How Did You All Get Started?

ctan@dcmpower · Post by **ctan@dcmpower** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 1:42 pm

Hi,

When your ready, we might be able to help you build a book of business / meet Revenue Goals.

We help our clients write more new commercial / benefit accounts.

We do this by providing them with pre-qualified appointments & leads.

Read what our clients are saying about us.
copy this on your internet browser

<a href='http://www.dcmpower.com/CETmpowerApril05.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.dcmpower.com/CETmpowerApril05.htm</a>

Give me a call if you have any questions.

Have a great day

Charlie Tan
dcm.Inc.
800-233-5277 ext 212

New Agent · Post by **New Agent** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 2:25 pm

Thank you to everyone that has posted a comment on this thread.

A special thank you to Sanddog, who was able to contribute so much to this thread. Personally, I think you should start a new insurance agency consulting business on the side. I'm sure some people will be interested, including myself. Thank you so much for your great work!

I would like to ask one last very fundamental question for anybody willing to answer.

I am still not very clear what exactly a CSR is. My guess is that it is short for a Customer Service Rep, and they will handle much of the paperwork and claims processing within an agency. Am I correct on this assessment? And does a CSR have other roles within an agency?

Thanks again to everybody who has contributed to this forum. Your kindness is very well appreciated.

pita3333 · Post by **pita3333** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 2:19 pm

CSR can mean "Customer Service Rep", "Client Service Rep" and it is an older title (at least in the Los Angeles area) having been replaced by "Account Manager".

What ever you call the person....this would typically be the person who does the servicing of the account. Submission of prospect, receiving of quotes, checking of quotes, preparation of proposals, binding of account, set up of account, issuance of binders/certs/invoices/evidences, checking of policy, ordering/checking of endorsements, sometimes claims.....on and on and on and on. Allowing you to focus on the sale of new accounts and cross selling.

My suggestion to anyone looking to hire/train a person to do this...get the best that you can afford and be sure to treat them like a human being, pay them as best you can, include them in on discussions and let them know you care (ok...first you have to really care...then show it!). If/when you select/obtain services of the correct person...they can and will save your backside many times over. Be sure to show them that they are also part of the agency and not just a processer.

Do I sound like someone whos "been there ... done that"?

okt0ber · Post by **okt0ber** » Tue Apr 19, 2005 7:46 pm

Start with Progressive. And the non-standards. Don't jump in too deepwith the commercial accounts. And move out of California, that'll help, too. haha.

sanddog · Post by **sanddog** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 12:45 pm

Att: Charlie Tan, this forum is meant to help and provide assistant for new and used broker's who trying diligently to locate a market for and insured, or have a coverage or E & O question. :unsure: We are here to provide answer for tough questions. IE: how to run and agency, how to get started, what market is best. We don't have a lot of time to respond. The constant personal emails spam (sucks) trying to sell leads is not cool. <_< This is not a forum for outside sales leads generation. If you feel that you must use this forum, for other then what it's meant for then don't send personal email spam to our boxes.

Charlie, there are hundreds of web site that bombard this forums with leads programs. If broker needs leads they can go to http://www.insuranceleads, hundreds of site will pop up.

agent30yrs · Post by **agent30yrs** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 7:37 pm

I will add my 2 cents... IMHO

When entering the field of insurance, there is a huge learning curve.

You can get a license and maybe appointments, but reality is when a commercial client calls requesting coverage and you are required to recommend and explain all the coverages they need - then go about getting quotes.

If I were to start out today, I would probably go to work in an agency as a producer (with a commission split). Then continue taking classes and learning as much as possible. When I felt confident in my abilities to advise a customer on coverage etc. I would then consider starting my own agency.

It is a big jump to run your own insurance agency, even a small one.
I started my agency 12 years ago and write commercial insurance only.

I wish anyone the best who wants to enter the insurance field. It is a wonderful profession.

cvoorhees · Post by **cvoorhees** » Wed May 04, 2005 12:33 pm

10 YEARS, YU GOTTA BE KIDDIN !!!!!!!!
I Ain't got 10 yrs, that's a long time to be struggling when I'm already 58 yrs old.....

