It could also be due to perception caused by advertising. When you hear Pedro Cerrano tell you you’re in good hands a thousand times a day, it starts to get in your head.
Personally, I like Liberty Mutual’s adds a lot better since they preach personal responsibility. The promise of Allstate that they will save you $496 per year on Auto Insurance is false advertising.
Small busineses are typically not as sophisticated as larger businesses. In most cases they don’t have an employee dedicated solely to insurance. And whoever that person is, it is very likely that they are not an insurance expert. Because of the time they need to commit to other aspects of their job and their lack of sophistication when it comes to insurance, they rarely meet with their underwriters and because of the small premium size they usually develop their underwriters rarely reach out to them. Thsi lack of contact makes iit much more likely they will be unsatisfied. As an underwriter myself, I’ll tell you I’ll meet with any insured who wants to meet me. No matter how knowledgeable or not.
I will agree with you on this one Libby. The agent is the key. If the agent doesn’t look out for the insured, no one else will. If the customer is written direct, they are just a policy number in a computer and they will get trampled on at some point. The good agent will negotiate with the underwriter and if so, get the unjustified premium increase reduced. If that fails, move the business in order to keep the customer.
I think all parties to the deal matter. A couple jobs ago I insured a major media company through one of the top three brokers. The risk manager loved my boss, but went through 4 or 5 agents at the broker company as she didn’t like any of them. The broker was happy that she liked my boss so much as it helped keep them on the deal. I’ve had plenty of other deals where a personal relationship with the insured helped cement the deal for all of us. I’m not saying the relationship with the agent doesn’t matter, just saying the relationship with the underwriter can help too. There are many brokers out there who like to keep an arms length between their insured and underwriter, that strategy does not usually play out well in the long run.
The only time I have had an underwriter involved in an account is when it was a very large multi-million dollar account and the insured requested it. I’ve had a few where the underwriters were part of the RFP process, too. But for the most part, the agent is the front man with the client. Just sayin.
Hey Libby, how much did your boss pay you for the large call in account that you supposedly wrote for him a while back? Hey, you did all the work on it and should be “entitled” to the commission credit for it.
August 15, 2014 at 9:43 am
Libby says:
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20%
August 15, 2014 at 12:55 pm
Agent says:
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Good for you Libby. I pay my CSR’s 35% for new, 25% on renewal on business they develop and write. You have a horrible boss cheating you out of your extra 15% commission.
August 15, 2014 at 2:34 pm
Libby says:
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I’m perfectly happy with my deal, Agent. And nobody I know pays CSR’s on renewal business. That’s just stupid.
August 15, 2014 at 2:35 pm
Libby says:
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Oh! And my piece of business was $350,000 at 10%, so I got $7,000. Did I mention I’m perfectly happy with my deal? LOL!!
August 15, 2014 at 4:46 pm
Libby says:
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AND it was just ONE line. Working on picking up the others as we speak. Ta da.
August 13, 2014 at 4:34 pm
Agent says:
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Hey Dave, you know what you get when you put the word “The” and IRS? THEIRS! Is that about right?
You have a horrible boss Libby if he doesn’t pay renewal commission on accounts you developed and sold. Our CSR’s like keeping the business on the books and get that credit each year so they look after the customer, review their needs and it works like magic.
At no agency in 34 years have they paid a CSR on renewal business. They may tie in retention to your annual review and salary increase, but they don’t pay renewal commission. If you do that, you’d better be calling them agents and not CSR’s. There goes your little monopoly on the word! LOL!!!
Libby, you must have had a series of terrible bosses if they didn’t pay you renewal commission on business you developed and wrote and serviced. No wonder you have so much hate in you. Those 1%ers really did a number on you, didn’t they? My CSR’s are all fully licensed to sell and they do. They also are CSR’s and know their business, but they have no desire to be full time producers. By the way, there is more to being an agent than just spouting off insults non stop on this blog.
August 18, 2014 at 10:06 am
Libby says:
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Agent – I’m every bit an agent as you are and my LICENSE says so.
I think it’s funny how you talk about the 1%ers like you’re one of them. You’ll never be one of them, yet you aspire go be. Your idea of success is money, money, money. Not what kind of husband or father you are, or how well you take care of your employees. You’re happy to have them do all the work and take all the money while you blog away non-stop on IJ and spend hours down-thumbing everyone that disagrees with you.
You’re not a success in my book.
August 20, 2014 at 4:46 pm
FFA says:
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In my book, you have a license you are not a CSR. No license, no renewals.
August 15, 2014 at 6:17 pm
Agent says:
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Dave, the good agent will get with their insured’s and educate them about coverage and the benefits from being protected properly. You are right that many small businesses don’t have someone like a Risk Manager and often we deal with a Controller instead of the President, but we make the effort since we value all our policyholders business. We also make the effort to pick up their Personal Lines and that is gravy since we already have trust with the client. Many larger agencies do not do that to their detriment.
