My first life sale? BGA? FMO? Need HELP!

al3 · 06-30-2007, 08:53 PM

Met a man (at Fry's Electronics store) who is retired air force and wants to buy at 250K term policy to add on to what he has. I told him I'd get back to him early next week with some suggestions.

I'm not appointed with any life carrier anywhere. People speak highly of West Coast Life so that will be a call I'll make on Monday, but I think they go through a BGA (Broker General Agency).

What is a BGA and what is the difference between a BGA and an FMO/IMO? Suggestions for a BGA I should look into?

Anyone have any direct carriers that I might check out too. I understand term life as well as WL... I own both... and have studied it (obviously). I just don't have anything in my 'kit bag' to sell so any suggestions are appreciated... before Monday!

Some of you know that I had planned to transition into life and annuities over the summer. Well I guess the summer came earlier than I expected. HELP!

Thanks,

Al

joshril · 06-30-2007, 08:58 PM

Try Bisys.... They have about 30-40 life carriers... decent contracts...

senior-advisor-indiana · 07-01-2007, 01:53 PM

Who is Bisys????

al3 · 07-01-2007, 02:07 PM

I checked out Bisys. https://www.bisysinsurance.com/ Huge company. Do they 'own' you like an FMO does?

Al

GreenSky · 07-01-2007, 06:51 PM

Originally Posted by al3

I checked out Bisys. https://www.bisysinsurance.com/ Huge company. Do they 'own' you like an FMO does?

Life Insurance is written mainly thru General Agents. You can switch at will. Some carriers will allow multiple contracts. It's not like an FMO who can tell you which brand of toothpaste to use.

I do very little life and find Bisys to be easy to deal with. I actually use the Washington office instead of Sacramento. My marketing rep in Sacto screwed up and wouldn't take responsibility for his actions. My rep in Washington has been great so far.

That being said, it really doesn't matter who you use. The commission structure is about the same and since you can go elsewhere anytime, don't lose sleep over things.

Rick

Krono · 07-02-2007, 01:19 PM

I have been using bisys a few weeks now on life and DI and they have been very helpful.

al3 · 07-02-2007, 11:03 PM

Originally Posted by Krono

I have been using bisys a few weeks now on life and DI and they have been very helpful.

I called them today and got into voice mail hell. I could not reach anyone who wanted to sign me up... or even knew what they were doing. I ended up leaving a voice message to some sales office and never heard back from them alld ay.

I might have been born at night but it wasn't LAST NIGHT. This is a company that has some internal problems. The life blood of a GA should be in getting new agents aboard. These guys don't know what they don't know.

There must be another good GA. Anyone wish to make a suggestion?

Al

bluemarlin08 · 07-02-2007, 11:29 PM

Send me a pm.

lifeinsuranceguy · 11-01-2007, 06:40 PM

Check out Lakeview Financial.

Lakeview Financial Services, LLC

James · 11-03-2007, 04:41 AM

Originally Posted by al3

I called them today and got into voice mail hell. I could not reach anyone who wanted to sign me up...

Al

Hummmmmm, there could be a message here Al?

Just kidding!

rocky top buzz · 11-09-2007, 03:36 PM

I have said before I'm not a fan of Bisys (Crump) because they don't care about the one on one agent relationship. They are the Sam's Club of BGA's. I will plug my company here and say that we pride ourselves on the relationship. We have the same products and same commissions as Bisys, but if you need me you can call me on my cell phone at 10:30 on Saturday AM. Try that with Bisys.

al3 · 11-09-2007, 03:55 PM

Originally Posted by rocky top buzz

I have said before I'm not a fan of Bisys (Crump) because they don't care about the one on one agent relationship. They are the Sam's Club of BGA's. I will plug my company here and say that we pride ourselves on the relationship. We have the same products and same commissions as Bisys, but if you need me you can call me on my cell phone at 10:30 on Saturday AM. Try that with Bisys.

Your home page does not render well with Firefox on the Mac. It renders a bit better with Safari. Your newsletter has some overlapped text on both. For 99% of agents this is not important because most use Windows IE.

As I posted several months ago, I had a hell of a time getting anyone from Bisys/Crump to talk with me. That has changed.

The guy out here (in Sacramento) calls me, is always available, and seems to know his stuff. I went to a seminar of theirs about 3 weeks ago and the regional manager admitted quite candidly that they had poor service the past two years they were owned by Citibank but now that they are a private company again they don't have to "answer" to anyone and can do what they want and allocate the recourses necessary to service. Time will tell.

All things being equal, I think I'd like to deal locally. What can a GA rep in Tenn. know about the market here in Sacramento? What contacts can he/she have? What leads might he give me if so disposed? This is a hard biz and you want to take advantage of every opportunity or bit of help you can get. I would think that a good GA in your local area can be of more assistance than one 3,000 miles a way... but I'm open to the idea that I may be wrong.

Al(ice)
InsuranceSolutions123 Agency

JRoot · 11-11-2007, 07:16 PM

Al,
I swear by CPS Insurance Services | 800-326-5433. I started with Bysis and they let me down...They were just to big, I felt lost in the bunch.

PM me and I'll put you in touch with a guy who takes care of me over there (if you're not already set up). He actually called me 2 weeks ago when I was evacuated from my home in Lake Arrowhead to make sure I was ok. He knows his stuff and will send you what ever sales materials you need.

al3 · 11-11-2007, 08:21 PM

Originally Posted by JRoot

Al,
I swear by CPS Insurance Services | 800-326-5433. I started with Bysis and they let me down...They were just to big, I felt lost in the bunch.

PM me and I'll put you in touch with a guy who takes care of me over there (if you're not already set up). He actually called me 2 weeks ago when I was evacuated from my home in Lake Arrowhead to make sure I was ok. He knows his stuff and will send you what ever sales materials you need.

Thanks. I've been in touch with a local CPS guy. I've just not decided whom I want to go with for what carrier... and right now I don't really have the business. It's just that I'm planning a staged de-emphasis on health and more on life next year... perhaps LTC... or maybe life settlements.

I like health but in my so-called "peer group" I'm finding more people who need help with life, buy-sell, key-man, annuities, LTC and similar stuff. We'll see what next year brings with any healthcare reform in CA. Sooner or later health will be as much as a commodity as home/auto is.... or I could be wrong... but that's what my tea-leaves are telling me.

Al(ice)