Got a call from a recruiter about joining Met Life. The recruiter informed me that Met Life has a lead system, training, benefits for health insurance (they pay 65%), and they also give you an allowance for your office and expenses. Has anybody recently been through their training and program? Does their lead system have you starting off with a 100 names of your closest friends and then after that they hand you the phone book? What are the pros and cons of working with Met Life? Just thought I would get some input before I drove off a cliff. Thanks.
Thinking About Met Life
- Thread starter dallas1
- Start date
- 8,707
Never worked for Met Life, however have had recruiter from Met and Metlife Resources (the 403(b) division) try and recruit me, My recollection is it is possible to be assigned a book of business from them. Neither division ever mentioned leads and the turn off for me was the local manager for Metlife emcouraged me to do joint calls with him and sell products under a house account while I was still under a captive contract it sounded to sleazy and unethical for me and the direct supervisor they wanted to assign me had just come from the LTC division had never worked the field and was not knowledgable about products except the LTC products.
- 11,589
If you rely on ANY company for generating your leads, you will be bitterly disappointed.
Metlife does have some strength for a new agent. I interviewed with an office about 1 1/2 years ago.
Leads: Metlife is one of the largest insurers in the country. You might get a couple of leads per WEEK. I wouldn't rely on these leads to qualify for your initial salary benefit or for growing your practice.
Salary: If you qualify, you can get up to $1,300 per week of salary benefits for your first 19 weeks. How do you qualify? Submit $20,000 in business within 30 days. It doesn't have to be placed or paid... but you'd be stupid to submit business that you expect to NOT be paid on.
Expenses: The office I interviewed at said that their new agents don't pay for ANY office expenses for their first 18 months. I don't know what's totally included in this - except E&O, cubicle rent & telephone.
Compensation: You touched on the 65% GDC payout (yes, even insurance is paid as GDC), but do you know how they pay it out to you? All commissions go into an "account" and you get 10% of the balance of that account paid to you every week. So, if you sell a $20k commission case, you'll get $2k per week until that $20k is completely paid out. Advantage: You have a buffer in the event of a charge-back. Disadvantage: Your "Metlife big brother" is managing your finances, cash flow and revenue instead of you.
Culture & Philosophy: You must be securities licensed to be affiliated with Metlife. You are encouraged to be more of a financial planner instead of a life insurance agent. Nothing wrong with that... just not for me.
If I remember right, I think Metlife is one of the few carriers that offer a VA with good living benefits? I'm no longer securities licensed, but this was something that was brought up in my meeting with Metlife.
How many "super-producers" can you think of that work with Metlife? Only Medhi comes to my mind. There are MANY more high-end producers with New York Life & Northwestern Mutual.
BTW, you can build your own brand within Metlife - your own DBA or corporate entity.
It may be a decent place to get some training and then decide if staying is worthwhile for you or not.
If you decide to leave, be prepared to surrender all commissions in your "commission pool" as a cost of training. I've read about that happening before.
Metlife does have some strength for a new agent. I interviewed with an office about 1 1/2 years ago.
Leads: Metlife is one of the largest insurers in the country. You might get a couple of leads per WEEK. I wouldn't rely on these leads to qualify for your initial salary benefit or for growing your practice.
Salary: If you qualify, you can get up to $1,300 per week of salary benefits for your first 19 weeks. How do you qualify? Submit $20,000 in business within 30 days. It doesn't have to be placed or paid... but you'd be stupid to submit business that you expect to NOT be paid on.
Expenses: The office I interviewed at said that their new agents don't pay for ANY office expenses for their first 18 months. I don't know what's totally included in this - except E&O, cubicle rent & telephone.
Compensation: You touched on the 65% GDC payout (yes, even insurance is paid as GDC), but do you know how they pay it out to you? All commissions go into an "account" and you get 10% of the balance of that account paid to you every week. So, if you sell a $20k commission case, you'll get $2k per week until that $20k is completely paid out. Advantage: You have a buffer in the event of a charge-back. Disadvantage: Your "Metlife big brother" is managing your finances, cash flow and revenue instead of you.
Culture & Philosophy: You must be securities licensed to be affiliated with Metlife. You are encouraged to be more of a financial planner instead of a life insurance agent. Nothing wrong with that... just not for me.
If I remember right, I think Metlife is one of the few carriers that offer a VA with good living benefits? I'm no longer securities licensed, but this was something that was brought up in my meeting with Metlife.
How many "super-producers" can you think of that work with Metlife? Only Medhi comes to my mind. There are MANY more high-end producers with New York Life & Northwestern Mutual.
BTW, you can build your own brand within Metlife - your own DBA or corporate entity.
It may be a decent place to get some training and then decide if staying is worthwhile for you or not.
If you decide to leave, be prepared to surrender all commissions in your "commission pool" as a cost of training. I've read about that happening before.
