I would NOT invest money in an insurance agency unless I was running the agency.

They make their profit off of selling insurance policies.

Life insurance is insurance on your life. If you die the insurance company pays money to your beneficiaries. they could be family, friends, the company you work for even a charitable organization. as long as there is an insurable interest.

If you are dead the money from the insurance can pay for your funeral, your debts, mortgage, medical bills, car payments, children’s college education, your families survival if you are no longer here to provide for them, as well as pay for inheritance taxes, probate taxes (life insurance is tax free)

if you are single, no family, no responsibilities and don’t mind being buried by the state then you probably don’t need life insurance. Try this site to find the best life insurance

Here you can get quotes from different life insurance companies in your area, its the best way to find an affordable life insurance with a reliable company.

Hope this help,

” . . . in opportunity and the clients best interest, then don’t trap yourself into false loyalty because you will always be conflicted inside and try to keep it buried. Do what’s right for the client 100% of the time and make an educated choice with helping the consumer.”

Agencies make their money from First Year Commissions (FYC) on new policies, and renewal commissions and service fees on policies which have been on the books beyond the first year.

If an agent works for an established agency, he/she will get paid a percentage of the total FYC. The total FYC could be anywhere between 40%-120%, depending on the insurance companies the agency represents, and what type of policy is being sold. Health policies pay a lot less than life insurance policies.

Of the total FYC, the appointed sub-agent would receive anywhere between 50% and 90%, depending on the sub-agents contract with the agency. Most agencies will pay advance commission on 75% of the sub-agent’s FYC.

Example:

Let’s say that the sub-agent writes a life insurance policy, and the annualized premium is $1200. ($100.00 per month). Let’s assume that the agency’s FYC is 100%, and the sub-agent’s FTC is 80%. The agency’s FYC would be $1200, and it’s advance would be $900 (75%). The sub’s FYC would be $960, and the advance would be $720 (75%). The balance would be paid as earned on the final 3 last payments of the first policy year premium. If the total ANNUAL premium was paid initially with the application for the same policy, it would be a little less than $1200, around $1162 give or take. ALL FYC would be advanced in this case.

Once the policy is in force for 12 months, renewals and/or service fees will be paid, 2-20%, depending on the carrier, and the sub-agent would get his/her percentage of that. (I had a company that paid $100% FYC and 20% renewals)

Some companies pay bonuses, based on your total production and persistency rate, the percentage of business that stays on the books.

If you work for an insurance company as an employee/captive agent, your commission rate will be somewhat less, but your benefits will make up the difference, such as company-paid retirement, 401K, health and life insurance. In this case, your commissions would be put in a commission pool, and you would draw from that on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. When you initially start selling for one of these companies, you are on a guaranteed salary for a specified period of time, while you build your commission pool. Some of these types of companies will guarantee your salary, (based on production quotas), for up to three years, on a depreciating basis.

After the first year, you start earning renewals/service fees. Let’s say that over time, you build up your book of business to $500,000 of life insurance annualized premium, and your renewals are 3%. Your base pay would be $15,000, plus your FYC and bonuses.

Some of the captive companies will offer you an established book of business, with renewals and service fees. It’s possible to be offered an agency which is paying $300-$500 or more per week, which would either go into your commission pool, or be paid as part of your initial guaranteed salary. If you are assigned to an existing book of business, you have all those policyholders as potential prospects for new business, along with their family members and other people they know.

Here are some names of companies that have guaranteed starting salaries: (Not in any particular order)

New York Life, Met Life, Monumental Life, American General, American National, Western-Southern Life, Prudential, Liberty Life.

Look for term insurance not whole life – a much better value for your money – you want death protection not investment out of insurance – invest in investment programs (401 – Roth IRA ETC) not life insurance – only purchase term insurance to cover the loss of an income to protect your family