by mdeidson » Thu Nov 15, 2007 09:32 am
Hello,
I prefer to become an independent vs captive agent because that's the only way I would enjoy selling insurance. It would seem one could sell more insurance having a variety of policy choices/prices and maybe the possibility of contracting with companies having no or low quotas as opposed to captive companies. Are there any drawbacks being an independent? I really can't understand why anyone would want to be captive unless it's the company benefits offered or possibly making income faster from captive company leads/ marketing.
Thank you for any direction, positive or negative. I would just like to know the facts.
With best regards,
Mike Eidson
I prefer to become an independent vs captive agent because that's the only way I would enjoy selling insurance. It would seem one could sell more insurance having a variety of policy choices/prices and maybe the possibility of contracting with companies having no or low quotas as opposed to captive companies. Are there any drawbacks being an independent? I really can't understand why anyone would want to be captive unless it's the company benefits offered or possibly making income faster from captive company leads/ marketing.
Thank you for any direction, positive or negative. I would just like to know the facts.
With best regards,
Mike Eidson
Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 01:27 pm Post Subject: Captive agent vs independent agent
Hi Mike,
I started in the insurance business as a captive agent and found that working for one insurance company with a specific portfolio of insurance products allowed me to focus and learn those products very well. The training was excellent and I made a very good income and yes, there is a but . . .
I consider myself to be a good salesman and it became very difficult to leave a home or business without making a sale because I did not offer the insurance product the people wanted. In a situation like this, I just had to refer the prospect to some other insurance company.
So I decided to go independent to allow me to offer any insurance product that anyone would need or want.
Here's the catch - working for many insurance companies with each company offering a different product portfolio is very confusing. Don't make the mistake of trying to be "everything" to "everyone". You may be an exception, but most agents can't do it successfully.
Let's say you are contracted with 5 insurance companies and each company offers 10 products - that's 50 insurance products you must learn from top to bottom, on top of learning the different underwriting practices and rules of 5 different insurance companies. That's just an enormous task.
So, if you decide to go "independent", I would advise you to focus on one or two areas of insurance, i. e. life and health or life and disability, etc.
If you must spend all of your time learning products, you will never have time to sell anything and if you don't know your products, your prospect will know it in the first 5 minutes.
Good luck.
Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 08:17 pm Post Subject: Independent agency
I have been an independent insurance agent for 10 years and Nation wide has offered me a book of business should I take the offer please I need some advise.
Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2011 08:13 am Post Subject:
Some agents enjoy being captive and their is nothing wrong with it. Some agents like the inter office competition. Some agents need a manager to kick them in the butt to get them motivated. Some agents can get motivated on their own. Some agents enjoy the freedom of being independent. There is nothing wrong with captive or independent, it is truely a matter of preference. Whether you are captive or independent good luck to you and good selling!
Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 03:31 pm Post Subject: RE: Captive agent vs independent agent
The advantage of being a captive agents is that they do receive benefits, allowance, they are provided with their own place in a company and it's their carrier that pays for their training and examinations.
If you are just starting your path to this career, going captive will do you good if you can't afford to start a business yet as an Independent agent.
Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 06:18 pm Post Subject:
The advantage of being a captive agents is that they do receive benefits, allowance, they are provided with their own place in a company and it's their carrier that pays for their training and examinations.
This may be true at a few insurance companies, but it is certainly not true of them all. In fact, most of the major captives, like NY Life, make prospective agents obtain their licenses prior to being "hired" as an independent contractor. That can amount to several hundred dollars out of pocket with no guarantee of even being hired on.
Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2013 11:44 am Post Subject:
Probably not the answer you are looking for but it depends. You can definitely be very successful with both. You could argue Ind has a bit more upside but the structure and name recognition of Captive increases the likelihood of success. In the end it is all up to the individual running the agency.
Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2013 03:42 pm Post Subject:
There is absolutely nothing wrong with being a captive agent, as long as the agent is willing to tell a client that he/she does not have the product or service the client needs. Some captives simply sell whatever they have available, whether it's right for the client or not, because they don't have what the client really needs. That's just wrong, but it happens frequently. An independent agent can surely do the same thing, but is more likely to be able to find what the client needs, and fulfill that need.
This doesn't make independent agents "better" than captive agents by any means. It only makes them a little bit different.
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