FederatedHater · Post by **FederatedHater** » Fri May 06, 2005 6:08 pm

So you're thinking about entering the insurance busniess? Have you lost your mind? Seriously - One of the best ways to start out in the insurance industy is to let an insurance carrier take all of the up front risk. Most direct writers will let you earn while you learn. They will pay you a nice salary while training ($35,000), then give you a guarantee for the first 24 months ($40,000). They key is to find a carrier that will train you. As you begin your new gig, you'll be shipped to a small town to learn. When you go to training, drink hard and make some friends................these will be the same people you keep getting grouped up with during the first 12 months. You mights as well have some fun, because beleive me, starting out in the insurance industry will be the most difficult 6-12 month period of your life. You'll want to quit on several occassions. Stay the course, if you'll be swimminmg in cash in no time. Follow your instincts and intuitions - if by your 2nd year out you are not anyway near your goals, then you make need to call it quits. If you stick with it, you'll probably be earning over $100,000 during the 25-36 months. I began my career with Federated Insurance. On average, agents who started in 2002, then completed his first full year in 2003, had average earnings around $86,000 of gross income. Some companies don't offer much in terms of expense reimbursement (automotive, entertainment, cell phone), so you'll have to factor those expenses into the equation. If you choose to work for a direct P&C writer, you will be expected to produce life insurance sales. As an employee of a direct writer, you will not be handed a creative license. In fact you will be expected to conform to the "carrier's" way of doing business. You must remember that they are trying to find a way to 200-1000 sales employees, and the only way they think it can be done effectively is to run it like the military. If you've been used to making 50K a year, then suddenly you find yourself flush into a 6-figures income, then it was not such a bad move. It's an upfront risk to quit your day job, but not much of a risk if you get hooked up with a quality direct writer that is willing to give you a fat salary for an extended period of time.. I worked for a direct writer for over 7 years before pulling the plug and going to an agency.........best 2 moves I ever made. 1) Getting into the insurance business with a direct writer. 2)Next best move, movnig to a quality independant insurance agency. Good luck and I hope this helps.

jtabosida · Post by **jtabosida** » Mon May 09, 2005 12:23 pm

I started my agency last year, Abosida & Slinko, Inc. I've been in the industry for 8 years and hate to say that you are going to have a very difficult time finding carriers to appoint you. I formed relationships with my underwriters working for other companies prior to going out on my own. Since I had worked with many of the companies we use now prior to starting our company it was easier to set relationships up. Your other option may be to look into maybe partnering up with someone already in the industry. Another option, and this is our current situation, is to find someone with their own business specializing in a line that you do not. This way you have something to bring to the table and at the same time it helps diversify the other person or company specializing.

For instance we specialize in E&O insurance and are looking to bring in someone, we can pay higher commissions too than a typical brokerage, and have them start a line, other than E&O, that they are already familiar with. I hope this help and the best of luck to you.

Joe Agent · Post by **Joe Agent** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 5:44 pm

I started at Farmers and hated it. I went IA and used NIA. They worked out really great. They have all the markets covered from personal lines to commercial. auto/home vs. commercial. I say do them both and life and health. Starting out you either have to go captive or work for a broker. It is best to work for a broker and take the split. Just make sure that you do not sign a non-compete. Make sure you own your book so when you get appointments you can move your book.

Good luck!

Ps. What ever you do don't go to Farmers. They suck!

independent guy · Post by **independent guy** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 1:42 pm

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (sanddog @ Apr 13 2005, 12:46 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> 2) take over your parents agency and learn. :rolleyes:
[/quote]
Yeah, that's what I'm doing... Learning how bad ones own parents can screw over their kid. However, I'm sure its not that way with all family operated agencies, otherwise there wouldn't be any. Its just really tough to deal with family sometimes, particularly when they're greedy about their business. If I were to start again, I'd want it all on paper.

New Agent · Post by **New Agent** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 1:50 am

It's been about a year since my first post, and I have finally been able to get my insurance agency up and running. I started out with no experience, but now have a few company appointments and ready to go about taking care of business.

I wanted to follow up with my first post so that I can contribute back to this forum which has helped me tremendously. What I had to go through to figure out the industry was a little tough, so I hope to help others that might go through the same thing.

Disclosure: Just a note, but I am still learning the industry myself. All the information here may not be correct, and I still have a LOT to learn in the industry. And the processes written here worked for me in California, but most likely not in other states.

<Starting Out in the Industry>

The way I started in this P&C industry was through the California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan (CAARP) http://www.aipso.com/ca. CAARP is a State Agency (?) that provides insurance to people that can't get insurance through standard means. CAARP is meant to serve the non-standard auto market, and they give you a 12% commission on every policy that submit to them.

It was a blessing for me since I specialize in non-standard auto.