FFA, Libby alleges she is an agent, not a CSR. I wonder why her boss won’t give her renewal commission on an account she developed. My CSR’s are fully licensed and can sell as well as service accounts. Am I a horrible boss for giving them renewal commissions on things they bring in? They sure seem to appreciate it.
Not surprised that one of the `qualifiers’ wasn’t adequacy of coverage, as that’s largely – no longer an issue. BOP (small business insurance) has become another commodity product, much like soup on the shelf.
@Libby and @Agent
For small commercial, its not the agent who is the influence, but rather the CSR.
Many commercial producers aren’t getting paid for small commercial under $2500 up to $10k in premium in some shops so the CSR is actually the keeper of the relationship.
And depending on where the business is placed, the carrier may operate in a service center environment cutting the agency out of the relationship altogether.
Nuf, perhaps in the larger metro areas, the smaller accounts are turned over to a house account and the CSR may actually write some business and service it. In smaller cities/towns, people generally want to know their agent and deal with them and the CSR plays a support role and services the business. All of our producers get paid on every piece of business they bring in for new and renewal. They also try to pick up the Personal Lines of the account which adds more to the account and shuts out the competition. Everybody has their own methods of growing an agency and if the big boys want to do it their way, fine. We have grown by doing it our way and by cultivating relationships and getting referrals from our customers.
Yeah. In rural areas the agents are the CSRs. I have been agent, CSR, and secretary to the owner for the past 8 yrs. I do the personal and commercial lines and the owner and the office manager concentrate on our specialty–crop insurance. I AM proud to say that I have increased my side of the business enough that we were able to hire an extra person. That frees me up from a lot of the CSR, but my loyal customers only want to deal with me. I have worked hard to cultivate relationships with my clients that have led to long term customers. I am on straight pay. (I don’t get paid much either way.) But I have a job–and I get a mid-year bonus and an end of the year bonus depending on our profits. These are not usually large bonuses, but I am proud of them.
Good comment Sherinae. I think your owner is making a big mistake not paying you commission on the accounts you are developing, writing and servicing. If you have done enough that the agency had to hire another person, you have written a significant volume. My CSR’s have a straight pay, but do get commission on anything they produce and bring in. I am not talking about “call ins”, but business you go after and bring in. This should be a nice supplement of your income if you are doing this for them. We also pay bonuses at the end of the year, but the commission is far more important.
Don’t forget the end of the year party at McDonald’s, the finest in the county might I add.
August 14, 2014 at 12:14 pm
Libby says:
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Why aren’t they paid on call-ins? They could just as easily blow them off if they don’t get paid for them. Why does it matter how they business got written if they wrote it?
August 14, 2014 at 1:15 pm
Agent says:
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No Libby, people calling in and not asking for a particular agent or CSR are considered house accounts. We do pay CSR’s to do a job for us, market and quote and service. If a CSR like you receives a call in anonymously, I hardly think the owner will give you the commission credit on it. If they ask for you specifically because of a referral customer you helped, I wouldn’t have a problem with that and some of my CSR’s have gotten credit in that situation.
August 14, 2014 at 1:27 pm
KY jw says:
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I don’t know anything about the agent side, so I’m asking. Isn’t the amount & type of work the same for the CSR if the call in is anonymous or referred?
August 14, 2014 at 2:03 pm
Libby says:
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Agent – How do you know how the call came in? What does it matter in the long run? So you pay your CSR 20% of 15% of $500 ($15????) Is it going to break your bank? You’re a horrible boss.
I’d send “call-ins” down the road to a competitor before I’d put them on the books for nothing in order to line your pocket, you mizer.
August 14, 2014 at 4:06 pm
txmouthbreatherboogereatertx says:
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Good comment Sherinae. I think your “OWNER” is making a big…
Notice the word capitalized in the above statement. “OWNER” would imply a master-slave relationship. Look at the “moniker” posting the aforementioned statement and voila!! 2+2=5
Libby, that extra pocket lining goes towards end of the year Happy Meals and a chance to have his name on the ticker on the 700 Club.
August 15, 2014 at 12:54 pm
Reality here says:
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@Agent….I can tell by your comments that you are in a rural area and in a small shop. No problem with that, but larger shops put a lot of resources and expertise in large accounts because that is what it takes to win. The agent is not the end all be all and studies show that young people do not see the value in a broker (seriously look it up). There will always be a need for an agent and broker on certain deals, but my experience has been agents want you to tee it up for them and even swing! That is the problem I have with my producers. Get off linkedin, hit the pavement, get referrals, build relationships with carriers because they can help agencies that work with them. I can’t tell you how many times I “eat” mistakes that agencies make. That increase? Believe it or not it is warranted at times. Be a partner and not a roadblock.
August 12, 2014 at 8:13 pm
Sharon says:
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Insurance may be considered a “commodity” until the insured needs to file a claim. What protection does the insured have when they buy direct? They are often warned in the small print, that if they want professional advise, they must consult with an Agent. I’m not a Doctor or an Attorney, so I don’t practice medicine or law. A word to the wise, hire an insurance agent. Their advise often comes free with the policy. Direct sellers keep the sales commission, so the insured still pays it and gets nothing in return.
