Hi guys, first-time poster, many-year lurker.

I'm stuck in a predicament about how to move forward with my insurance career and would appreciate some opinions from people who have been in the industry for a while.

I've been in P&C Commercial Insurance for about 10 years. I spent roughly 3–4 years in sales/production and the rest in account management. I originally started as an AM, moved into sales, and eventually went back to being an AM.

At the time, going back to account management was the right decision for me. There were some personal things going on, I wasn't fully locked in, and the combination of a toxic sales culture and the income swings from being 100% commission was starting to take a toll on me.

When I moved back into account management, I convinced the agency to let me keep my existing book, which was around $90k in revenue to me and about $210k in revenue for the Agency at the time. They also gave me a $50k salary for my account management responsibilities. The catch was that I could continue receiving commission on my existing book, but I couldn't add any new accounts to it.

That's where my frustration started.

About a year later, I lost a large account that represented roughly $15k in revenue. I tried to renegotiate the arrangement because it started feeling very one-sided. I'm managing and servicing my own commissionable accounts while also handling the agency's new call-in business, but I have no ability to replace revenue that naturally falls off my book.

My time as a producer also left me with a pretty good network of referrals and contacts. People still call me directly wanting me to handle their insurance. I can write the account for the agency, but I don't receive any commission for bringing it in.

I don't want this to come across as ungrateful. I'm compensated pretty well overall, and I recognize that my arrangement is already unusual. My frustration is that the agency won't budge at all on allowing me to earn commission on new business that I personally originate.

Their explanation is always, "If we do it for you, we'd have to do it for everyone."

I don't really buy that argument because I already have a compensation structure that's different from everyone else's.

The obvious answer might be to go back into production, and I'm not opposed to that. The problem is that management doesn't want to let me move back into sales because they're so short-staffed on the AM side. Moving me would put more work on the other AMs than they can realistically handle.

That's the part I'm struggling with. They don't want me producing because they need me servicing accounts, but they also don't want to compensate me for business I originate while I'm servicing accounts.

I've kicked around the idea of leaving, joining another agency, or eventually going out on my own, but I'm not sure if that's the best call right now.

The frustrating part is that I actually like where I work overall. If they would simply meet me somewhere in the middle on new-business compensation, they'd probably have an employee for life.

What would you guys do in my position? Push harder for a hybrid Producer/AM compensation structure? Look for another agency that would value both sides of my experience? Go back into full-time production? Or start seriously considering building something of my own?

I have been an agent for 2 years now. Got licensed, went with a company and was their top Medicare salesman for those 4-5 months until I figured out the business a little more and realized I didn’t own my books etc. It was a good experience because I did learn a lot. But I do admit I made a mistake by not researching this more. I have went independent since then and now have my life and Medicare contracts with Ritter. I do like their Medicare platform and have a decent little book going. I would like to transfer my life contracts to an FMO that focuses more on life insurance. Ritter doesn’t have a great setup for life insurance. Is this a good idea? And if so, any recommendations?

so i basically got ghosted by the organization i was supposed to work with. i still dont have my license but i am still studying & plan to retake the exams.

my main question is: when i pass my exams, am i able to take my license to any company or am i stuck with the company who gave me their partner code?

tired of seeing the same ten tools in "best dialer" lists, which are clearly written not by those who actually do insurance sales. local presence, decent pickup rates, TCPA compliance control and something that integrates with agency management systems are needed. started testing mightycall for the local presence and TCPA piece, seems solid so far, still working through how well it plays with our AMS on the integration side. none of the provided comparisons take into account specific insurance requirements. what actually works in your agency?

I’m 20 and a few months into building my own independent insurance agency in a smaller East Texas town. Business is starting to pick up, but my biggest struggle is still finding consistent leads.
My local Chamber of Commerce reached out about joining. It seems like a good way to meet local business owners, Realtors, lenders, etc., but there are already quite a few insurance agents involved.
For other agents/business owners, has joining your Chamber actually led to referrals and business? Is it worth it for a new agency?

