You will never see a story about what Insurance Company employees are worth. (Aside from the CEO\’s maybe). I am on the wrong end of the business. I have visited several of our agents across the country and have yet to find one that has anything less than a brand new Lexus/Mercedes/BMW sitting in their designated parking spot.
Meanwhile I drive a 12 year old sedan & a 5 year old van that both have over 150K miles on them because I can\’t afford anything else.
These guys come to our meetings with their Rolex watches and top of the line clothing and have the audacity to complain that we aren\’t paying enough commission.
Poor company guy. Your are a prisoner of your own doing. You can do something about it, however, by turning your envy into a personality; getting a license, putting yourself at financial risk and working like hell for many years to build a quality book of business. Then you can suffer the fears of having your lively shot apart by underwriters who have an axe to grind, stupid management moves by company execs who come up with ideas we have all heard before that don\’t work; having your book run-off because some idiots had a catastrophe in their life and you are paying for the bad losses, or because mother nature caused more damage than some \”model\” predicted.
I have seen many a company man begrudge a successful independent agent just because they are successful. However, I don\’t see the company man become that which he begrudges because he/she does not have the required will and talents to become an independent agent. Therefore, the company man can only point the finger and try to level the playing field so that he can make himself feel better by declaring the importance of his position in determining the income level of the indendent agent by increasing or reducing commissions. Thereby making the work efforts of the agent irrelevent and his income becomes the determining factor of his commissions promoting mediocrity rather than enterprise and hard work. That sentiment ladies and gentelmen is called \”socialism\”.
I\’m amazed by the hostile nature of the responses obviusly written by males who have egos so large you couldn\’t all fit in a room. How about recognizing that the BIG BAD insurance company in fact allows \”mr. agent\” to build the book by taking on \”risks\” to the degree the company (which is not a non-profit)will continue to make money. AND \”mr. company man\” needs to realize the independent agent is your customer and the reason you have a salary. For both agent and company people, if you don\’t like the situation …do something to change it!
Don\’t forget that both the agent and the underwriter are in a competitive environment. I\’ve been on both sides and am now on the buyer side. There is room for both the agent and underwriter to make some money if they prove their value. If an agent gets his commission cut but can demonstrate value to the client, there is always a fee option. So stop whining and show your value.
You will never see a story about what Insurance Company employees are worth. (Aside from the CEO\’s maybe). I am on the wrong end of the business. I have visited several of our agents across the country and have yet to find one that has anything less than a brand new Lexus/Mercedes/BMW sitting in their designated parking spot.
Meanwhile I drive a 12 year old sedan & a 5 year old van that both have over 150K miles on them because I can\’t afford anything else.
These guys come to our meetings with their Rolex watches and top of the line clothing and have the audacity to complain that we aren\’t paying enough commission.
Poor company guy. Your are a prisoner of your own doing. You can do something about it, however, by turning your envy into a personality; getting a license, putting yourself at financial risk and working like hell for many years to build a quality book of business. Then you can suffer the fears of having your lively shot apart by underwriters who have an axe to grind, stupid management moves by company execs who come up with ideas we have all heard before that don\’t work; having your book run-off because some idiots had a catastrophe in their life and you are paying for the bad losses, or because mother nature caused more damage than some \”model\” predicted.
I have seen many a company man begrudge a successful independent agent just because they are successful. However, I don\’t see the company man become that which he begrudges because he/she does not have the required will and talents to become an independent agent. Therefore, the company man can only point the finger and try to level the playing field so that he can make himself feel better by declaring the importance of his position in determining the income level of the indendent agent by increasing or reducing commissions. Thereby making the work efforts of the agent irrelevent and his income becomes the determining factor of his commissions promoting mediocrity rather than enterprise and hard work. That sentiment ladies and gentelmen is called \”socialism\”.
I\’m amazed by the hostile nature of the responses obviusly written by males who have egos so large you couldn\’t all fit in a room. How about recognizing that the BIG BAD insurance company in fact allows \”mr. agent\” to build the book by taking on \”risks\” to the degree the company (which is not a non-profit)will continue to make money. AND \”mr. company man\” needs to realize the independent agent is your customer and the reason you have a salary. For both agent and company people, if you don\’t like the situation …do something to change it!
Don\’t forget that both the agent and the underwriter are in a competitive environment. I\’ve been on both sides and am now on the buyer side. There is room for both the agent and underwriter to make some money if they prove their value. If an agent gets his commission cut but can demonstrate value to the client, there is always a fee option. So stop whining and show your value.