Good one Sharon. I agree whole heartedly that the Independent Agent can do a better job of advising insureds about their insurance protection. Another thing about Direct Writers is that when their offerings turn sour and rates go up, they have nowhere else to go so the customer is twisting in the wind until they find replacement coverage. A good Independent represents many carriers and will shop the market to get the best deal possible. The combination of a good agent and a good CSR can be invaluable.
Interesting thing about your comment is that most doctors and lawyers could step in and do the job of an insurance agent with minimal training, yet I’d be willing to bet you wouldn’t let your agent friends near your taxes, let alone your will or your body.
Hey Rosado, are you kin to boogereater? Your post seems very similar to the trash he puts out. Doctors are notoriously bad about business matters and only know their profession. Ambulance chasing lawyers have no clue what agents do or how they provide a needed service to their clients. Do the job with minimal training???? Obviously, you aren’t licensed and don’t know about the extensive training agents have to do to obtain and keep their license. How about you coming down to earth idiot!
You are correct KY about not knowing how Independent Agents work or write business or how they remunerate their employees. Obviously, some of the other commenters who hate my guts tell me I am a horrible boss for not giving commission credit on anonymous call ins. My employees are paid very well for the duties we ask them to do. If they develop something on their own, fine. We pay them extra commission for new and less for renewals. They don’t seem to have a problem with not getting commission on call ins. They have all been with us for many years and no, they don’t think the owners are horrible bosses. One of my Commercial CSR’s wrote one of those short date call in accounts for a premium of $10,000 last week and put it right into the House Account. She is very highly remunerated, by the way.
What’s “highly remunerated” in West Texico, Agent? $25,000 v. $18,000? You’re a small-time, little agent who likes to keep his “girls” in line and deludes himself by thinking they actually like and respect him. Believe me, if they have half a brain (but then again they’re from Texico too) they see right through you just like we do. You condescend and puff up your chest all because you happened to be in the right place at the right time to BUY your agency. You didn’t build it from scratch. The previous owner did that. Hoard your pennies, Mizer Man. And take them to the grave with you.
Opie lost all credibility after his military service lie. I just copied and pasted the link to a word document and saved it on my hard drive so his lie so the article can be retrieved at will. To think that scum bag that pays his “gals” poverty level wages accused me of stealing his “moniker”. This POS is such a scumbag, that if he and is dirt bag Neo Con “friends” continue to block everyone from speaking their peace, we will see what the power of social media can do. Ahoy hoy Mr. Burns
It’s typical teajadist behavior. Don’t like what someone says? Flatten them. But it looks like he’s not the only one with a censor button and centipede fingers. But who’s got the time to spend clicking all day long? Oh, that’s right. Agent.
He berates me for posting on here, then not only posts twice as much, but spends hours censoring people with his mouse. Neo-con hypocrisy at it’s finest!
Hey, Agent. Why don’t you go out and sell something instead of counting on your “girls” to write it for you. For nothing! Greedy bastard.
Reality, I am not in a major metroplex area, but I am not in a rural area either with only small mom and pops around. My agency writes a substantial volume of business and are heavier Commercial than Personal, but we do not neglect Personal Lines. We believe in being a full service agent, not just one concentrating on niche business on the Commercial side. I am sorry for your experience with agents. I can’t tell you how many times we send correct info to a big broker only to have them screw it up and either lose it or quote the wrong thing. The same is true with company underwriters. They underwrite with a narrow box, have little common sense, ask dumb questions and we have to hold their hand all the way to the end. There is also a fair amount of turnover in the underwriter ranks and when we get comfortable with one, it is a different one the next week and we often have to start from scratch. We try to be partners with our companies, but I am not meek in letting them know when they are off base. When we have a problem, usually, the regional VP hears about it and appreciates me letting him know so the problem can be remedied.
Hey Reality, I am curious about what constitutes a rural area for an agent to be in. People living in major urban areas probably think any city less than 250,000 population is a rural area. What is your definition of “rural”?
What pisses me off is we lose guys like Robin Williams in this world yet people like Agent grow on trees and due to their lack of birth control, they keep multiplying.
Finally Libby after dozens of hateful emails, we agree on something. Robin Williams was one of a kind and as funny as he was, I liked his serious roles even more. Good Will Hunting, Bi-Centenial Man were classics. He could do almost any role. It is unfortunate about his depression, money troubles and Parkinson’s disease and maybe all of that caused him to give up.
I just fell out of my chair. This is a FIRST and congrats to each of you!! Agent, Libby AND Boogs agree on something and were all very kind in their statements. Congrats, feels good doesn’t it for a change?? Hopefully so! And yes, RIP Robin, finally something I think everyone could agree on! Have a great day to all and stay classy…earth- Ron Burgundy :)
Yes, it took several hundred posts to find something to agree on. If the subject were politics, economy, Obamacare, Obama the President, Government, not so much. They bat from the left side and I bat from the right and we will never agree on any of those subjects.
