Homeowners Commission, X Date, and A Few General Questions

[al953]

Hi guys,

So, I'm new to the industry. Don't have any licenses or anything yet. At this point, I'm just doing my homework first before trying to decide where to focus on when I get started.

So I have a few question about homeowners policies

What is average homeowners commission? 10-15%? More or less? From what I'm reading people are saying that personal lines such as homeowners are not worth the hassle because of low commissions and that dealing with regular consumers sucks more then dealing with business owners. How many agree with this?

why do x dates matter? I get that it tells you when their policy expires, but is that really important?

If you give them a lower quote and they want to switch, can't they just do that? Or are there penalties for cancelling their homeowner policy early?

Has anyone written homeowners in the North (NY,MA,RI,MD,NJ)? What has been the experience? Living up north is really expensive so I would imagine the premiums are higher thus higher commision. Because of this I would assume homeowners would be interested in saving wherever possible. But northerners are also a rude bunch lol. When cold calling do you find that they are any more or less receptive than homeowners in other areas? In addition when calling is there a time that works better? I would imagine somewhere from 3-9pm since most would be working during the day. Or maybe calling for a few hours after 5pm or something...

Any and all input is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[djs]

Commission on homeowners policies is usually somewhere between 10 & 15%. Some carriers for the first year may pay a bit better, but this is a good range to look at.

Most P&C agents would disagree with your statement about homeowners not being worth the hassle. Its usually the best policy to have on your books. Now, renters policies tend to not be very profitable for an agency.

People don't buy just on price and won't switch just because you have a lower price. Its a reason to have a conversation, but you will need to have a better overall pitch than just selling price.

xdates don't matter as much as they used to. Some carriers charge a short rate penalty so in fairness to the clients, you usually want to switch them only on renewal. Many carriers have done away with short rates, so switch when you want (personal lines, not true with commercial). xdates now are a way to manage an agencies marketing efforts.

I don't do much in the Northeast, can't help with that specifically.

Dan

 

[Biggdogg]

Well stated Dan.

Most of my carriers pay 15-20% first year and 15% at renewal. Therein is the beauty of the P&C agency...residual income.

Personal lines clients tend to shop less also, so you're more likely to retain them long term. With business owners, they tend to go for the better deal unless the price is really close. If you have their personal lines as well though, they are more likely to stay with you. More lines=better retention. People tend to shy away from moving everything because of the perceived hassle they associate with it.

 

[nyc2phi]

percentage on HO is about right.

Personal lines my be viewed as a hassle to some but in most cases you will close faster and more then often then commercial, so if you are looking to get the ball rolling right away personal may be the way to go (commercial does have higher commission tho)

You are right the best time to call would be between 3-9 PM. I would spend the rest of the day networking with realtors, mortgage reps, bankers, ect. to get referrals.

 

[fcorcoran]

If you are self driven and a hard worker the insurance industry will make you more money than you would imagine. You just have to give it two to three years and then it will take off.