Have You Ever Tried to Sell Insurance?

What I've recently learned is that selling health insurance isn't easy. It can be even harder depending upon the agency that you decide to work for. Recently after moving to Georgia, I decided to try to sell health insurance after finally getting a nibble off of my resume on career builder. The experience has been interesting to say the least.

First of all, if you are going to start being an agent for health insurance, know that you will need to pay for you own license for most firms that you can be appointed to. Some firms will put out the cash to license a new person, but you will most likely need to be able to show a strong track record in sales before hand. In Georgia, you can do a temporary license but then you can only be appointed to one underwriting company. This might only be an issue if you are trying to work with a large brokerage where they use multiple underwriting companies.

If you need to be appointed to more than one company in the beginning, then you will need to go straight for your permanent license. In Georgia this requires a 40 hour state approved course as well as passing the state exam. Probably the cheapest way to take the course is online but you really should look at the passing rate of the company you decide to go with. The course to become a life and health agent isn't the hard part - the hard part is passing the state licensing exam. Spending 20 or 40 more dollars for a reputable course is always going to be better than having to take your exam more than once. Each time you attempt the state life and health licensing exam you have to pay the exam sitting fee so it is obviously to your advantage to pass the test the first time around.

So after obtaining my temporary license for Georgia and being appointed to the underwriting company, I started training with Healthmarkets. Now I have to say that overall the insurance offered through Midwest is quality insurance, but the office that I am working with is less than professional in my opinion. And it was sad too because private health insurance is so vital to the self-employed and mom-pop business owners. Without health insurance, your business becomes your health plan and one major hospital stay will wipe you out.

After being with the company only a few weeks, the only ethical trainer in the office was let go. This has put a serious halt to my learning process as far as selling health insurance. At this point, who knows whether or not I will continue with the company. Every office I've ever been in has its own set of drama and stresses. But in many ways, this office is outrageous.