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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 825
  
| I'm talking property and casualty, auto, medical, etc insurance agent...
I am considering a career change from my 9-5, salary with benefits, financial services job for a career as an insurance agent, which would be 1099 straight commission with no benefits. I love my current job however the money isn't excellent and I get tired of being stuck in my 10x10 office all day and dressing up fancy, it just isn't me.
Has anyone done a career change like this and have any insight?
Its scary to think of not having a set income and having to pay for all of my own benefits and fund retirement all on my own. But to have the freedom and flexibility to make my own hours basically and pound the pavement getting policies and earning commission sounds intriguing! | |
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  That's White "Man" to You
Posts: 5515
| I got all my licenses with a plan and a job lined out in insurance and then I realized I don’t even like people. So I decided to go into banking, best decision I have made so far. | |
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 Hummer's Hero
Posts: 3071
 
Location: Smack Dab in the Middle | I'm a crop insurance agent, but I'm a processor, so I'm paid hourly. All my agents are paid on commissions (they are also salaried loan officers with the bank that owns the crop ins agency) so they have an income and the commissions are on top of that. They all like it and say the commissions are great.
My husband is a P&C licensed agent and sells life insurance and medicare supplements on a commission. He also gets a percentage if he can assign an FA and get a signed account.
It...s.u.c.k.s. There are times that he makes great money...but in your first year you don't have any residuals to give you that consistent income (not sure if property and auto would have the same problem). Turn over is EXTREMELY high because most people can't survive the first few months. He stuck it out, and he's doing ok now most of the time, but I yearn for stability. We had to liquidate a lot to survive for a while...
Now, he's earned a trip to the Dominican Republic (we went in April) and he loves not being in an office. He drives A LOT...about 50K miles on his car in the first year he had it...probably more this year. But again, for home/auto, people may seek you out more. A friend of mine used to be our home/auto agent and she LOVED her job and did well at it. But she had an office and was in it most of the time that I know of. | |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 396
Location: Iowa | threecanman - 2018-11-28 9:22 PM I'm talking property and casualty, auto, medical, etc insurance agent... I am considering a career change from my 9-5, salary with benefits, financial services job for a career as an insurance agent, which would be 1099 straight commission with no benefits. I love my current job however the money isn't excellent and I get tired of being stuck in my 10x10 office all day and dressing up fancy, it just isn't me. Has anyone done a career change like this and have any insight? Its scary to think of not having a set income and having to pay for all of my own benefits and fund retirement all on my own. But to have the freedom and flexibility to make my own hours basically and pound the pavement getting policies and earning commission sounds intriguing!
I am an insurance agent. I have my Property and Casualty, Life and Health, and Crop and livestock. I love my job; best career change I ever did. I am in the office quote often because there is a lot of paperwork with insurance and quoting with different companies can take some time. However, I do get out and about talking to new clients, working with current clients and marketing myself at public events.
However, I work for an independent agency. I would be extremely nervous to go out all on my own simply because unless people have a problem with their current agent, they are not likely to switch. Also, family can only be a small part of your book of business otherwise you may not receive your commissions. My independent agency still give is a salary and helps pay for benefits. | |
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Veteran
Posts: 276
| I think it all depends on who you work for and what kind of personality you have. I did not like it at all. A lot of headaches on the property casualty side and I think it's hard to get new business. I will admit, I do not have a salesman type persona. I had very little training--was mostly just thrown to the wolves, which I don't mind taking initiative and learning on my own, but I had to learn a lot of the lessons and tricks the hard way. It's just really hard to get started on your own basically. The only really successful agents that I know in my area were either handed a bunch of customers or they transitioned over from another kind of sales where they already had a large following. I'm definitely not saying it's impossible, but I think it's really difficult. I really enjoyed what little I did under an Independant Financial Advisor. I liked the work and the customers. If you have any interest in that, it would be my recommendation. | |
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