I'm not sure that a college degree is worth it at this point....if you are already in the insurance industry and are trying to figure out whether to get a CPCU or a college degree, I would strongly suggest getting the CPCU. This is of course assuming that you are not almost finished with your colleg...

Margo - check out the Institutes website. They have a chart that shows what designations will give you credit. I know that by having my CLU and FLMI, each of those gave me credit for one course.

Very true AgencyEquity....Why would I take such a huge risk of just starting to sell on my own when I have only between $15-20k in capital, no sales experience, no appointments, etc., when I can potentially find someone/somewhere that can provide me some much needed security of a base salary and tra...

FYI - of all the captive programs around me anyway, Nationwide seems to be the best. There are two programs they have. For one you need $10k liquid capital, second one is $35k liquid capital. You don't pay them anything, you just need to have it to be considered for the program. From the support tha...

I'm going to be more honest here than I probably should be but I thought it would help out.....In 11plus years in insurance, 10 of those in claims. Four of those years as a supervisor in claims at one of the largest insurance companies in the US. Claims has been the start to many great careers but i...

Sorry, I did not think that people wanted to actually email or call me. I figured they would just post their advice/feedback to the forum. My email address is bjwestner1@yahoo.com. Please email me there and I can then provide other info (i.e. phone number). Thanks,


BJ

I wonder how many car seats they would potentially sell? Seems like it would be more cost effective to just not sell that item versus paying such a high premium for such a risk... Oddly enough I just finished reading a book that showed data to support that car seats are not necessarily worth their p...

BJ for what is worth -- of all the companies you mentioned --- State Farm is the best opportunity on a captive side -- SF also tends to make agency opportunities available to its employees -- so you might think about taking your current skills set to State Farm to begin with -- It has been many yea...

BJ for what is worth -- of all the companies you mentioned --- State Farm is the best opportunity on a captive side -- SF also tends to make agency opportunities available to its employees -- so you might think about taking your current skills set to State Farm to begin with -- It has been many yea...

You are incorrect. While producers make up a large percentage of those that have the CPCU designation, actually more people in claims and underwriting are CPCU's versus producers based on information on the Institutes website.

I just finished my CPCU earlier this year and highly recommend it.

Having been with Farmers for over 16 years on the management side, I would steer you away from this captive agency relationship, especially with the new agency contract. As for wholesalers, MGAs, etc............there is really no "free lunch" out there. Some charge membership or subscript...

update - I have several interviews this week! One with Nationwide and one with an IA. I'm really hoping the one with the IA works out but the Nationwide program sounds good as well (compared to Farmers at least). I've also been contacted by State Farm, Mutual of Omaha, and American Fidelity. Had a p...

When I was saying people on the weekends, I was referring to the vast network of friends/family I have. I was not planning on writing $1m of business from that or anything....I would just help them try to save money and making sure they had adequate coverage as well as addressing their risks....

uwalka3 and William Grant: Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it. I agree 100% that the best bet would be to find an IA to get on with and I am actively searching for that now. Unfortunately I have not found anyone yet that I've applied to that has called me (agency wise). Knowing what I k...

You are correct about the recruiter. In this situation the recruiter worked directly for Farmers. It's moot now since I'm turning it down. Based on the reserach I've done, I'm better off selling on my own since I will not have a loan and can just use insurance noodle or superior access. By the way, ...