Most new insurance agents looking to start and grow their book of business start in the same place: their own network. Your friends, family members, and acquaintances are individuals that already trust you, want to be supportive of your career, and would rather work with someone they care about than a stranger.
But there’s a problem – most people in your network already have most of the insurance they need, and switching it can feel risky. They probably have homeowner’s insurance. They probably have auto insurance. If they have an RV, they probably have RV insurance. If you’re someone that wants to become an insurance agent and get a little bit of help to get started, you’ll need to think about what type of insurance products are easier for you to sell.
The Easiest – But Still Difficult – Life Insurance
One of the most common, and in theory the easiest, is life insurance. Only about half of US adults have life insurance at all, and a portion of them are underinsured. Chances are you know people in your life that are uninsured or underinsured. Or you know people that have term life insurance, but would be a great candidate for a better – and higher paying, for you – type of life insurance, like limited pay whole life.
Still, there are some challenges. Most people know about life insurance already, and if they wanted to get it they may already have gotten it. Similarly, life insurance agents are extremely common, so someone else in your network or family may have already tried to sell this type of insurance.
Finally, term life insurance, which is the easiest sell and most common form of insurance, doesn’t pay particularly well. You’ll be tempted to push for other products, like whole or universal life, which pay better, but may also be harder to sell to others.
Fewer Long Term Care Insurance Agents
Long term care insurance can be very advantageous to sell. Only a very small percentage of eligible candidates actually have this type of insurance. Only 10 to 20% of seniors over the age of 55 have this type of insurance, yet it is recommended that anywhere from 80% to 90% of seniors should have it.
That represents a significant market for those interested in breaking into the field. The biggest challenge for new agents is that your network may not have many people in this age group. Since this type of product is best for those over ~50 (though technically available for any age group), you often have to have people in your life in the 55 to 65 age range.
Also, the monthly premium is not affordable for everyone, so financial burden could be an issue.
Auto and Homeowners
Auto insurance and homeowner’s insurance are harder sells. Most adults already carry all three, and it’s hard to get people to switch them.
Still, there is opportunity here as well, depending on your market and the products you can sell. You may have a more difficult time finding people without auto insurance, but – if you stay as informed as possible and truly understand how insurance works – you can theoretically find people cheaper options and use that as your selling point.
Selling this type of insurance involves being a bit more open to other people contacting you, rather than the other way around. Sending a message to your network that says “I am happy to provide free estimates for anyone that would like to see if there are cheaper homeowner’s or car insurance options” could be a great way to get people interested, as long as you understand that the quotes you provide may not offer any cost savings.
Sell What You’re Passionate About
In the end, the choice of what to sell is also about passion. What are you most comfortable asking people about and talking about?
As someone new to insurance, this can be a bit difficult. You’re probably more interested in making money than you are interested in the product itself. But, to sell insurance, you have to be able to engage with people about the topic of that insurance:
- It’s difficult to sell car insurance if you do not know or care about cars.
- It’s difficult to sell health insurance if you do not know much about healthcare.
- It’s difficult to sell long term care insurance if you know little about seniors or retirement.
But if you’re passionate about the seniors, you can easily be a resource for senior living, and be better about selling long term care insurance. If you’re passionate about family, or investments, you can better converse about life insurance. If you’re passionate about RVs, you would be a great choice for RV insurance.
And as long as you’re educated in the type of insurance, you can be a better resource for the people closest to you, and eventually grow not only within your network, but outside of it as well.
If you are ready to become an insurance agent, sign up for our one of our courses here at LyteSpeed Learning, today.
