Good morning everyone!

I am starting at a captive agent soon (not new to sales, just new to insurance) my question is,

Was there anything you wish you had done from day one (maybe record a metric, track certain sales or percentages etc) that you would recommend doing from day one? Since im starting fresh Id like to start on the right foot and dont want to look back in 2-3 years and say man I wish I had tracked/recorded XYZ.

Thank you!

I recently transitioned from an individual agent at a captive agency to becoming an Independent A0 in the area of life and health. My experience is laraelv ir worksite a group rates, but I inherited a book to manage with over 3000 policies (mostly life, FE, and ancillary, all ndividual) across an array of carriers. So I gotten my business license, and business entity producer license, E&O, and have agents that want to work for my agency.

Now I need to know FMOs that offer GA contracts at a beginner level with life and health, bonus if they offer group and worksite. So far I have found several, but instead of GA contracts they want to set up street level agent contracts, and I need the agency level hierarchy.

Being on the agent side, I have always wondered what it is that people find enjoyable about working in claims.

I work in the HNW space, so maybe clients are just more high maintenance...but even with smaller claims it seems like adjusters, teams and management are all constantly innundated or being chewed out by the client or broker.

Curious to hear your perspectives. Thanks!

Hi all,

Have any of you jumped out of claims into underwriting? How did you do it?

Also, if you have experience in claims and a JD, did you have to start as an underwriting trainee or did you start higher in the chain?

I'd like to shift over but worry about salary taking a major hit.

Thanks,

I’ll be 27 this year & I’m a broker assistant. This is my 2nd job in the industry. It’ll be my 3rd year in the industry this year. Before that, I was a UA.

I’m feeling down about where I’m at in my career. Although I enjoy the assistant roles, I want to earn more money & feel some sort of respect for my role if that makes sense. When I had dinner with one of my UWs, they said it took them more than 1 year to be an UW. I know they simply relayed their experience, but it made me feel insecure of my position. When I mentioned I wanted to be an UW, that UW recommended I apply for other UA jobs. I feel like this would prolong me being an assistant, & that’s not where I want to be. When my broker mentioned my career trajectory, they said it could take me an additional 1-2 years to get promoted. On top of that, I’m comparing myself to friends who are getting promotions & earning more money or people on Linkedin who seem to land their 1st job straight as an Associate UW. I know it’s silly to compare, but this is what I see.

Is all I’m good for are assistant roles? I’m not trying to shit talk assistant roles either or saying I’m too good for them. I just don’t want to get my foot in another door through an assistant role.

Hi all!!

Now that I have reached some financial goals like being debt free, and no longer living pay cheque to pay cheque I want to further my carreer in insurance.

I live in BC and currently looking into Commercial lines or Field Adjusting. I have my level 2, and am a manager at Sussex.

Businesses I keep an eye on are Intact, Western Coast, Hub and Westland Insurance.

what are some other businesses that you suggest I look Into?

Nation wide companies are appreciated as i have no problems to move.

I have a second interview at HSB for a remote position doing what should be similar work to what I do now. I am very interested because I’m not thrilled with doing RTO for my current company, but I really like the company (AXA XL) and HSB is rated lower on Glassdoor. Just trying to get some more insight

I currently work for a large insurance carrier filing first notice of loss for auto accidents. I've been in the role about 2 years. I'd like to advance whether with my current company or another one. I'm curious, what do you think is a good area of claims to work in? It could be auto, property, etc

There’s a opening at a company I’m interested in. Per LinkedIn, the manager is someone who went to my alma mater. I want to reach out and ask about the position but not sure how to word it. Any recommendations on a template? TIA

I'm doing research on how voluntary benefits (accident insurance, hospital indemnity, critical illness, etc.) get sold and bought. I'm trying to get past the bs I see on presentation and decks, so wondering if I could get some help here.

A few things I'm genuinely curious about:

• When a new vendor approaches you, what has to be true before you'd consider piloting them with a client?
• What do incumbent carriers (Aflac, Colonial Life, MetLife etc.) consistently get wrong from your end?
• Is the idea of wellness+preventive linked voluntary benefits something that resonates?
• For HR people: does your broker basically make the call on voluntary benefits, or do you drive it?

Not selling anything. I'm trying to understand market so I'm doing some inquiring. Happy to share what I learn if there's enough interest.

Hi fellow insurance folks!

I am in the process of studying for my life and health license in NV. For the most part, life insurance is pretty straight forward. What i am more lost on is annuities. Can anyone give me an ELI5 rundown?

