P&C Vs. L&H

[cjones]

I am considering getting into the insurance industry and was just curious which is better to get into, p&c or life and health. I will probably go captive for a while to gain some experience and make a base to help pay the bills. I am kind of leaning toward p&c for a few reasons:

1) everyone needs it
2) Ive heard there is a reason most people are shopping their health ins, ie, prexisting condition or no one else will insure them
3) Who knows how the fed gov is gonna change health ins in the future.

I also realize p&c has lower commisions and premiums which requires you to sell more so im unsure what to do. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[oicu812nbama]

they are two different worlds to me. the verdict is out for the long run, but in the begging I would start with PnC captive if thats an option. Develope your sells skills and then try life, health, investment. you can form your own opinion from there. I think anyone who can smile can sell pnc. other story with other products. Read a book on closing skills, its an art that is fun once mastered. My two cents
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also. learn sells skills face to face instead of over the phone. when your good, you can do it over the phone. your closing ratio will still be better face to face tho

 

[LAL]

I am considering getting into the insurance industry and was just curious which is better to get into, p&c or life and health. I will probably go captive for a while to gain some experience and make a base to help pay the bills. I am kind of leaning toward p&c for a few reasons:

1) everyone needs it
2) Ive heard there is a reason most people are shopping their health ins, ie, prexisting condition or no one else will insure them
3) Who knows how the fed gov is gonna change health ins in the future.

I also realize p&c has lower commisions and premiums which requires you to sell more so im unsure what to do. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I'm in the same boat as you are. (Also, brand new and hesitant about which one to start with) You have 3 very valid points IMO for choosing P&C over L&H. From researching companies, types of insurance, and talking to people in the industry...I've pretty much come to the same conclusion. P&C seems to be the better route for newbies in the industry, as oicu812nbama said. Good Luck!

 

[NCAgent]

I'm in the same boat as you are. (Also, brand new and hesitant about which one to start with) You have 3 very valid points IMO for choosing P&C over L&H. From researching companies, types of insurance, and talking to people in the industry...I've pretty much come to the same conclusion. P&C seems to be the better route for newbies in the industry, as oicu812nbama said. Good Luck!

P&C is a lot more of a "patience game" than L&H. For life you can sell a policy within 30 days, get a few hundred bucks for it (maybe a grand or more depending on the premium) and you are done. You get a lot of commission up front. If you are hurting to pay bills, I think doing life is better to do first IMO.

P&C is about building up a legacy over time and there is a VERY strong learning curve there. So be patient with it. I started in P&C and I can tell you this from experience- be prepared to be in the negative with your monthly expenses/income for about the first year or so, two or more depending on growth and your needs.

 

[LAL]

P&C is a lot more of a "patience game" than L&H. For life you can sell a policy within 30 days, get a few hundred bucks for it (maybe a grand or more depending on the premium) and you are done. You get a lot of commission up front. If you are hurting to pay bills, I think doing life is better to do first IMO.

P&C is about building up a legacy over time and there is a VERY strong learning curve there. So be patient with it. I started in P&C and I can tell you this from experience- be prepared to be in the negative with your monthly expenses/income for about the first year or so, two or more depending on growth and your needs.

Thanks for the input.

Question- Do you think L&H is much more difficult to understand than P&C for someone just starting out in insurance?

 

[NCAgent]

Thanks for the input.

Question- Do you think L&H is much more difficult to understand than P&C for someone just starting out in insurance?

That is very open-ended. I think you need to focus on what you want to do first. P&C can be home, auto, or BUSINESS insurance which is filled with sub-fields.

L&H can be life insurance, health insurance, disability, voluntary benefits like AFLAC, annuities and retirement, and things of that nature.

Either way you will be overwhelmed unless you pick something you want to focus in.

I think that if you focus on term insurance or WL first, that would suit you well. For P&C focus on home and auto and nothing else for a bit. Between the two I think doing life for term and WL would be better. No offense to the L&H people but I feel that is going to be a lot easier than P&C for home and auto since you really focus with the life insurance as "what happens when you die" rather than potential risks of covering a claim or not in P&C. There are more unknowns in P&C than L&H and more gray lines, IMO.

For example, in life insurance you talk about the NOW and the FUTURE with term insurance such as convertibility. WL you talk about the guarantees and some cash value options IF people are interested- I don't talk about it a whole lot, I just talk about guaranteed rates for their entire life. P&C depending on the policy you don't know if a client's leaky roof is a covered cause for damaged contents and etc. What if you lend someone a car and they drive it? See what I mean? There is a reason why P&C is a little harder to break into than L&H and why the E&O is a lot more expensive.

 

[donamese]

Having done both, P&C was easier to sell as it is a requirement where as life and health (at the current time) is an optional insurance. Problem with P&C is it is very much a commodity based insurance where people will just shop the cheapest rate. With life insurance there are a variety of products with different specs and you can move between those to get the client the best value for their money.

 

[LAL]

That is very open-ended. I think you need to focus on what you want to do first. P&C can be home, auto, or BUSINESS insurance which is filled with sub-fields.

L&H can be life insurance, health insurance, disability, voluntary benefits like AFLAC, annuities and retirement, and things of that nature.

Either way you will be overwhelmed unless you pick something you want to focus in.

I think that if you focus on term insurance or WL first, that would suit you well. For P&C focus on home and auto and nothing else for a bit. Between the two I think doing life for term and WL would be better. No offense to the L&H people but I feel that is going to be a lot easier than P&C for home and auto since you really focus with the life insurance as "what happens when you die" rather than potential risks of covering a claim or not in P&C. There are more unknowns in P&C than L&H and more gray lines, IMO.

For example, in life insurance you talk about the NOW and the FUTURE with term insurance such as convertibility. WL you talk about the guarantees and some cash value options IF people are interested- I don't talk about it a whole lot, I just talk about guaranteed rates for their entire life. P&C depending on the policy you don't know if a client's leaky roof is a covered cause for damaged contents and etc. What if you lend someone a car and they drive it? See what I mean? There is a reason why P&C is a little harder to break into than L&H and why the E&O is a lot more expensive.

Having done both, P&C was easier to sell as it is a requirement where as life and health (at the current time) is an optional insurance. Problem with P&C is it is very much a commodity based insurance where people will just shop the cheapest rate. With life insurance there are a variety of products with different specs and you can move between those to get the client the best value for their money.

Thank You both for taking time to explain the major differences and potential difficulties with each type of insurance. Obviously this is the first big step is to choose which direction I want to go in, and I want to make the right decision. So, after reading your comments I researched life insurance a good bit more than I had before & discovered an area that would best fit my values, strength, passions etc. I was not aware until now that Employee benefits, retirement, college savings for children, etc. were part of this type of insurance. Thanks to you guys....I now have a much much better idea of what I truly would like to do!