New Senate report on agent commissions

I dont follow.

That is obvious.

I see people complaining about the marketing money IMOs receive.

You're getting there…

If an agent is not getting a cut of that from their IMO. They should ask for it.

… but you still miss the point somehow. When did anyone say they weren't getting marketing money?!?

Or find a new IMO that doesnt force them to ask for it.

OOOR… eliminate marketing money and increase commissions to account for those costs… kinda like the rule that was already proposed???? That way it's distributed evenly and fairly, and you don't have to ask an FMO to do the one thing they actually do that provides any value.
 
1. Provide top commission rates commensurate with production and support.

Really??? Perry sure FMO's are incentivized to do the opposite. That's why you keep saying you have to ask for these things. Less they have to pay out, the more they keep as profit. It's how the system is set up…

2. Provide product support, product training, regulatory updates, & guidance on cases.

You listed this second but this is what FMO's do the least and it's usually redundant to what the carrier provides in most cases.

3. Provide marketing support. Dollars. Systems. Ideas. etc.

Ideas?!? lol… Systems? You mean enrollment platforms like sunfire?? lol… The only ongoing marketing support FMO's provide is the money. Which you have to ask for and continually negotiate.

FMO's in no way provide enough value to justify how much they are paid to be essentially recruiters.
 
A pretty important thing to remember here is that FMO's are technically working as a distribution partner for carriers. Any agent incentives they offer are to create more distribution for the carrier so the carrier pays them more money. Feel about that how you will but, that is the function of an FMO. Not to provide value to an agent.

That said, some FMO's are in it to make a lot of money and not add value to their agents. Some would rather add value to their agents and be compensated by the carrier for doing so.

As far as the huge OR dollars being reported, I assure you those are for the Integrities and Amerilifes of the world. They keep a cut of that and pass it down to their partner FMOs. From there, those partner FMOs pass it down to agents or other FMOs that are underneath them. Sometimes you can have 5 or more layers of FMO before you reach an agent. That is where I see the problem. The reason Integrity can exist is because carriers are paying for that kind of distribution channel.

There are a lot of different FMOs that do a lot of different things. You should find one that does what you need it to do. In NC I am competing against a few other FMOs that do different things. One pays and sets up welcome to Medicare meetings for new agents. Another just pays out a ton of override and has their own platform that does ACA and Medicare. The 2 others I run into don't do much of anything.

We provide all of the baseline stuff everyone else does but we like to have personal relationships with our agents, we have set OR tiers so no one has to come and ask us for extra comp, we have clear contracts with time limits on when we provide releases (not that we do it all that often), and we are direct with 90% of our carriers and are not rolled up under any other upline. Some people want that and some don't care.

You can be upset about how the model is set up but wouldn't it be better to know that it's not going to change and you should find the relationship that works for you?
 
You can be upset about how the model is set up but wouldn't it be better to know that it's not going to change and you should find the relationship that works for you?

No it wouldn't be better. The status quo is only better for the FMO. That's why they fought the rule change but have been quiet on pretty much much every other change.
 
It's also ironic that the biggest beneficiary of the current system is one of the loudest opponents. Dino, you owe your entire success to marketing money and violating Medicare rules.

You have no room to complain about anything.
 
In a perfect system an FMO pays to get an agent licensed and appointed (and continues to pay for that) trains and helps agents become compliant. At first an FMO gives them a leads list and teaches them how to be a dog out there. FMO can take all the overrides until all training and licensing fees have been recouped and the FMO has made a profit. Once a profit is made then the agent starts to get 75% of the override, and has to pay for licensing and training and appointments themselves. That is how an FMO should work. But then they wouldn't have money to pay a bloated staff. FMO's in its current form is a Ponzi scheme. My FMO has never paid a darn thing for me. If I have a question though they will refer me to there website.
 
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Really??? Perry sure FMO's are incentivized to do the opposite. That's why you keep saying you have to ask for these things. Less they have to pay out, the more they keep as profit. It's how the system is set up…



You listed this second but this is what FMO's do the least and it's usually redundant to what the carrier provides in most cases.



Ideas?!? lol… Systems? You mean enrollment platforms like sunfire?? lol… The only ongoing marketing support FMO's provide is the money. Which you have to ask for and continually negotiate.

FMO's in no way provide enough value to justify how much they are paid to be essentially recruiters.

If you can do it better. Go start your own IMO....

Until then, you are just another jaded agent who complains and does nothing to improve their position.
 
No it wouldn't be better. The status quo is only better for the FMO. That's why they fought the rule change but have been quiet on pretty much much every other change.
This assumes that all FMOs are the same. They are not. Status quo is better for the giant FMOs.

Honestly, the best thing for my business would be if they made a rule that all FMOs make the same override and cut it. Integrity would fold in an instant because the model wouldn't be sustainable.
 
In a perfect system an FMO pays to get an agent licensed and appointed (and continues to pay for that) trains and helps agents become compliant. At first an FMO gives them a leads list and teaches them how to be a dog out there. FMO can take all the overrides until all training and licensing fees have been recouped and the FMO has made a profit. Once a profit is made then the agent starts to get 75% of the override, and has to pay for licensing and training and appointments themselves. That is how an FMO should work. But then they wouldn't have money to pay a bloated staff. FMO's in its current form is a Ponzi scheme. My FMO has never paid a darn thing for me. If I have a question though they will refer me to there website.
You are missing that FMOs are not just for new agents. Some are good for new agents and some are better for seasoned agents that don't need the handholding but they need other support.

There are also other tasks and FMO performs for a carrier outside of appointments.
 
If you can do it better. Go start your own IMO....
That's not the point (but you don't seem keen on grasping it). The point is that CURRENT FMO's provide little value to the agent. Me becoming an FMO doesn't change that.

Until then, you are just another jaded agent who complains and does nothing to improve their position.
You must enjoy missing the point and constantly being wrong.
 

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