Three Questions to Ask Before You Join Any Insurance Agency

The insurance industry has excellent firms and it has recruiting mills. From the outside they can sound the same. Three questions separate them in one conversation, and every honest firm will answer them in writing.

1. Who owns the client relationship if I leave?

This is the question most recruits never ask and most regret. In some agencies every client you bring in belongs to the agency the day you leave. In others, the relationship stays with you. Neither answer is wrong, but you should know which one you are signing.

Ask for the language in the contract. If the recruiter cannot point to it, that tells you something.

2. How many carriers do you place with, and can I see the list?

A single-carrier agency has one answer for every client. That is fine when the client fits the carrier. When they do not, the agent either forces the fit or loses the case.

An advisory firm places each case where it is underwritten best. At McClure & Co. that means eight institutional carriers: Prudential, MetLife, Northwestern, Pacific Life, MassMutual, New York Life, Lincoln Financial and Transamerica. Ask any firm for its list, and ask how the decision is made.

3. What happens at a claim, and who handles it?

A claim is the entire reason the policy exists, and it arrives at the worst moment in a family's life. Some agencies hand the beneficiary a carrier phone number. Others have a claims advocacy process that handles the paperwork so the family does not.

Ask who does that work, and how the firm hears about a death in the first place.

Two more worth asking

• What does it cost me? License, exam, errors and omissions coverage, leads, technology. Get every number.
• What does the first ninety days look like? A real firm can describe the training week by week. A recruiting mill describes the income.

What you should hear from us

Every question above is answered on the first call and confirmed in writing before you commit. The role is a commission-based independent agent position. If you want to see how we work before you talk to anyone, read about the 75-45 Day protocol we use to keep clients.

FAQs

Is it rude to ask these questions?

No. A firm that is bothered by them is telling you how it treats its people.

Should I ask about income?

Ask about the structure and the costs. Be careful with any firm that leads with income figures; regulators require those claims to be substantiated, and most cannot be.

What if the answers are good but vague?

Ask for them in writing. Specific firms have specific answers.

Ready to talk? Apply in five minutes or book a 15 minute call. McClure & Co. is an equal opportunity firm; the advisor role is a commission-based independent agent position.