Mass Mutual or Mutual of Omaha
- Thread starter djstat
- Start date
Go with the company that has the strongest local office and that will have someone who can be a mentor.
I don't know much about what MOO is offering, but I'd be blown away to discover that it's going to be a better deal than what Mass is offering.
Mass has a financing plan to get you started. You'll have vested renewals (not entirely sure of all the details in terms of vesting schedule, if one even exists). And semi-capitive is probably a good way to put it. You'll have the ability to broker business with other companies while being a Massmutual agent. You're GA and sales manager might not be wildly enthusiastic about it, but they also don't need to be that involved in that part of your life.
Mass has a financing plan to get you started. You'll have vested renewals (not entirely sure of all the details in terms of vesting schedule, if one even exists). And semi-capitive is probably a good way to put it. You'll have the ability to broker business with other companies while being a Massmutual agent. You're GA and sales manager might not be wildly enthusiastic about it, but they also don't need to be that involved in that part of your life.
You're looking at two good companies. Of the two, Mass Mutual probably has a better overall reputation and product mix, and would give you the opportunity to expand your business down the road with their investment side. It (and its target market) is a little higher-end than Mutual of Omaha, so you need to decide the level of sophistication you're comfortable with.
HOWEVER, xrac nails it above - local management is absolutely key. You need to find out (maybe by asking the agents) about how helpful and supportive the manager and the office are going to be. Anyone can claim anything, so you need to play private investigator and find out the truth.
Good luck!
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HOWEVER, xrac nails it above - local management is absolutely key. You need to find out (maybe by asking the agents) about how helpful and supportive the manager and the office are going to be. Anyone can claim anything, so you need to play private investigator and find out the truth.
Good luck!
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- 437
Good points about Mass vs MOO....
djstat, do you want to do just insurance or does investments interest you as well? If so I think Mass is your clear winner here.
I have a close relationship with the local Mass general agency and I must say, I am pretty impressed with the contract and the relationship that these guys have with Mass. Over 50% of the agencys advisors are detached in their own offices operating completely under their own DBA's. One of the producers is a very close friend of mine, he shared with me that Mass gets 'about half' of the premium he writes on an annual basis. He also claims that this is very common within the detached producers in his agency.
Going back to a point that someone else made here, this goes back to the General Agent. If you have a forward thinking GA like this who gives you the independence to run your own practice....then thats gotta be one of your deciding factors.
djstat, do you want to do just insurance or does investments interest you as well? If so I think Mass is your clear winner here.
I have a close relationship with the local Mass general agency and I must say, I am pretty impressed with the contract and the relationship that these guys have with Mass. Over 50% of the agencys advisors are detached in their own offices operating completely under their own DBA's. One of the producers is a very close friend of mine, he shared with me that Mass gets 'about half' of the premium he writes on an annual basis. He also claims that this is very common within the detached producers in his agency.
Going back to a point that someone else made here, this goes back to the General Agent. If you have a forward thinking GA like this who gives you the independence to run your own practice....then thats gotta be one of your deciding factors.
- 11,075
Both are good companies and as stated before, the local management team is the largest factor in your success. Ask lots of questions about the training program, and how much support you will have in the field.
Mass does have "higher end" products, but MoO has a wider variety of products. This may, or may not make a difference to you.
MoO is more competitive on rates and easier on underwriting too.
WL is the go to permanent product at Mass. UL is the go to permanent product at MoO. Neither excels in the other.
In the first 3 years (it might be two at MoO) they both allow you to broker business other than theirs, the only catch is that it usually has to be noncompeting business (meaning a product that they dont offer, or the client has been declined by them).
After the three year training period you are free to broker whatever you like as long as you meet your quotas with their products.
Both offer a financial plan during training (commission bonus/draw/training allowance/etc) whatever it is called by them it is a certain percentage of paid commissions up to a certain monthly/quarterly/yearly cap.
I have a friend who is a manager at MoO. Last he told me they had higher training bonuses than Mass. I know they where higher than NYL. But for some reason I want to say they only last for two years, not three like Mass.
Both allow you to get into investments. But most any captive shop screws you on your B/D business. And most require you to keep your B/D with them.
Mass does have "higher end" products, but MoO has a wider variety of products. This may, or may not make a difference to you.
MoO is more competitive on rates and easier on underwriting too.
WL is the go to permanent product at Mass. UL is the go to permanent product at MoO. Neither excels in the other.
In the first 3 years (it might be two at MoO) they both allow you to broker business other than theirs, the only catch is that it usually has to be noncompeting business (meaning a product that they dont offer, or the client has been declined by them).
After the three year training period you are free to broker whatever you like as long as you meet your quotas with their products.
Both offer a financial plan during training (commission bonus/draw/training allowance/etc) whatever it is called by them it is a certain percentage of paid commissions up to a certain monthly/quarterly/yearly cap.
I have a friend who is a manager at MoO. Last he told me they had higher training bonuses than Mass. I know they where higher than NYL. But for some reason I want to say they only last for two years, not three like Mass.
Both allow you to get into investments. But most any captive shop screws you on your B/D business. And most require you to keep your B/D with them.
- Thread starter
- #8
lifetri
New Member
I just finished making the decision between these 2 companies. It was a hard decision. I ended up choosing MoO. I did that based on the local management and their attitude. I liked both, but I just got a better feeling about the MoO office. I read thru the forum to find everything I could, but the opinions were split. The MoO office is smaller, and I feel I will get the support I need and want, not the support that management thinks I need. Probably the biggest difference I found, was at Mass, you would be a W2 employee, while at MoO you will be 1099. Office expenses were higher with Mass also. Good luck with the decision.
- 1,459
You can be successful at either company, it's all on you. Do your research, look at local management very carefully, make a decision, then the work begins.
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