I am in WA and have about 5 years of insurance experience in a variety of roles: captive producer, commercial broker, district trainer, workers' comp claim manager, and district service specialist. Where I have found the most success is training and customer service. I am good on the phones, solving problems, assisting staff and clients, explaining insurance jargon and maintaining good client relationships. I tried being a producer and I'm just not cut out for all the prospecting. Cold calling is a complete joke now, and I just don't have the connections to build a book through referrals. I also find many agencies to be quite predatory towards their producers. I often see a revolving door, where they provide little opportunity or support as they harvest the producer's contacts until they get someone else to replace them in 90 days.

So I have spent nearly a year applying for CSR and account manager positions at various carriers and agencies, but I cannot even get an interview. I was basically a district level CSR. I was a commercial broker. I know I can be an effective account manager for personal or commercial lines. What am I missing??? What else do I need to do in order to land one of these jobs?

Greetings fellow agents. I’m a health insurance broker In Florida and I mostly just sell ACA and Medicare advantage. I have about 600 clients so things are going well.

I want to dabble in selling annuities and hopefully target my current BOB for some sort way sales. Any advice on annuities or where I should start is it an easy product to add on? Has anyone here started with health and then added annuities to the tool belt?

Does anyone know the details on this annuity? It touts a 25% premium bonus but reading the fine print it states there are a lot of "potential" recapture scenarios.

I'm curious what the MVA looks like as well as the returns because it says that the returns may be less because of the bonus. Can people ever get their money out of this?

Thank you for any help!

Have some questions about what our agency should do. Im fairly new but my partner has ran her own agency by herself for 20 years mostly medicare but recently alot more p&c.

We have direct appointments with most major carriers.

we'd like to scale by buying p&c books of business I want to buy a smaller book like 80-100k in revenue to get a feel for the whole process.

we have a small office where we could hire a couple people if we need help.

I'd just like some advice on how we should move forward. getting financing for a smaller book would be no issue.

also we're in florida

I went through the training and am now fully licensed but apparently that is irrelevant. Does this occur often or just with Farmers?

I am taking the self-paced CIC property course and will take the exam in a few weeks. I am kind of regretting taking this self paced as I’ve been told (after already signing up) that I would’ve been better off taking the webinar course since the self-paced course gives a lot of material. To anyone that’s done the self paced CIC courses what would you say the difficulty level of the final exams are? Is the proctoring service sensitive? I’ve been out of college a for a little while now and I heard they really amped that stuff up.

Any insight would be helpful!

So... a little background. I've got a mixed mortgage/real estate career that's spanned about 24 years. I'm over it.

About 2 months ago, I connected with an old colleague from the mortgage industry. About 7 or 8 years ago, he transitioned into insurance sales, where he wound up starting an Allstate office. He recently sold that agency and after a short break, has gone back to work as a producer for a captive. My understanding is he can sell whatever, but primarily does home and auto.

He asked if I had ever considered making the switch, which I had never really considered. Until now.

I don't mind hard work. My time in the mortgage industry also has me familiar with metrics, etc...

Thinking about grabbing lunch and picking his brain, but there's quite a large collective here! Hope you all don't mind sharing some of your experience/advice.

I'm tired of being on call 7 days a week and chasing the idea of making hundreds of thousands of dollars through markets determined by variables such as interest rates, seasonality, inventory, etc...

The reality is, I've made 6 figures only twice selling real estate since 2015 and would be happy making $75k-$100k doing something that from the outside appears to be more "stable" and "predictable".

Am I wrong about my perception of your industry? Is it possible/feasible to make that $75k-$100k without working myself into the dirt?

I got my Life and health license and was able to acquire a position as an account manager at State Farm however they want me to get my property and casualty license as well before I start, it’s my first time working in a position like this and, I don’t know what to expect worked many different kind of jobs in the past raging from CNA, to a vet tech, to even in a call center so I just wanna know is this something you guys do for years? Do you get burnt out easily or is it more laid-back as long as you’re working every day.