August 20, 2014 at 4:58 pm
FFA says:
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Not so agent. Libby dont like OBama Care either. I dont recall booger brains opinion, but I never open his comments after they have been censored.
So Booger, in one work oBama Care – Like or Dislike?
August 20, 2014 at 6:16 pm
Agent says:
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Hi FFA. Haven’t heard from you for a week or so. How are your Bears looking in pre-season? Hopefully better than the Cowboys who are still dismal, have no defense at all. If they win any games, it will be by outscoring the opponent.
Regarding Libby, she spent 3 years defending Obamacare until it became hopeless and then started her single payer advocacy. Hmm! All we need is a system like the VA. I am sure that is the answer. If you are waiting for a good answer from Booger on any subject, you will have to give up. He is all about insults and goofy slams against Texas.
August 21, 2014 at 1:58 pm
FFA says:
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Hi Agent… Have not had much time to follow anything f ball. Being a dad again at my age is a challenge. With the move and all in the works…. UGH. The place we targeted got bought out from under us so we are now eyeballing 2000 sq ft 5 bed room 1.5 acres with Deeded access to the river. Heavily wooded area makes the wife happy and we are in a populated subdivision with other kids to play with. A little scary up in that neck of the woods for the two boys. Always seem to be a hick any where we go up there which may be a problem. Medicaide & Nursing home show down with my parent on Friday been consuming a bunch of my time. Medicaide lady been asking a lot of questions about where all their money went to. Not liking the answers either. Little thief brother may get called to task on his dealings in my dads accounts. Life been kicking me hard these days… All that plus been busy in office again. Wrote a bunch of accounts under $5000 premium. Lost a few more-cant pay their bill. Doin HO reviews too. One said ” we are down in TX looking at a house we want to buy. Can you write in TX”? So, another one gone. Biz in this state just sucks.
I know Libby was a defender of ofnbama care, but has changed her tune I think largely because it just sucks – she saw what was in it. Never do expect anything out of booger – his name seems reflective of his brain..,
I am hearing the 2nd string qb out of Notre Dame been ripping up the 2nd stringers he is playing against. According to one of my brothers, Cutler got something to be worried about… We have receiver problems. We picked up one of your throw a ways. We cut a potential receiver that was a stand out on special teams last year. Martellius Bennet got suspended for a while – thinking his s%$# dont stink. But… he is back.
Yes, Martellus Bennett wore out his welcome in Dallas too. He had a history of “no hands” and dropped a lot of balls and he took a vacation blocking as well. Dallas cut Miles Austin and he ended up signing with Cleveland and played some the other night. I am sure before the season he will come down with another pulled hamstring like he did about a dozen times with Dallas.
I hope your family situation straightens up soon and you get it all resolved so you can enjoy your work and family life. The Insurance Business is challenging enough without having a bunch of other things going on. Is your wife’s health doing better? My wife is doing much better with that Spine Stimulator and is doing a lot of rehab at the local health institute. We are scheduled to go on a cruise in September and haven’t had a real vacation in about 20 years since her health has been bad with numerous operations. Hang in their and keep me posted.
Wife has 3 MRI two weeks back. No Surgery. Its the Whip Lash and the knee issue been nagging her daily. I spend at least .5 hour 2 x a day rubbing out knots… She always seems to ask me when I am in the middle of something like last night was helping the boys with home work. Told he I did not want to stop what I was doing as I had them locking in and focused. Of course, she gets pissed at me. I just cant seem to catch any type of a break these days.
I can emphathize with you FFA. Part of the marriage vow is “in sickness and in health”. My wife has had big health issues for most of her adult life. I can’t tell you how many doctors have treated her for various things. I think we have built a couple of doctor’s offices by now. Her rehab from surgeries have been long and difficult and she didn’t have much improvement from them until this Stimulator was put in. She has gone from an 8 on a scale of 1-10 on pain to hovering around 4 or 5. This has freed her up some and she can do more and more things now. Hope your wife keeps improving as well.
Hey FFA, Do you know how to spot a Liberal?
A Liberal is someone who protested against the war in Iraq & Afghanistan until Obama took office. A Liberal is someone who wails against corporate welfare, but thinks it is great that Obama bailed out GM & Chrysler to save union jobs. A Liberal is someone who lives in a gated community, but says a border fence won’t work. A Liberal is someone who thinks Fox News lies, but Obama doesn’t. A Liberal says to a pregnant woman, Don’t Smoke, it will hurt your baby, but tells her is is ok to abort the baby. A Liberal is someone who thinks the Republicans have a war on women, but the Muslim world doesn’t.
Good stuff OA. Let me add to the list.
Its ok for someone to use a tax loop hole if your a dem (OBama)but outrageous if your a Rep (Romney).
Its ok to be a 1% (Billary) if your a Dem, but morally objectionable if your a Rep (Romney).
