I need an insurance agent to answer these questions.?

Question

1) What do you like and dislike about your profession?

2) What are the biggest mistakes you see people making in your area of expertise?

3) What kind of training, licenses and/or education is required to enter and excel in your profession?

4) What is the most important piece of personal financial advice you would offer a new college graduate?

Thank you in advance

Answer 1

1.   I love working with people, and finding creative, yet honest, solutions to weird problems.  I hate papers.  I hate filing, I hate papercuts, and I'm not crazy about the endless piles of paper that don't stop.

2.   Not taking the time to think about alternate ways to get the job done - aka, cookie cutter solutions.

3.  The only training is that required by a state, to get the licenses you need.  HOWEVER, to succed and even excel, you have to have excellent written and verbal commnication skills, and an ability to read and interpret legalese.

4.  Stay out of debt.  Live under your means, and from day 1, have 15% of your gross pay deducted into your retirement account.    Do that, and you'll be able to retire early, as a millionaire, even if you never make six figures.  It's not about what you make - it's all about what you spend, and how much debt you accumulate.

Answer 2

1. love meeting new people, hate rude clients

2. agents that do not inform their clients of the coverages they have and what they actually need

3. you have to pass a state board exam to get your license and then continuing ed (depending on your state) and there are many designations you can get

4.work hard and spend little!

good luck! :)

Answer 3

Good answers already.  One thing is missing in Question 3:  Sales ability is important in an agents position.  Don't let anyone gloss over this.  I really enjoy what I do and think of myself as a professional, but sales is part of the job.

Answer 4

1) Helping people when something happens, rude people

2) People thinking that all insurance is the same and everything is always covered.

3) State Licensing is required for Property+ Casualty and Life+ Health. A Series 6 (and sometimes more depending the state) license(s) is required for variable products. Sales experience is a big plus. Basic business mgmt training is important as well.

4) Start saving/investing in your future right now! That could be investing in the various markets, education, or even preparing to start your own business, but start now. It only gets harder and more expensive. When I graduated from college, I started a business with $3,000. I won't lie, it was tough. There is no way could I go through that again. But here I am, 15 yrs later, with 2 businesses making money while I answer questions on Yahoo.

Answer 5

1) I like informing a client of things they didn't know about insurance - and showing them the WORTH of what they're paying...

I don't like clients who just throw their payment & run like I'm about to try to sell them something...or they think their payment goes right into MY pocket? Not sure, but if they don't take the time to talk to me...they don't understand what they're paying for & they are very cranky!

2) Biggest mistake I've seen is just "taking the $" without explanation. If they don't know what that policy can do for them and don't have an understanding of what they're paying for, you've done them a dis-service!

3) I have 3 insurance licenses -Life & Health, Property & Casualty and Medicare Supplement. Each one of these had a 1-week classroom to learn the material, a state test and yearly courses necessary to keep the license.  To excel - choose yearly courses in your field that will update you on the products and services you have.

4) My best advice - get life insurance while you're young & healthy...it's more affordable and it's the most over-looked peice of insurance we have!  I hate nothing worse than losing a client and their family wonders why they didn't get life insurance

Answer 6

1. I like solving problems/I hate people that wait until the last minute to get a new policy and then make me rush to get it taken care of.

2. Not explaining what a Broker of Record letter does. "I need you to sign this so I can get some quotes". NO, you need my client to sign that so you can take MY quotes!

3. Need to at least be licensed. Designations look very good on resumes. CIC and CPCU are both great designations to work towards but if you want to start smaller try ACSR or CISR.

4. Pay off your loans as quickly as you can. You'll be glad you did when the time comes to buy a house.

Answer 7

1) I get to talk for a living!  That the people who need you the most are the hardest to see face to face (they assume no insurance company can help them)

2) Not doing full time work but expecting full time pay (I have a commission only position)

3) pre license course of 40 hours, background check, and pass state License exam (Ohio)

4) Do not live on credit (still live like a starving college student) and don't buy toy's until you have a six month cushion of all you expenses (Note if your expenses are going to go up expand you cushion first)

Answer 8

1.love helping people, don't like rude people.

2. not disclosing coverages or lack there of.

3. i have series 6&63, life & health, fire & casualty. but i really only need the last one and lots of sales training.

4. the insurance industry will fluxuate just like the market. so when you're doing good, SAVE.