All you need to do is go to a CAARP Seminar to get certified, and after learning how to use their online EASI system, you can submit insurance applications. CAARP provides relatively competitive rates for non-standard auto policies, and since they assign the insurance applications to major companies like State Farm, All State, 21st Century, etc., it provided value to your customers as well. I also don't think they have any sort of E&O requirement either...

<Starting Out in the Industry 2>

Another way that you might be able to start out in this industry is go from the Health Insurance route. Blue Shield was very lenient on appointments even without any experience, and through them, you can get a sponsored life & health E&O for a pretty good deal (approx. $500/year). They'll also train you too.

With the life & health E&O on hand, you can try to get appointed with Life Insurance companies. They will likely train you to sell life insurance, so for the first 3-6 months, you can learn the life & health insurance industry. This should help you to understand somewhat how to sell insurance. At least it did for me.

After having a book of business, the E&O company through your health insurance maybe able to give you an endorsement so that you can also go sell P&C as well.

<E&O Insurance>

One of the biggest obstacles for me was obtaining my E&O for Property and Casualty. New agents are a huge risk for E&O insurance companies, so almost all of them will not even give you a quote. After a rigorous search, I was able to find a company called Colony Insurance. I was able to get an E&O from them for about $3000 a year.

You can email or PM me if you'd like to try and get a quote from them.

With the E&O, and some experience selling health and non-standard auto, it gave me some leverage to talk with companies to get appointed. I think having a solid marketing plan will also help to persuade a company to appoint you.

Also with the E&O handy, you can go to Insurance Noodle or the like to start entering into the commercial accounts.

<FSC Rater, ADR, and CRA Account>

I guess its standard in this industry to equip yourself with an FSC Rater to get quotes, and in some cases get appointed with companies. This is where I'm currently at in the process of establishing an insurance agency. Companies that I'm appointed with have its own system for quotes, but the FSC can get you quotes from all kinds of companies with one click.

http://www.fiservfsc.com/

You need to set up a few things before the FSC Rater.

1) DMV Commercial Requester Account
2) ADR Account http://www.mvrs.com/

Call up ADR, and they should give you much more information about what you need to do.

<Continuing Ed and Start Up Ed>

I think sites like this will really help you to understand the industry a lot better. This site seems especially helpful.

https://www.lunchtimece.com/

All right, so that's what I had to go through to establish an insurance agency from scratch. I'm not sure how much help this will be to anybody, but I wish I had this info when starting out in this industry.

Good luck and best wishes to all starting out. I really hope that a forum such as this will build a stronger community of independent agents.

Kind regards,

New Agent

Carlos · Post by **Carlos** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 11:56 am

Have you joined any Associations they can provide you with contacts, training, advise and their meetings can help you to network and lear more about the market.

Below are contact numbers to the different associations:

Latin American Agents Association (626) 444-0999
Western Insurance Agents Association (800) 553-4221
Insurance Brokers and Agents of the West (800) 772-8998

CATHIEA · Post by **CATHIEA** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 12:31 pm

It's interesting to read everyone's point of view because everyone has valid points - especially sanddog. I've been in this industry for 30+ years and worked company (from file clerk to underwriter to marketing) and agency (p/l csr,c/l csr to producer) and finally I became owner of a start up agency (85% commercial). Now that said, as a marketing rep for any of my companies, I would never get a "new agent" appointed without experience - nor would I want to take the chance with them. This business is about protecting our clients not making sales. Just because you know enough to pass a test does not give you the knowledge to properly insure a residential plumbing business that does tract, a business that deals in the sale of aircraft parts, condominium associations (don't forget the D&O), etc. These are the type of accounts that will give you the large commissions - not the little retail bop that ST Farm, Allstate, etc are running after. Even something like a church can get you into trouble if you don't make sure to add sexual/physical abuse coverage. New to the business agents need to be supervised and trained. (lest they make underwriters crazy - and anyone who has experienced an underwriter who will not return calls knows they have all the power to make or break your income) Yes we carry E&O but if you have claims, you'll be out of business - you simply can't afford the premium. This is why (and sanddog you were right with your first figures) 90% of new agents fail within the first 6 months to a year.

mccluney · Post by **mccluney** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 12:32 pm

What Carlos did not mention, is that the associations like IBA West have access to personal and commerical lines products without a premium volume requirement. IBA West also has E&O facilities and their affliation to insurance skills center will provide you with advanced CE seminars that will get you up to speed in insurance areas you are weak in.

How Did You All Get Started?

Follow Up on My Initial Post

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