Insurance Journal Forums

I am constantly amazed at how much responses this Forum gives, and the amount assistance individual agents are willing to give one another. Please keep up your great work to strengthen this community.

Thank you very much to Carlos, CATHIEA, and mccluney for your comments.

Carlos & mccluney

Joining an association will be my next step. I am considering to join in the next 1-2 months. Which one do you guys think is the best association to join for a New Agent. I know all of them have its strengths, but I was hoping you two may be able to share your experiences with us.

CATHIEA

Thank you for your valuable opinions. I really think one of the great strength about this forum is to get an honest and frank opinion from seasoned insurance agents like yourself and sanddog.

What you pointed out is absolutely true, and as a new agent in this industry, I wouldn't even know where to begin to assist a customer like that if I were to face one. And that is truly an E&O nightmare.

My question to you is, how did you start out working in such an odd industry like:

"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. "

For new agents like myself, we are clueless as to how a person gets involved and find clients in such an odd industry. My only guess will be that your former companies specialized in these fields, and through the experiences there, you have a current book of business.

Would you be kind enough to share with us your experience in the industry, to guide new agents like myself in the right direction?

Again, thank you very much to all that have participated in this forum!

Here is how i started:

I was laid off from my computer job, where i was getting a pretty good salary. 6 months passed and i still couldn't find a job. Out of desperation i started driving taxi cab. Once, my mother came to me and said "Why don't you try to go into sales, for example Real Estate or insurance". Mom, said i, i hate sales and there is so much competition. Well, why don't you TRY-insisted my mom. OK i went to a regional Farmers office and was recommended to go to Insurance school and pass for the license. So i did. The school didn't teach me anything, nada. I was completely blank of what insurance agent should do. I studied hard and got my license on a second attempt. While i was in school, i met a buddy of mine in a coffee shop. Oh, so you are going to be insurance agent, he exclaimed excitingly. I have a friend of mine who is hiring, give him a call. So i did, and was hired at ABC Insurance Brokerage. I was hired and that was my nightmare job for the next 6 months. I knew NOTHING, i couldn't close a single deal and i hated being on the phone. I remember when some lady called me up and asked for a Workers Compensation quote. I froze, asked her to wait a second and ran to my boss asking him to help me out. But eventually i learned. I was very friendly with underwriters and they all loved me and taught me a lot of things. I started closing more and more. I found 8 channels through which i was getting FREE Leads, mostly referrals. A year later, my boss officially called me "A jack of all trades". When the phone rang and there was a unique business on the phone, this client went straight to me. And i was constantly learning. Every single day 7 days a week. I was curious about everything that involved insurance, all lines of business, what was new on the market. I created Market Map, so it was easier to identify where to place the business, I created Rate Sheet so i could compare different rates from different companies on different SIC Codes. Then i left that company and went to become a Sales Manager. Recently, I opened my agency

InsAgentSF,

Thanks for sharing here it was interesting reading your post.

New Agent,

What appointments were you able to get and what part of Ca are you in?

I would go for a monthly membership in both the BIG I and the Latin American Agents Association.

BIG I Because they will give you access to markets.

And the Latin American Agents Association because they can help you with education, not only on insurance but in marketing, and running a small bussiness. They also have montly meetings where you can meet the companies that might appoint you.

Wow Cathiea thank you for the Kudos. I am sorry at times I am a little to direct.
New Agent that's hell of a great post and a lot of work, i hope you become very successful. Carlos, its seems as though you want to join a ton of associations. I think that great after you make some real money. If you have time to hang around association groups then go take a CISR class and start working on your CIC. If you want some good markets through and association that can really help you, then join PIA West the group association, NOT the cluster PIA.
OK maybe NIA will help too, I'm not a fan.
PIA West, will help you with personal lines and Commercial, hell they have excess to Zenith work comp, and CNA now they have great E & O rates.

For a start up agency, try doing business with Wholesalers and MGA's. Once you establish volume with them, you can seek direct appointments with standard carriers.

Most MGA's and wholesalers would be happy to appoint you even without volume commitment.

If you are interested in finding out who can entertain hard to place risks, ie. Residential Plumbing from ground up, many MGA's will offer programs. You can get many reputable MGA's by searching under Directories on the top of this website.

For a start up agency, try doing business with Wholesalers and MGA's. Once you establish volume with them, you can seek direct appointments with standard carriers.

Most MGA's and wholesalers would be happy to appoint you even without volume commitment.

If you are interested in finding out who can entertain hard to place risks, ie. Residential Plumbing from ground up, many MGA's will offer programs. You can get many reputable MGA's by searching under Directories on the top of this website.

If you do try Non Standard Auto. You can make money doing this. It is probably the easiest to get started with. I suggest looking at Mendota. They are Traveler's non standard company. Very easy to work with and excellent rates in CA. You could probably get an appointment if you committed to using them. I think they would work for you and they pay more than Prog.