The Baby & smoking / abortion thing just points out the hypocrisy of these people.
It could also be due to perception caused by advertising. When you hear Pedro Cerrano tell you you’re in good hands a thousand times a day, it starts to get in your head.
LOL – that’s when you say “F You Jobu”
Personally, I like Liberty Mutual’s adds a lot better since they preach personal responsibility. The promise of Allstate that they will save you $496 per year on Auto Insurance is false advertising.
Small busineses are typically not as sophisticated as larger businesses. In most cases they don’t have an employee dedicated solely to insurance. And whoever that person is, it is very likely that they are not an insurance expert. Because of the time they need to commit to other aspects of their job and their lack of sophistication when it comes to insurance, they rarely meet with their underwriters and because of the small premium size they usually develop their underwriters rarely reach out to them. Thsi lack of contact makes iit much more likely they will be unsatisfied. As an underwriter myself, I’ll tell you I’ll meet with any insured who wants to meet me. No matter how knowledgeable or not.
It’s the relationship with the agent, not the underwriter that cements the loyalty.
I will agree with you on this one Libby. The agent is the key. If the agent doesn’t look out for the insured, no one else will. If the customer is written direct, they are just a policy number in a computer and they will get trampled on at some point. The good agent will negotiate with the underwriter and if so, get the unjustified premium increase reduced. If that fails, move the business in order to keep the customer.
I think all parties to the deal matter. A couple jobs ago I insured a major media company through one of the top three brokers. The risk manager loved my boss, but went through 4 or 5 agents at the broker company as she didn’t like any of them. The broker was happy that she liked my boss so much as it helped keep them on the deal. I’ve had plenty of other deals where a personal relationship with the insured helped cement the deal for all of us. I’m not saying the relationship with the agent doesn’t matter, just saying the relationship with the underwriter can help too. There are many brokers out there who like to keep an arms length between their insured and underwriter, that strategy does not usually play out well in the long run.
The only time I have had an underwriter involved in an account is when it was a very large multi-million dollar account and the insured requested it. I’ve had a few where the underwriters were part of the RFP process, too. But for the most part, the agent is the front man with the client. Just sayin.
Hey Libby, how much did your boss pay you for the large call in account that you supposedly wrote for him a while back? Hey, you did all the work on it and should be “entitled” to the commission credit for it.
20%
Good for you Libby. I pay my CSR’s 35% for new, 25% on renewal on business they develop and write. You have a horrible boss cheating you out of your extra 15% commission.
I’m perfectly happy with my deal, Agent. And nobody I know pays CSR’s on renewal business. That’s just stupid.
Oh! And my piece of business was $350,000 at 10%, so I got $7,000. Did I mention I’m perfectly happy with my deal? LOL!!
AND it was just ONE line. Working on picking up the others as we speak. Ta da.
Hey Dave, you know what you get when you put the word “The” and IRS? THEIRS! Is that about right?
You have a horrible boss Libby if he doesn’t pay renewal commission on accounts you developed and sold. Our CSR’s like keeping the business on the books and get that credit each year so they look after the customer, review their needs and it works like magic.
At no agency in 34 years have they paid a CSR on renewal business. They may tie in retention to your annual review and salary increase, but they don’t pay renewal commission. If you do that, you’d better be calling them agents and not CSR’s. There goes your little monopoly on the word! LOL!!!
Libby, you must have had a series of terrible bosses if they didn’t pay you renewal commission on business you developed and wrote and serviced. No wonder you have so much hate in you. Those 1%ers really did a number on you, didn’t they? My CSR’s are all fully licensed to sell and they do. They also are CSR’s and know their business, but they have no desire to be full time producers. By the way, there is more to being an agent than just spouting off insults non stop on this blog.
Agent – I’m every bit an agent as you are and my LICENSE says so.
I think it’s funny how you talk about the 1%ers like you’re one of them. You’ll never be one of them, yet you aspire go be. Your idea of success is money, money, money. Not what kind of husband or father you are, or how well you take care of your employees. You’re happy to have them do all the work and take all the money while you blog away non-stop on IJ and spend hours down-thumbing everyone that disagrees with you.
You’re not a success in my book.
In my book, you have a license you are not a CSR. No license, no renewals.
Dave, the good agent will get with their insured’s and educate them about coverage and the benefits from being protected properly. You are right that many small businesses don’t have someone like a Risk Manager and often we deal with a Controller instead of the President, but we make the effort since we value all our policyholders business. We also make the effort to pick up their Personal Lines and that is gravy since we already have trust with the client. Many larger agencies do not do that to their detriment.
It’s not to our detriment. It’s not our model. We don’t want the P/L. More gravy for you. You ought to be grateful and just shut your mouth.
FFA, Libby alleges she is an agent, not a CSR. I wonder why her boss won’t give her renewal commission on an account she developed. My CSR’s are fully licensed and can sell as well as service accounts. Am I a horrible boss for giving them renewal commissions on things they bring in? They sure seem to appreciate it.
