Howard Spiegel ⋅ Houston, TX HR ON CALL ⋅ 20 years experience

1. The Good- Commissioned Insurance Sales can lead to a great income if you can hang in long enough. Farmers has a great training program and as stated above stick with the major companies. I would go with a Property and Casualty company rather than a primarlily Life Insurance Company. You also probably have a good "warm market" (people you know) in order to get a start.
2. The bad. There is a lot to learn and it takes a lot of energy every day when you start out to earn sufficient funds.
3. The Ugly- there is a lot of burnout and turnover in this career which is why they are always looking for new agents. But as I said above once you get to a certain point your momentum and consistent actions will get you where you want to be.

Chris Wickers ⋅ Santa Maria, CA Wickers Insurance Agency ⋅ 10 years experience

Hi Anthony,

I think all of the above responses are correct. I'm an independent agent (meaning I don't work for a specific company like Farmers, but represent a bunch of different insurance companies) and for me the good has outweighed the bad by miles. Its the best job I have ever had. Insurance can be very lucrative, but it does take a sales focused personality. At the end of the day it is a sales job, and it will take a few years to build a book of business.

One route that has not been mentioned would be to call around and find a local independent agent in your area and ask them to lunch. That is what I did. Tell them you are a former Marine (Semper Fi, brother) and that you would like to ask them some questions about the industry and their opinions on the best way to go about getting in to the business. We agents usually have a pretty tight network in our areas, so by doing this, you'll get some great advice, make at least one contact in the industry, and he/she may be able to refer you to another agency that is looking for agents, or even hire you if you hit it off.

Obviously, there are licensing requirements for your state, but if you were an O3 in the Corps, they'll be a snap and you should be able to get your license within a month or two.

The low barrier to entry for an insurance career is misleading. You can do really well if you hit it hard and smart.

Anthony Heverly ⋅ Poway, CA U.S. Marine Corps, Captain ⋅ 16 years served

I appreciate all the great info!

Tyler Young ⋅ Lovelady, TX Modern Woodmen of America ⋅ 4 years experience

Anthony,
I would agree with Howard. The greatest thing about the business is that being on commission allows you to be in control of your own income. Some people fit and some people don't which does lead to a large turnover ratio, as a manager/recruiter I deal with this everyday. The most important thing about getting into this business is finding a company that you see yourself representing. I work for Modern Woodmen which was established in 1883 and is a fraternal non-profit, we put millions of dollars back into local communities nationwide every year. It is part of my job to find people that want to help others develop a sound financial plan and also to find ways that I can assist people and communities through our matching fund and fraternal programs. If this is a field that you are considering please feel free to contact me or check out our website at www.mwacareers.org

Sarah Amen ⋅ Tampa, FL Ultimate Medical Academy ⋅ 4 years experience

Typically these are sales positions which have a base hourly rate or salary and offer commission on the accounts you close. (base of 23,000-35,00 + commission or strictly commission) If you are interested in insurance, competitive, and talented in pitching to the public, sales positions can be quite lucrative.

"I am a Marine officer with an IT management MOS and recruiting experience"

Each of these companies have a corporate base that would require an individual with your experience to qualify for positions outside of strict sales.(salary- 35,000-50,000)

I would suggest reviewing their corporate website to see what jobs are offered in your area before replying. In this way the ball is in your court

Charles Ferree ⋅ Charleston, SC Boeing ⋅ 6 years experience

Anthony
Thank you for your service. I would suggest that if insurance interests you, stay with the bigger name companies. After I retired, I had an interview with a smaller insurance company and everything was scripted. The receptionist and people calling on the phone were told what to say (and really could not answer any questions) I was sitting in the waiting room waiting for my interview and the receptionist being told exactly what to say and how to say it. It ended up being a group interview/ presentation and again no questions could be answered, so I walked out.
What I did get from the company during it's presentation is this: (sorry, do not remember the company name)
Everything was on a quota.. you had to make so many house calls and sell so many health insurance packages per month.
The first few times, somebody would accompany you and let you get a feel for how to talk to potential clients (again scripted)
You had to use your own vehicle, and they paid minimal on mileage.
If you could not acheive certain goals, you would get coaching help. after the coaching help, you would be terminated.

I am sure that there are fantastic companies, insurance or otherwise, out there that would benefit having you as a team member.