This has been a very useful and informative forum so far, so I'm glad I found it and I've been reading it on and off the past couple weeks.
I think I'm basically looking for career advice here on how to start in life insurance....I'm completely new to the industry, haven't got any of the licenses I'd need yet. I actually got interested in it about a month ago through an ad I responded to on Craigslist about selling life insurance...turns out it was posted by an NAA recruiter, which now---by reading this forum---I know it's all crap and I should stay far away from NAA, lol.
But since then I've been doing my own research about the life insurance industry, working for a captive company vs. being independent. I've been reading that the best way to start and train is through a mentor relationship with an experienced agent. Obviously if I go the independent route, I'll need this kind of help. I really have very little experience in any type of sales whatsoever.
My question is---do I just strike up a relationship/introduce myself to an independent agent and ask for this type of help after I receive my life insurance license? There's a pretty reputable independent insurance agency in the town where I live and one of the main guys there has experience in training other agents, so I was thinking of contacting them for advice and maybe to develop this kind of mentor relationship.
On the other hand, the captive option is always another route...there's a career fair in a couple weeks at my alma mater (graduated in '09 with a B.A. in psych) that'll have a few agencies represented (Northwestern Mutual, Western & Southern Life, World Financial Group and Farmer's). I'm just trying to figure out which would be the best route to take---go captive or just start out independent?
If I'm planning on making life insurance a career (which it looks like I am), I want to be an independent agent and own my own business. If I'm captive, I obviously really can't do that as the products I sell are limited and I'd only be a rep of the company I work for. But....Ive been reading on the board here there's value in the training that some captive companies offer---and I would definitely need training/mentoring as I begin.
Finally, and I know this is a long post, but I've been trying to research the salaries of captive versus independent agents. I found an article that said that captive life insurance agents make only around $15,000 in their 1st year and between 15k - 35k in their second. Do you think these figures change at all if you start out independent? I can handle a low income for a couple years, but I was hoping for at least 25-30k in my first or second year. I do have other stuff I can do to supplement my income, if needed. My financial goal is to be making at least 65k within 4-6 years---that should be doable, right?
After I received my B.A. in psychology -- or, all along throughout college, I should say -- I had been planning to pursue grad school and obtain a Ph.D. in the field. Well, I actually have a 4-year old daughter and I think that spending 6 years minimum pursuing a grad degree would be such a time-suck and money drain, not to mention the immense amount of time I'd have to commit. So instead, I'm trying to find some career that I can both be satisfied in and make a decent living (without spending so many more years in school) and I think life insurance may be it...
I think I'm basically looking for career advice here on how to start in life insurance....I'm completely new to the industry, haven't got any of the licenses I'd need yet. I actually got interested in it about a month ago through an ad I responded to on Craigslist about selling life insurance...turns out it was posted by an NAA recruiter, which now---by reading this forum---I know it's all crap and I should stay far away from NAA, lol.
But since then I've been doing my own research about the life insurance industry, working for a captive company vs. being independent. I've been reading that the best way to start and train is through a mentor relationship with an experienced agent. Obviously if I go the independent route, I'll need this kind of help. I really have very little experience in any type of sales whatsoever.
My question is---do I just strike up a relationship/introduce myself to an independent agent and ask for this type of help after I receive my life insurance license? There's a pretty reputable independent insurance agency in the town where I live and one of the main guys there has experience in training other agents, so I was thinking of contacting them for advice and maybe to develop this kind of mentor relationship.
On the other hand, the captive option is always another route...there's a career fair in a couple weeks at my alma mater (graduated in '09 with a B.A. in psych) that'll have a few agencies represented (Northwestern Mutual, Western & Southern Life, World Financial Group and Farmer's). I'm just trying to figure out which would be the best route to take---go captive or just start out independent?
If I'm planning on making life insurance a career (which it looks like I am), I want to be an independent agent and own my own business. If I'm captive, I obviously really can't do that as the products I sell are limited and I'd only be a rep of the company I work for. But....Ive been reading on the board here there's value in the training that some captive companies offer---and I would definitely need training/mentoring as I begin.
Finally, and I know this is a long post, but I've been trying to research the salaries of captive versus independent agents. I found an article that said that captive life insurance agents make only around $15,000 in their 1st year and between 15k - 35k in their second. Do you think these figures change at all if you start out independent? I can handle a low income for a couple years, but I was hoping for at least 25-30k in my first or second year. I do have other stuff I can do to supplement my income, if needed. My financial goal is to be making at least 65k within 4-6 years---that should be doable, right?
After I received my B.A. in psychology -- or, all along throughout college, I should say -- I had been planning to pursue grad school and obtain a Ph.D. in the field. Well, I actually have a 4-year old daughter and I think that spending 6 years minimum pursuing a grad degree would be such a time-suck and money drain, not to mention the immense amount of time I'd have to commit. So instead, I'm trying to find some career that I can both be satisfied in and make a decent living (without spending so many more years in school) and I think life insurance may be it...
