Setting LTC Commission Rates as Independent

[dklauk]

In 2001 I was a captive agent for (then) GE-Financial with them supplying qualified leads for free. I did pretty good as a newbie but then came the 9/11 tragedy and all leads starting in 2002 went to their top producers.

I was forced to cut my losses and do something that gave me an income stream.

Now, in 2008, I have been approached by a Financial Planner (FP) I know who is wanting to expand his customer offerings to include Genworth LTC. His parent Financial Planning organization would sponsor me to get my license. I would work with the local FP as an Independent Agent--splitting the commissions (he provides the leads and an office room; I do the actual applications).

I have been reviewing many of the forum threads but still have some basic questions as I begin negotiations with the FP.

1. As an independent agent (broker), what commissions can I be looking at for writing LTC applications? I remember that as a captive GE agent I was given 25% and then 4% for renewals. That was in 2001.

2. In the LTC world, are commisions based on the actual amount of the 1st premium submitted per application--whether monthly, quarterly or annual?

3. Will Genworth dictate what the commissions will be to me as a broker?

4. Do I contract directly with Genworth or would my sponsoring org. be doing that?

Thanks, in advance, for answers and thoughts on the above. And, yes, I do realize I have a huge re-learning curve to surmount as I have been out of the ins. business for about 6 years.

 

[senior-advisor-indiana]

Yuo need to put what state you are in. In Indiana renewals have to be half of the 1st year commission.
Commission is paid on total 1st year premium.

 

[dklauk]

The state is South Carolina, but my questions are more general than specific. I am trying to get a handle on the 'process' of being a broker rather than specific commission rates, at this point.

That is to say, once I understand the relationships among me, the broker, the role of the sponsoring org., the role of the insurance product provider (Genworth in this case) I can then get specific on rates.

Hope this helps in answering my quetions.

Thanks.

 

[Cenla Agent]

If you are going to be splitting the commissions with the FP I would think he or the sponsoring organization could answer some if not all of these questions. I have looked at Genworth in the past as a captive opportunity but don't know what they pay independent agents.

 

[dklauk]

Thanks, getting info from the sponsoring org. seems to be the logical approach. My original questions were intended to give me some background/leverage (?) info before I went to the sponsoring org. with these questions.

BTW, does anyone know what Genworth commission rates (in SC) are for writing an LTC application as an independent agent, not a captive agent?