I’m shocked, just shocked, that a drop in premiums equates to some level of an increase in customer satisfaction.
Not surprised that one of the `qualifiers’ wasn’t adequacy of coverage, as that’s largely – no longer an issue. BOP (small business insurance) has become another commodity product, much like soup on the shelf.
@Libby and @Agent
For small commercial, its not the agent who is the influence, but rather the CSR.
Many commercial producers aren’t getting paid for small commercial under $2500 up to $10k in premium in some shops so the CSR is actually the keeper of the relationship.
And depending on where the business is placed, the carrier may operate in a service center environment cutting the agency out of the relationship altogether.
Nuf, perhaps in the larger metro areas, the smaller accounts are turned over to a house account and the CSR may actually write some business and service it. In smaller cities/towns, people generally want to know their agent and deal with them and the CSR plays a support role and services the business. All of our producers get paid on every piece of business they bring in for new and renewal. They also try to pick up the Personal Lines of the account which adds more to the account and shuts out the competition. Everybody has their own methods of growing an agency and if the big boys want to do it their way, fine. We have grown by doing it our way and by cultivating relationships and getting referrals from our customers.
Plus your pastor gives you 1% of the referral tithes that you send him too right?
OK 2%
Yeah. In rural areas the agents are the CSRs. I have been agent, CSR, and secretary to the owner for the past 8 yrs. I do the personal and commercial lines and the owner and the office manager concentrate on our specialty–crop insurance. I AM proud to say that I have increased my side of the business enough that we were able to hire an extra person. That frees me up from a lot of the CSR, but my loyal customers only want to deal with me. I have worked hard to cultivate relationships with my clients that have led to long term customers. I am on straight pay. (I don’t get paid much either way.) But I have a job–and I get a mid-year bonus and an end of the year bonus depending on our profits. These are not usually large bonuses, but I am proud of them.
Good comment Sherinae. I think your owner is making a big mistake not paying you commission on the accounts you are developing, writing and servicing. If you have done enough that the agency had to hire another person, you have written a significant volume. My CSR’s have a straight pay, but do get commission on anything they produce and bring in. I am not talking about “call ins”, but business you go after and bring in. This should be a nice supplement of your income if you are doing this for them. We also pay bonuses at the end of the year, but the commission is far more important.
Don’t forget the end of the year party at McDonald’s, the finest in the county might I add.
Why aren’t they paid on call-ins? They could just as easily blow them off if they don’t get paid for them. Why does it matter how they business got written if they wrote it?
No Libby, people calling in and not asking for a particular agent or CSR are considered house accounts. We do pay CSR’s to do a job for us, market and quote and service. If a CSR like you receives a call in anonymously, I hardly think the owner will give you the commission credit on it. If they ask for you specifically because of a referral customer you helped, I wouldn’t have a problem with that and some of my CSR’s have gotten credit in that situation.
I don’t know anything about the agent side, so I’m asking. Isn’t the amount & type of work the same for the CSR if the call in is anonymous or referred?
Agent – How do you know how the call came in? What does it matter in the long run? So you pay your CSR 20% of 15% of $500 ($15????) Is it going to break your bank? You’re a horrible boss.
I’d send “call-ins” down the road to a competitor before I’d put them on the books for nothing in order to line your pocket, you mizer.
Good comment Sherinae. I think your “OWNER” is making a big…
Notice the word capitalized in the above statement. “OWNER” would imply a master-slave relationship. Look at the “moniker” posting the aforementioned statement and voila!! 2+2=5
Libby, that extra pocket lining goes towards end of the year Happy Meals and a chance to have his name on the ticker on the 700 Club.
@Agent….I can tell by your comments that you are in a rural area and in a small shop. No problem with that, but larger shops put a lot of resources and expertise in large accounts because that is what it takes to win. The agent is not the end all be all and studies show that young people do not see the value in a broker (seriously look it up). There will always be a need for an agent and broker on certain deals, but my experience has been agents want you to tee it up for them and even swing! That is the problem I have with my producers. Get off linkedin, hit the pavement, get referrals, build relationships with carriers because they can help agencies that work with them. I can’t tell you how many times I “eat” mistakes that agencies make. That increase? Believe it or not it is warranted at times. Be a partner and not a roadblock.
Insurance may be considered a “commodity” until the insured needs to file a claim. What protection does the insured have when they buy direct? They are often warned in the small print, that if they want professional advise, they must consult with an Agent. I’m not a Doctor or an Attorney, so I don’t practice medicine or law. A word to the wise, hire an insurance agent. Their advise often comes free with the policy. Direct sellers keep the sales commission, so the insured still pays it and gets nothing in return.
Good one Sharon. I agree whole heartedly that the Independent Agent can do a better job of advising insureds about their insurance protection. Another thing about Direct Writers is that when their offerings turn sour and rates go up, they have nowhere else to go so the customer is twisting in the wind until they find replacement coverage. A good Independent represents many carriers and will shop the market to get the best deal possible. The combination of a good agent and a good CSR can be invaluable.