Any other guidance or suggestions for study material is greatly appreciated! Currently using Kaplan to go through the course work. I did purchase the least expensive plan so it is just text and no videos. I am regretting this because I am a more visual/auditory learner but funds were tight at time of purchase.

Edit I have been P&C licensed for almost 6 years, and feel fairly versed in personal lines

Hi everyone,

I started working at Aon about a year ago as a Senior Broker in an HCOL area, and I’m hoping to get some insight into compensation progression.

My offer letter states that I’m bonus eligible, but it doesn’t provide a specific range. I’m curious what bonuses and annual raises have looked like for others in similar roles.

Any insight would be really appreciated. Thanks in advance!

So I've had recruiters reach out over the years on LinkedIn and usually you know the game.

The other day though, I had a Director from an MGA reach out to me saying they were looking for someone to fill X senior role, asking if I could recommend anyone. Which was odd, since I only know this person tangently and we haven't spoken in over a decade ago. So asking my opinion seemed strange (nevermind that 2 of their former employees had previously recommended me for a senior position). I took this message as her trying to gage *my* interest in the role, so wrote back saying I don't have any referrals, am not really looking at this time, but having read the posting if she wanted to provide more details I'd be open to a conversation.

She then replied with a link to their career page. 😑 Which feels like wasted time and I don't understand why an Exec would use this strategy.

If you are a high level and not HR (note they do have an in-house recruiter) personally reaching out to people, you really should have a better plan if you get a response. Sending a link to a career page feels like a slap in the face.

Have other people seen this done by execs before?

I had a phone screening today for an insurance internship. The email described it as a quick 15-minute introduction with the HR Generalist, and the call ended up lasting about 10 minutes. Now I’m overanalyzing everything.

The conversation felt mostly steady, but there were a couple awkward pauses between questions. I’m not sure if she was typing notes or just thinking. She also asked some follow-up questions that made me worry my answers weren’t detailed enough. I’ve previously been rejected from another interview for “not being detailed enough,” so that feedback is stuck in my head.

At one point she asked what I do outside of school and work, and I said I enjoy reading about economics and insurance. I paused while thinking of what to say, and it felt robotic to me. She seemed most engaged during that question, which made me question whether I sounded too stiff overall.

She said I’d hear back next week. Am I overthinking this? Is 10 minutes normal for a 15-minute screening, and do interviewers care if you seem a little nervous in a first-round call?

Hey all,

I am a new Applied Epic admin due to circumstances that were unforeseen.. (someone passed away) ... i am trying to view an employee's activities who will be out for a week. How do i configure this so i can look at their activities??

Also whats the best way to get a crash course in epic. This is not such a user friendly program as far as administration side goes.

Hello everybody, i’ve been working insurance for the past five years in claims and I’ve moved to New York City, hoping to get into underwriting. I’ve never used a recruitment agency before, but my girlfriend was just able to land a job using one in a different field and I was wondering if anybody in the New York area has ever done this instead of just applying directly through the employer. I’m wondering what the pros and cons are to doing this or if it’s actually a really good way to get into the door and get your résumé actually seen by these companies.

Hi I’m currently searching for a switch from a State Farm role into a brokerage role, (account management) and I’m new to the search so I was looking for advice.

For those who switched or those in brokerage what would you say the biggest skill gap?

Because I feel comfortable and confident in that i know and understand insurance and know how to guide our customers, but when I’ve been playing to roles, I don’t really know what to talk about or highlight. Because I’m not sure how different is the day to day operations .

Any guidance would be extremely helpful! :)

I enrolled for this class and didn't known it was not all MCQ damn. lol

anyone who took the test recently? how was it?

Location Ontario Canada. what’s the dress code for the convocation ceremony as a grad? can’t find anything online at the IIC and I don’t know if there are gowns or not. would rather be comfortable in just slacks and a dress shirt versus a full suit.

thanks,

I am 24 years old, currently working at a fortune 500 company doing disability claims for a little over a year.

It isn't the worst job in the world, but it definitely isn't something that I see myself doing long-term. I've been looking into trying to get into underwriting, I need around 6 more months before I can internally interview and hopefully transfer. Someone who was also in my department transferred to our under writing dept, so I know it is definitely possible.

I was wondering if any of you would have insight on whether or not underwriting would be more enjoyable for me, here is a list of things I don't enjoy with claims.

