4 Reasons to Start Your Own Insurance Agency

Are you an entrepreneur looking for a great business idea? Do you have a knack for sales but just haven’t found the right product? Consider selling insurance from your own insurance agency. Insurance is an easy career to start and a lucrative career over the long term. It’s relatively easy to learn and get licensed in most states.

Here’s a few reasons why selling insurance might be a great career for you.

There is No Shelf Life for Your Product

If the idea of sales excites you, but you are not sure what to sell, it’s important to think about the pros and cons for various products that you might offer. For example, opening a restaurant might sound like fun, but there are challenges that make it a hard career to succeed in. Not only do you have to advertise your business and get customers in the door, but you must also worry about the shelf life of the food stored in your refrigerators and freezers.

Food spoils, so you will always be under pressure to get people in the door before your inventory needs to be thrown out. Insurance products, on the other hand, have no shelf life and won’t spoil if you don’t sell the policy tonight. Prospective clients can take their time reviewing your product. If they get back to you next week, that policy will still be valid and available.

Insurance is an Educational Sale

Nearly everyone needs to buy insurance for their homes, cars, lives, and health among other things. This gives you an opportunity to sell something that doesn’t take a lot of convincing. For example, let’s consider the example of a health insurance agent who sells Medicare supplements. People who are on Medicare generally need a Medicare supplement policy to pay for the things that Medicare doesn’t cover. They know they need the coverage, but they aren’t sure how the coverage works.

The health insurance agent in this scenario doesn’t have to do much convincing about the need for their product. They just have to find the people who need their product and then be a good teacher. The agent’s job is to help people with understanding Medicare and how it works, and less about why they need a Medicare supplement.

In the insurance business, we call this an educational sale. You gain a client’s trust by educating him or her about how a policy works to meet the need that they already have.

You Can Start with Friends and Family

Since insurance products are needed by nearly everyone, you can often get your business off the ground by networking with your inner circle. Think about the people in your own family and friends – do they drive cars? They almost certainly do and that means they buy auto insurance. Offer to give them free quotes for the companies you represent. Often, you’ll find that friends and family will welcome the chance to give their existing insurance business to someone they know and trust.

Policies Pay Renewing Commissions

In some industries, you’ll sell a product for which you only get paid once. For example, if you sell cars, your clients will rarely return the next month to buy another car. Choosing a product or service that has renewable commissions allows you to grow your income over time.

Insurance is a great fit because you will typically be paid a commission for the life of the policy. If you sell homeowners insurance, you will get paid the first year that you sell the policy. Thereafter, you will also be paid a renewal commission if that policyholder renews their policy. This can sometimes mean you will be paid for many years on the same policy.

Careers in insurance can be lucrative and you can often start them part-time. If you need a great business that you can start before you leave your day job, consider selling insurance.