Good one Captain Obvious (Opie)
Interesting thing about your comment is that most doctors and lawyers could step in and do the job of an insurance agent with minimal training, yet I’d be willing to bet you wouldn’t let your agent friends near your taxes, let alone your will or your body.
How about we come back down to earth Mrs. Tarlek.
Hey Rosado, are you kin to boogereater? Your post seems very similar to the trash he puts out. Doctors are notoriously bad about business matters and only know their profession. Ambulance chasing lawyers have no clue what agents do or how they provide a needed service to their clients. Do the job with minimal training???? Obviously, you aren’t licensed and don’t know about the extensive training agents have to do to obtain and keep their license. How about you coming down to earth idiot!
A lot of judgement in this comment and the comment section overall.
I calls ’em as I sees ’em.
You are correct KY about not knowing how Independent Agents work or write business or how they remunerate their employees. Obviously, some of the other commenters who hate my guts tell me I am a horrible boss for not giving commission credit on anonymous call ins. My employees are paid very well for the duties we ask them to do. If they develop something on their own, fine. We pay them extra commission for new and less for renewals. They don’t seem to have a problem with not getting commission on call ins. They have all been with us for many years and no, they don’t think the owners are horrible bosses. One of my Commercial CSR’s wrote one of those short date call in accounts for a premium of $10,000 last week and put it right into the House Account. She is very highly remunerated, by the way.
What’s “highly remunerated” in West Texico, Agent? $25,000 v. $18,000? You’re a small-time, little agent who likes to keep his “girls” in line and deludes himself by thinking they actually like and respect him. Believe me, if they have half a brain (but then again they’re from Texico too) they see right through you just like we do. You condescend and puff up your chest all because you happened to be in the right place at the right time to BUY your agency. You didn’t build it from scratch. The previous owner did that. Hoard your pennies, Mizer Man. And take them to the grave with you.
Opie lost all credibility after his military service lie. I just copied and pasted the link to a word document and saved it on my hard drive so his lie so the article can be retrieved at will. To think that scum bag that pays his “gals” poverty level wages accused me of stealing his “moniker”. This POS is such a scumbag, that if he and is dirt bag Neo Con “friends” continue to block everyone from speaking their peace, we will see what the power of social media can do. Ahoy hoy Mr. Burns
It’s typical teajadist behavior. Don’t like what someone says? Flatten them. But it looks like he’s not the only one with a censor button and centipede fingers. But who’s got the time to spend clicking all day long? Oh, that’s right. Agent.
He berates me for posting on here, then not only posts twice as much, but spends hours censoring people with his mouse. Neo-con hypocrisy at it’s finest!
Hey, Agent. Why don’t you go out and sell something instead of counting on your “girls” to write it for you. For nothing! Greedy bastard.
$10,000 accounts? Hahahahahaha
Reality, I am not in a major metroplex area, but I am not in a rural area either with only small mom and pops around. My agency writes a substantial volume of business and are heavier Commercial than Personal, but we do not neglect Personal Lines. We believe in being a full service agent, not just one concentrating on niche business on the Commercial side. I am sorry for your experience with agents. I can’t tell you how many times we send correct info to a big broker only to have them screw it up and either lose it or quote the wrong thing. The same is true with company underwriters. They underwrite with a narrow box, have little common sense, ask dumb questions and we have to hold their hand all the way to the end. There is also a fair amount of turnover in the underwriter ranks and when we get comfortable with one, it is a different one the next week and we often have to start from scratch. We try to be partners with our companies, but I am not meek in letting them know when they are off base. When we have a problem, usually, the regional VP hears about it and appreciates me letting him know so the problem can be remedied.
Fair enough. Thanks
Hey Reality, I am curious about what constitutes a rural area for an agent to be in. People living in major urban areas probably think any city less than 250,000 population is a rural area. What is your definition of “rural”?
Rural = any town in West Texico.
Libby, I was talking to Reality, not a liberal insulting troll like you or Booger or Planet.
What pisses me off is we lose guys like Robin Williams in this world yet people like Agent grow on trees and due to their lack of birth control, they keep multiplying.
Rest in Peace, Robin Williams. You were the funniest man that ever was. You will be missed.
Finally Libby after dozens of hateful emails, we agree on something. Robin Williams was one of a kind and as funny as he was, I liked his serious roles even more. Good Will Hunting, Bi-Centenial Man were classics. He could do almost any role. It is unfortunate about his depression, money troubles and Parkinson’s disease and maybe all of that caused him to give up.
Good Will Hunting is an amazing movie
I just fell out of my chair. This is a FIRST and congrats to each of you!! Agent, Libby AND Boogs agree on something and were all very kind in their statements. Congrats, feels good doesn’t it for a change?? Hopefully so! And yes, RIP Robin, finally something I think everyone could agree on! Have a great day to all and stay classy…earth- Ron Burgundy :)
Yes, it took several hundred posts to find something to agree on. If the subject were politics, economy, Obamacare, Obama the President, Government, not so much. They bat from the left side and I bat from the right and we will never agree on any of those subjects.