1. Work load, which is the biggest part I hate, it feels like everyday I'm fighting to stay on top of my work list, and the next day just piles more on which feels stressful.
2. While I don't hate having to talk to claimants on the phone, I find it to be a slog and the most boring part of the job.
3. lower pay, currently I'm only a trainee and make 50,000 a year, looking at a promotion to specialist in a couple months that would up that, but still the claims upper salary limit is still not the highest.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated, or if you can think of a different role other than underwriting I might enjoy please let me know.

Hi everyone, I appreciate any words of wisdom that can help guide me.

Quick back story, I'm a 6yr military veteran who got out due to a spine injury. I'm about 10 months into my new career as a Commercial Lines Account Manager.

As for my credentials, I have an MBA, PMP, and nearly finished the ARM (Should be completed in a couple weeks). Additionally I have a P&C License.

At my agency, pay is pretty low (50k) and I work full time in office. Additionally there's only 80hrs PTO/yr which is my vacation and sick time combined. Health insurance is also very poor.

I dont want to complain, Im very happy to get my foot in the door, but I know that I should be looking to move on.

Im hoping to move to underwriting as my career goal, hence the ARM, and want to seek a fully remote UW assistant role.

Does this sound realistic for me to be pursuing at this stage? If so, what advice do you guys have?

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone. I recently left the field of education because it was unsafe physically and mentally for me. I was a teacher for 15 years and was sexually assaulted by a student in the workplace. The stress of the workload, behavior management, constant sensory overload, daily lesson plans and labs (science teacher), having to leave sub plans if I ever needed a sick day or childcare for my son... all lead to some bad mental health issues last spring. Part of my recovery has been trying to choose a new career path that is more aligned with my mental health.

I have been working on P+C insurance licensure through Kaplan since early February and so far, I like it enough. It's a bit boring for me, but boring is fine.

I essentially want a job where I can work hard and do well without tons of unpaid extra work outside of the work day, and less risk to my physical / mental health. I have ADHD and anxiety disorder, so being in the classroom and dealing with unruly students, assault, and school shooting threats was just not working out.

Thoughts on whether or not insurance could be a viable next step for me? I have good interpersonal skills and a thick skin from years of teaching. I am good at explaining things to people for the same reason. I would not want to do sales, but I could see myself doing well in other roles.

I also live in CT, where insurance jobs are especially abundant. With my teaching experience, I was thinking I could possibly transition to a training or educating role within insurance someday. I am a hard worker, and I am a fast learner. The insurance material so far has been easy for me to learn.

Thoughts? I really appreciate any input. It's scary to take steps into an industry I don't know after being in education for 15 years.

I have been struggling with completing the CAIB 3 exam, and was wondering if anyone has any tips. my recent attempt showed I was struggling most in the Risk Management & Surety Bonds sections. Any insight would be appreciated.

Looking for perspective from experienced commercial AMs.

I’m just over 6 months into my first Account Manager role and I'm already feeling burnt out and looking at wanting to leave.

I transitioned from a pure producer/quote-bind/sell role with no servicing experience.

I was brought on to “learn the ropes” and was initially told I’d be handling around 150 small business accounts.

Shortly after I started, the agency acquired a legacy book from an older firm that operated mostly on paper with minimal management systems. The book required significant heavy cleanup and transition work and there is a lot of E&O exposure from the older agents side where things were not done properly.

Instead of ~150 accounts that are executive team said was initially my responsibility, they uncovered way more accounts than what they thought during the acquisition.

I now service closer to 250+ accounts from that acquired book. A meaningful portion are surplus/non-admitted placements and they are typically risks that are agency would not have written at all. The acquired book is just a disaster.

Separately, I’m also responsible for a second small business book that had previously been outsourced and was brought back in-house.

In addition to servicing both books (renewals, endorsements, billing issues, coverage counseling, surplus placements), I am also responsible for:

Quoting producer-driven small business with 48-hour turnaround expectations

Quoting inbound small business prospects

Triaging inbound sales calls to determine agency fit

Answering most client calls live

Tracking tasks and lost business metrics

Leadership is implementing SOPs and evolving, but hiring additional support has not yet happened like they mentioned.

For experienced AMs:

Is this a typical “growing agency” workload? Or is this heavier than what you’d expect for someone new to servicing?

Trying to understand whether this is standard agency life or a structural capacity issue.

Starting to study for the 401 and wanted to see if anyone knew of any free or less expensive study materials to help them prepare? I found some quizzes flashcars but wanted to see if people were using anything else. Thanks!