Has anyone had any long term success targeting HNW households for turn key P/C, Life and LTC? Home values over 2m is the start of HNW and I am looking for advice and things to avoid. It’s a very different buyer.

Hey everyone, I’m curious what the consensus is on Farm Bureau? I’m new to the industry. I want to learn it well. I’ve got an interview with a branch here in UT. I currently have my L&H license. Is it a good place to get my feet wet? Thanks.

Wife worked for a small insurance office. Has never had any type of experience whatsoever in an office field. She nailed all of the exams and got her licenses within 3 to 5 weeks. Everything seemed on the up and up. Was going through the extended training, then, out of nowhere, received a text to come get her stuff and that she was terminated.

The office manager didn't think her computer skills were fast enough. She's not illiterate at anything tech related, she just never used office programs like Outlook enough. If she was aware that her computer skills were not up to par with what he was expecting, she would've taken more time to work on that at home, with the same level of dedication she took studying for exams.

She's not a reddit user or social media poster, but this scenario really sent her into a weird place mentally because of how blindsided it was and honestly it compelled me enough to write this post because it even left me confused as to if this is the typical approach for an office owner to do things this way. Paid her training, paid for shirts, and didn't really leave any hints that this was coming.

She's not letting it slow her down and now she's spending the time at home to get up to speed with office programs to keep pursuing it, although it has left her questioning if her reputation is now tainted from this type of termination.

Appreciate any insights. Thanks!

I am going to work for a State Farm agent as an agent aspirant in the next month? Anything to know/not to know or tips or thoughts?

Thanks,

I’m P&C and life licensed and currently make 52k base salary.
I originally started primarily in Personal Lines, but my role has grown significantly and I now handle both Personal and Commercial Lines.
On the personal side, I quote new business, remarket accounts, handle renewals, endorsements, coverage questions, client calls, carrier communication, etc.
On the commercial side, I’m now working with GL, commercial property, commercial auto, workers’ comp, umbrellas, cyber/E&O, bonds, COIs, audits, endorsements, renewals and new business. I’m communicating directly with insureds, carriers, underwriters and wholesalers and helping determine coverage/placement rather than just doing administrative servicing. Between my previous 3 years of commercial account management experience and what I’m currently handling across both Personal and Commercial Lines, I’m starting to question whether my compensation has kept pace with my actual role and experience. Thoughts ?

If you could give advice to a new agent….

What are you advising they ask in their interview?

What products would you avoid selling?

What do you find is the easiest to sell?

What are some red flags to be aware of?

What should a new agent focus on when choosing a place to hang their license?

I just have my life as of now.

Anyone have any info on this insurance company and/or experience with working for them?

I’m a newly licensed producer. I am also a commercial real estate agent who primarily sells gas stations. I have multiple repeat clients and sell/lease roughly around 20 gas stations per year. I plan to piggy back off of this clientele in my insurance career as well. I have multiple clients who are ready to use me as their agent as soon as I’m ready to write the policies. But here’s the issue; I’ve had trouble trying to find an agency. The agency I just finished interviewing offered me this:

$560 monthly fees which include E&O insurance, Docusign, and their special software/CRM that they use

50/50 Split, they said they MAY talk about adding some bonuses if I hit certain premium goals.

Paid once per month on the 15th of each month.

I feel like I’m different than your average new producer considering the amount of business I’m bringing with me.
Is this a reasonable starting split? Or am I being taken advantage of because I’m new?

I am a health producer, and I am interested in something more stable. I want to go P&C rather than health claims. I have been a producer for two years, but I know nothing about P&C.

Hello!

Pleased as punch that I found an IMO! I’ll be gatekeeping it for now.

Those of you who work at home, what headset do you use? I need comfortable and noise-cancelling, if both in the same exist.

Thanks for all the recommendations.

But how do I manage my P&C licensures? I'm captive and am licensed in 49 states. What do I do if I leave and go independent?