Not so agent. Libby dont like OBama Care either. I dont recall booger brains opinion, but I never open his comments after they have been censored.
So Booger, in one work oBama Care – Like or Dislike?
Hi FFA. Haven’t heard from you for a week or so. How are your Bears looking in pre-season? Hopefully better than the Cowboys who are still dismal, have no defense at all. If they win any games, it will be by outscoring the opponent.
Regarding Libby, she spent 3 years defending Obamacare until it became hopeless and then started her single payer advocacy. Hmm! All we need is a system like the VA. I am sure that is the answer. If you are waiting for a good answer from Booger on any subject, you will have to give up. He is all about insults and goofy slams against Texas.
Hi Agent… Have not had much time to follow anything f ball. Being a dad again at my age is a challenge. With the move and all in the works…. UGH. The place we targeted got bought out from under us so we are now eyeballing 2000 sq ft 5 bed room 1.5 acres with Deeded access to the river. Heavily wooded area makes the wife happy and we are in a populated subdivision with other kids to play with. A little scary up in that neck of the woods for the two boys. Always seem to be a hick any where we go up there which may be a problem. Medicaide & Nursing home show down with my parent on Friday been consuming a bunch of my time. Medicaide lady been asking a lot of questions about where all their money went to. Not liking the answers either. Little thief brother may get called to task on his dealings in my dads accounts. Life been kicking me hard these days… All that plus been busy in office again. Wrote a bunch of accounts under $5000 premium. Lost a few more-cant pay their bill. Doin HO reviews too. One said ” we are down in TX looking at a house we want to buy. Can you write in TX”? So, another one gone. Biz in this state just sucks.
I know Libby was a defender of ofnbama care, but has changed her tune I think largely because it just sucks – she saw what was in it. Never do expect anything out of booger – his name seems reflective of his brain..,
I am hearing the 2nd string qb out of Notre Dame been ripping up the 2nd stringers he is playing against. According to one of my brothers, Cutler got something to be worried about… We have receiver problems. We picked up one of your throw a ways. We cut a potential receiver that was a stand out on special teams last year. Martellius Bennet got suspended for a while – thinking his s%$# dont stink. But… he is back.
Yes, Martellus Bennett wore out his welcome in Dallas too. He had a history of “no hands” and dropped a lot of balls and he took a vacation blocking as well. Dallas cut Miles Austin and he ended up signing with Cleveland and played some the other night. I am sure before the season he will come down with another pulled hamstring like he did about a dozen times with Dallas.
I hope your family situation straightens up soon and you get it all resolved so you can enjoy your work and family life. The Insurance Business is challenging enough without having a bunch of other things going on. Is your wife’s health doing better? My wife is doing much better with that Spine Stimulator and is doing a lot of rehab at the local health institute. We are scheduled to go on a cruise in September and haven’t had a real vacation in about 20 years since her health has been bad with numerous operations. Hang in their and keep me posted.
Wife has 3 MRI two weeks back. No Surgery. Its the Whip Lash and the knee issue been nagging her daily. I spend at least .5 hour 2 x a day rubbing out knots… She always seems to ask me when I am in the middle of something like last night was helping the boys with home work. Told he I did not want to stop what I was doing as I had them locking in and focused. Of course, she gets pissed at me. I just cant seem to catch any type of a break these days.
I can emphathize with you FFA. Part of the marriage vow is “in sickness and in health”. My wife has had big health issues for most of her adult life. I can’t tell you how many doctors have treated her for various things. I think we have built a couple of doctor’s offices by now. Her rehab from surgeries have been long and difficult and she didn’t have much improvement from them until this Stimulator was put in. She has gone from an 8 on a scale of 1-10 on pain to hovering around 4 or 5. This has freed her up some and she can do more and more things now. Hope your wife keeps improving as well.
Hey FFA, Do you know how to spot a Liberal?
A Liberal is someone who protested against the war in Iraq & Afghanistan until Obama took office. A Liberal is someone who wails against corporate welfare, but thinks it is great that Obama bailed out GM & Chrysler to save union jobs. A Liberal is someone who lives in a gated community, but says a border fence won’t work. A Liberal is someone who thinks Fox News lies, but Obama doesn’t. A Liberal says to a pregnant woman, Don’t Smoke, it will hurt your baby, but tells her is is ok to abort the baby. A Liberal is someone who thinks the Republicans have a war on women, but the Muslim world doesn’t.
Good stuff OA. Let me add to the list.
Its ok for someone to use a tax loop hole if your a dem (OBama)but outrageous if your a Rep (Romney).
Its ok to be a 1% (Billary) if your a Dem, but morally objectionable if your a Rep (Romney).
The Baby & smoking / abortion thing just points out the hypocrisy of these people.