Who can tell me about ins sales?

[Aubrey]

Dh was just contacted about a job. I know it's probably commission only. We've avoided this kind of thing in the past, when there were other jobs around, but now he's thinking about it.

 

I know it's not an impossible field--his uncle has done ins sales all his life, & my gr-grandfather sold ins decades ago & did very well. But they're both the kind of people who can make friends w/ anybody & talk the ears off a tin can. Dh isn't like that. I mean, he's REALLY friendly, & I don't think he's ever met anybody who didn't like him--w/in a month of marrying him, my family all liked him better than me, lol. But he doesn't have that...I don't know.

 

Anyway, does anybody have experience w/ ins sales? What can you tell me? TIA!

[Aubrey]

:bigear:

[elegantlion]

Not insurance, but my dh did commission only sales for a while. It was a great experiment when I was working full time, but horrible if its one income.

 

Not to be negative, but in this economy I would be leery or recommending commission only sales for anyone.

 

I also think it takes a certain personality to work that way. If your dh is the kind of guy that internalizes rejection and takes things personally, on an emotional level, I don't think it would be a good fit.

[Lara in Colo]

I tried to sell life insurance a long time ago, I failed miserably. I would not recommend this to anyone who cannot go without pay for at least 3 months. We have a friend who is a GREAT salesman and recently (a yr ago) started to sell insurance. He says that with the whole national health insurance bruha right now he cannot sell health ins. (the companies are hesitant to sign people up) He has people who want to buy, but cannot find many carriers. I just heard this last night (and third hand at that!) Research this propblem before making any decisions.

 

 

Lara

[LND1218]

I agree it takes a few months to get established with selling anything. You do need to be prepared for the first few months to be tough if it's commission only.

[JennyD]

My parents (well, when I was younger it was just my father) have been in health and life insurance sales my whole life. They struggled mightily when I was young, were reasonably successful for a while, and now their business is pretty much disintegrating. Which is not the end of the world -- they have saved enough for retirement, etc. -- but is unfortunate nonetheless, and psychologically very difficult on my father.

 

In general, I think my parents would agree that it's not a business with much to recommend it. For starters, it's not a fun product like, say cars. Nobody likes spending money on insurance, and it's a product that you don't actually want to use. Furthermore, as a prior poster said, there are a lot of people who need insurance, but there's just not much to sell them. In the state where my parents do business, there are very few remaining carriers and what they sell is very expensive, so plenty of people just can't afford it. My parents spend hours a day trying to figure out how to pare down different plans enough so their clients can afford them. Then you have the extreme stress of being solely on commission (and commission rates have been going down for years), as well as the endless bureaucratic hassles and paperwork that accompany everything having to do with insurance. Finally, independent agents are really a relic -- national health insurance or no, it's hard to imagine this being a long-term career for a young person.

 

That said, my brother (carrying on the family torch!) works in sales at an enormous nonprofit insurance company, and it is a fabulous job. It's partly commission-based, but he's not out beating the bushes like my dad was. People call up this company -- which is the biggest insurance provider in the state -- he talks to them, sends them materials, and then if they sign up he gets a cut.

 

I should also add that as frustrated as my dad has been, he also feels good about some aspects of his work. He is had plenty of clients who bought insurance and then became ill, had spouses die, etc., and thanks to their insurance they were well provided for. I know he takes some degree of satisfaction in that.

 

I wish your husband the best!

Edited November 10, 2010 by JennyD

[Aubrey]

Y'all have said pretty much what I thought, but I walked into the room to hear the last 1/2 of the mssg the guy left--2k sign-on bonus--& I caught my breath, lol. I knew it was too good to be true, played back the mssg & heard it was ins sales, & mostly wrote it off, but still. If dh has been crazy not to pursue this career, now's the time to fix *that.* :D