G
Guest
Guest
I actually took MetLife up on their offer a few years ago (3.5). They never provided ke with leads, but they did reimburse me for purchased leads as well as half of my advertising. They also reimbursed my office expense every month and provided me with $1,200 a month + commission. However, it comes with strings attached like any other favor that companies provide. I was pressured to sell and harassed by my superior when customers began canceling policies. Metlife's products are expensive and customers find out sooner or later and leave to go with more affordable carriers. I ended up leaving after about 7 months. I became independent. It was tough to be alone in the business, but things have improved and MetLife allowed me to gain experience and helped pay expenses. It was not a horrible experience and is a good place to begin. You will be better off with other companies like Allstate or State Farm if you want to start with a book of business and get better support.
- 11,589
Forgot to sell yourself as part of the policy package?
Allstate and State Farm are P&C shops, not life & planning firms. Premiums for both companies are also high.
If you're going to succeed as an agent, it doesn't matter the PRICE of the policy. You must sell yourself as the "free add-on" for their purchasing the policy you recommend.
If you live and breathe by price, you will lose and die by price.
"How much would you pay to have someone to run your financial ideas by, who has 6+ years of experience in both investment and insurance matters, who has passed college-level courses in financial planning and has helped hundreds of people in similar situations as yours?
You get me for FREE when you buy this policy! AND I'll be in touch with you to show you how to pay as little as possible for your insurance over time - even have the company give you back all your premiums if we design the package properly!"
Note: If you can't say the above, but you're part of a FIRM or a COMPANY that can help - then you can say that you REPRESENT a firm that has the following talent available. They get you AND your entire firm - and the best recommendations that your FIRM can give.
bmobini7 - this isn't meant to pick on you... but to add value to the perceptions that exist out there. Your story is fairly commonplace and the perception is real.
Met definitely has an orphan program, and that's the leads they are talking about. All orphans very in terms of quality, but it's a decent way to start.
Met isn't a bad company, and you could learn a lot from them. Getting out will be a bit of a PITA depending on how well you do while you are there.
Met isn't a bad company, and you could learn a lot from them. Getting out will be a bit of a PITA depending on how well you do while you are there.
Re: Thinking About Met Lifi
You could earn a decent paycheck and get trained while working their orphans and they have enough orphans to keep you busy for years. If you work them.
** Orphans are pretty much the best leads your going to get your hands on outside of refferals.
You could earn a decent paycheck and get trained while working their orphans and they have enough orphans to keep you busy for years. If you work them.
** Orphans are pretty much the best leads your going to get your hands on outside of refferals.
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MetLife
Three words: DON'T DO IT ! ! !
There are no leads, they are "orphans" that they expect you to take over administratively. The orphans have no need for further financial planning so earning any GDC on an existing customer is unlikely. The 68% payout is completely over emphasized as there are so many restrictions in the first 3 years, and the actual pay to you on that 68% over the "draw" is completely at your manager's discretion. So even if you've earned the money, they don't have to pay you and trust me, they won't! Also, I pay all my own expenses-everything. Copies, computer, phone, licenses, mail...they don't pay for anything! The pressure to sell is completely unrealsitic if you want real clients, not just a sale and in my office, the recruiter is under just as much pressure to get new agents. Not a great place to call home if you are looking to move. Oh, one more thing, as of January, you will also be charged for the "leads" they force you to take that count against you!
Your initial instincts are correct. Good catch.
Three words: DON'T DO IT ! ! !
There are no leads, they are "orphans" that they expect you to take over administratively. The orphans have no need for further financial planning so earning any GDC on an existing customer is unlikely. The 68% payout is completely over emphasized as there are so many restrictions in the first 3 years, and the actual pay to you on that 68% over the "draw" is completely at your manager's discretion. So even if you've earned the money, they don't have to pay you and trust me, they won't! Also, I pay all my own expenses-everything. Copies, computer, phone, licenses, mail...they don't pay for anything! The pressure to sell is completely unrealsitic if you want real clients, not just a sale and in my office, the recruiter is under just as much pressure to get new agents. Not a great place to call home if you are looking to move. Oh, one more thing, as of January, you will also be charged for the "leads" they force you to take that count against you!
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Your initial instincts are correct. Good catch.
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I worked for Metlife from 2006-2008, and we did receive leads other than the orphan leads everyone else is talking about. They gave me a orphan book of business, and also set up a mailbox in which I would receive leads several times a week. They were hot (want to buy now, new client), warm (term conversion...ect), cold (somebody called for a beneficiary change, ect). This may vary in certain cities/offices, but they do or did at least, provide you with leads other than the orphan book of business.
They do provide leads other than the orphan book...at least they did to me. It was an E lead account in which I received hot, warm, cold leads a few times a week. You cannot make a living off of these, and a lot of times they were crap, but they did in fact provide them, at no charge. I guess a lot of this depends on which city/office you are in and how bad they need someone. I did not pay for office space, copies or any of that. Now this was 2 years ago, and I am sure things have changed, but this was my experience.
