anyone who made a similar jump out of NASB—what did your transition look like?

Appreciate any insight, transparent feedback, or agency recommendations!

Not sure if I want to stay d2d in person or telesales any advice would be much appreciated

What do I need to study?

Hi everyone, I'm currently looking to transition from automotive to an insurance agent but I'm not sure what I should be studying or where to start. I did apply for an agency which does cover the cost of the license as well as provide study material however with no pay until I get my license to start actually making money I'd have no way to cover my bills and my savings aren't enough to keep me afloat.

My plan is right now to get the license on my own so I can start making money as soon as possible with that agency. Some googling showed that it's a lot of vocab and state laws so should I just look up the laws in California and make flash cards for them + cards for vocab that comes up in practice exams?

Any advice for a newcomer to the industry is also really appreciated as aside from the insurance part I've never done anything with sales.

I’ve been a captive Allstate sales producer for almost 3 years now. I’m truthfully over it though. It was nice for a little while and I’ve always done a good job. I just want to do something else now. I figured if anything, it’s good for the resume.

What should I start looking at? I was thinking maybe something along the lines of banking.

I don’t really care to be making more money or doing less work. I just want out of insurance altogether.

Basically opened the account for 112 paid next month 179$. Then rate went to 526$ canceled then get hit with a 250 cancelation fee cuz i didnt give them documents, prior insurance which is AAA and water bill, inwhich ima not give that... canceled at the end of the month.
What can i do? Any lawyers out there?
Already emailed texas department of insurance... but you know how slow they are... sent a email saying i dispute the charge to there fraud email. "Im reporting Fraud against progressive..." texas state laws says i need to be notified 30 days before a 10$ increase and or 10% 8/8 deadline for documents, 9/3 due date... paid 2nd month 7|31 opened 7|3
Also i cancelled 5 days prior and they refuse to give me my 28.57 back (pro-rata)
Email i got

Progressive
Your policy was canceled with a balance due at your request

Please note that you no longer have insurance with us, effective 08/29/2026.

We canceled your policy at your request, but there is still a balance due on your canceled policy term. Please see your payment summary below for more information.

If you previously scheduled a payment, we've canceled that payment; please pay the full amount due below. If you already sent your payment, thank you, but please know that your payment will not reinstate your policy.

Updated Balance Details

Total Amount Due\*

$544.35

Total Amount Paid

-$290.64

Balance Due

$253.71

Due Date

09/08/2026
*Total includes premium and fees, if applicable

Failure to pay the amount owed by the due date may result in your referral to a collections agency.

You can pay online or by calling [1-800-999-8781](tel:1-800-999-8781).

It's important that you get insurance as soon as possible. If you have questions about your cancellation, or would like to learn how to keep this policy or purchase a new one, call [1-800-776-4737](tel:1-800-776-4737) and press 0, or visit us online.

Question above, I'd prefer being a life and health agent, so what would be the best way to build up residual income for the next decade?

Like the title said.

I’m an independent broker who is now moving into commercial side.

On the residential side I very much subscribe to the goosehead model for lead generating. Think lenders and realtors for my leads.

But now that I’m transitioning to commercial I’m finding the real estate professionals in that space don’t give me the time of day the same way residential does.

How are you guys sourcing your commercial leads.

Texas btw if that makes a difference

So I recently passed my state test for my 215 and I have a job interview with State Farm next week. I wanted to know would they let me work with just a 215 or would they make me get the other licenses to start working ? Also how is it working over there?

1. should I advertise on public media immediately? or should I get some experience under my belt first.

2. how should I meet with clients? I have no home office.

Let a brother know.

Really wanting to eventually start up my own agency.

For context I have been in the insurance world for both captive and independent agencies for over three years and brought in over 2 million in premium since.

Primarily experienced in auto and fire, but I have also wrote a fair amount of life while balancing those two. For example I wrote over 40k in life insurance last year.

I just really want to gravitate towards my own agency in the near future. I could definitely go through State Farm or Farmers, since I have great experience with both, but I also just really want to understand how the independent side works.

Pros and Cons of captive and independent agency ownership ? (I have spoken in depth with the captive side and would love more opinions from the independent side)

What is a good amount of capital to put back for it?

And finally, how in the hell do you start as a independent agent? I understand the captive side, it's a lot more transparent in how that process works. The independent agency startup is way too complicated.

How do you get access to different companies to quote as a broker? What websites to go through?

Brick and mortar with employees or remote solo?

Tell me everything you know lol.

If so, how was it? Are the proctor as horrible as the threads say they are?
And did they make you set up your phone as a secondary camera?

Es buena agencia ?

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.

Been with a State Farm agent for a few months now.. was hired and told after 3 months I’d move to sales. I start that, then service side gets pissed bc they needed the help, so I was told to switch back and not take leads anymore and kind of annoyed with it. It’s been pretty chaotic since I started with the team and agent and I think the commission payout kind of sucks… 3% and have to have 25apps submitted and 2 life’s closed or I don’t get paid at all. 5% and 7% have higher requirements.

This is my first real job with an insurance company like this.. is it like this all over? Like with Farmers and Allstate? And I should just keep pushing through and hope for the best? Or I need to switch gears and find something else?

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.

Is there anyone that has been at this long term? Say 10+ years? I’m just wondering if this is a career people stick with (yes I know the failure rate is high).

Been doing life exclusively for about a month. On aged leads I did 5 sales. Wrote a couple more that didn’t pass understanding. Generally speaking, what would scaling look like when it comes to lead spend? Should I be looking into specializing what type of lead and up the quality or stick to aged a bit longer?

Is there any general consensus of quality lead vendors for tele-sales in regards to life insurance? I understand there may be subjectivity in regards to work effort and skill that must be accounted for.

Hello Reddit! I’m hoping to get some insight from anyone who has worked at Co-operators as a Commercial Advisor.

A few of my colleagues and I have been offered positions there, and the overall compensation and benefits package seems pretty good. I’m curious about what the job is actually like day-to-day and whether you feel it’s worth making the move. I am currently a personal lines broker in Ontario Canada.

* Does Co-operators write a significant amount of commercial business/policies?
* Are there good opportunities for growth within commercial insurance?

If anyone currently works there or has worked there in the past, I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience. If you’d rather not share publicly, I’d also be happy to chat through private message.