1. Tell us who are our competitors?
Evey insurance company such as Allstate, statefarm,
2. Tell me how does this position, fit into your career plans?
It would help me learn how to be a leader, and teach me how to negotiate, and be more organized.
3. Tell me what is a premium'?
It is the amount to be paid for a contract of insurance to the insurance company. It is the sum that a person pays monthly, quarterly or annually according to their plan, in return of the coverage he/she has taken from the insurance company.
4. Tell us what is no-claim bonus?
No claim bonus is a benefit for those who have not claimed insurance during the preceding year of cover. This will lower the premium on the following year.
5. Tell us what do you mean by ‘Deductible'?
Deductible is one of the several types of clause that are used by the insurance company as a threshold for policy payment for health insurance or travel insurance. Deductible is a decided amount that you have to pay from your pocket while claiming the insurance. For example, you have a deductible of $500, and you have insurance coverage for $2000, then you are responsible for paying for $500 and the remaining amount $1500 will be paid by insurance company.
6. Do you know how to claim the policy?
In order to claim the policy, you have to fill up the claim form and contact your financial advisor from whom you have bought the policy. You have to supplement all the required documents like original payment receipt to your insurance company. If everything is ok, you will be paid within seven days of the policy claimed.
7. Tell me what do you mean by ‘Additional Insured'?
‘Additional Insured' is the status associated mainly with property insurance and liability insurance. The additional insured will be protected under the main policy holder. For example a vehicle insurance policy which covers all the members of family and not only the owner.
8. Tell us what is subrogation?
‘Subrogation' is referred as the process of seeking reimbursement from the responsible party for a claim that they had already paid. For example, you have an accident where your car gets damaged,and you have car insurance, the insurance company will pay you the money. But the insurance company comes to know that the accident occur due to other party fault, now they will claim themoney from the other party this is known as ‘subrogation'.
9. Explain me what is an ‘Endowment Policy'?
An endowment policy is a combination of saving along with risk cover. This type of policy is specially designed to accumulate wealth and at the same time cover your life. In this type of policy the insured will pay a regular premium for specific time period. And in case of death the money will be paid to beneficiary but, if you outlive the policy tenure, you will receive the sum assured along with accumulated bonus.
10. Tell me what is third party Insurance?
An insurance policy that covers the damage caused by another person or party is known as third party Insurance. In this type of insurance, the insured is the first party, insurance company is the second party while the damage done by another is referred as the third party. This type of Insurance policy is purchased for vehicles, so that in case of the accident they can claim it.
11. Explain me what is a ‘PLPD' insurance stand for?
PLPD stands for ‘personal liability and property damage'. Personal liability covers when an individual cause injury to others in an accident while property damage is done when any property get damaged. In both, the injured party or third party will claim for insurance money from the insurance company of the offender.
12. Tell me do you specialize in any particular areas?
Some agencies are full-service, others are limited to specific lines and types of coverage. For example, I have one insurance agent for my home and auto coverage and another agent who handles my life-insurance needs.
13. Tell me what companies get most of your business and why?
"Independence" is great, but it doesn't mean an agent won't play favorites. That's okay, so long as the agent's favorite consistently provides proper coverage, rather than the best commission structure.
The reason for asking this question in advance of doing business, however, has to do with how you will size up the agent's advice. If, after a needs analysis, the agent is recommending companies that are not the primary carriers he works with, you will want to know why. If he picks his fave, you'll want to know what makes this a better policy than other available options.
14. Tell us what was your most successful sale?
It was a sale that not only brought in revenue, but also additional clients. It was a very large firm with offices all over the world. They also had several claims. I met with them face-to-face many times to get to know them and go over their needs. From then, it was months of back and forth gathering financial statements, collecting claim information and sending the account to 30 different insurance carriers. I received quotes and created a detailed comparison. After proposing to the client, I received an order for a $363,000 policy. The owners of the company then started other companies that became customers as well.
15. Tell me what was your favorite part about working there?
My favorite part would … Not only other than the pay, was being able to interact with our clients. If they had questions being able to help them better understand something that they didn't quite fully understand. Different things like that, being able to help people out because at the end of the day it was something that I had a passion for. If I'm able to help them out versus them having to not understand something or if they were in a scenario where they had the wrong policy information. Being able to give them that information and help them out at the end of the day was a rewarding feeling.
16. Tell us how much do you make as a life insurance salesman?
This is a tricky question and I will try and explain it the best I can. Bare bones…I make 10 grand a month net. However, I have a 6 figure residual base that continues to increase along with consistent annuity and mutual fund investments and trails that I get paid on every year. So if I didn't work at all next year, I would probably make almost 50k because I have completed 8 years of service, but starting out, I had none of that, and guys with 25 years of service walk in the door each year and make 100k before doing a thing. I also have 2 fully funded retirement plans with Northwestern Mutual.
17. Tell me what education and skills are needed to do this?
Skills and education can vary, but I would generalize that a degree is needed. Prior sales experience helps. Knowing people in a community so you can introduce yourself helps too, but isn't a requirement. The skill set is to care about people even when they don't care about you, and be persistent, resilient and don't give up when you are down or had a bad paycheck.
18. Tell us what are your goals and dreams for the future in this career?
This will sound weird because I am not in a corporate environment. Meaning I am sure many people will want to move up the ladder for a promotion or a job of higher stature. I aspire to do the exact same job as I do now for the rest of my life. Most of what I do is out in the field, and because I want to give back to my organization, I do coaching/recruiting/development for new reps as well. I want to impact more people, make more impact, (meaning bigger sales) and at least double my income in the next 10 years.
19. Tell me are there any perks associated with this career?
You have the freedom to make as much or little as you want by the effort you put in. I have the support of my team, but don't have to rely on them. NML will pay for any additional education like CFP designations for me. I also win a trip or two every year to an exotic location.
20. Tell me what do you know about DND lists? How do you use them in your work?
DND lists or Do Not Disturb lists are provided to each insurance agent to ensure that the numbers listed are never called. These numbers belong to people who do not wish to be approached by cold callers from any industry, and it is our responsibility to respect their wishes. Whenever I perform cold calling activities, I make sure that I keep the DND list in front of me so that I do not end up calling on a number that is listed in it.
21. Tell us what other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
It's a really good job. They have a lot of they have a lot of good career opportunities. It's a good way to get your feet wet if you're wanting to go into a marketing job. If you're looking for something, that you're like, “Okay, I want to learn how to put my name out there and talk to different people.” These are people that you're probably not going to see. Yet you still have this connection with them by just talking with them. I would say it's a good job for that. If you don't have a lot of patience and you don't like being over the phone or if you're afraid you're going to get your feelings hurt because people are going to say stuff over the phone, then it's not a job for you. It's a job for someone who can take no, rejection. You may only get one quote a day out of 100 that you call. It's something that you have to take the rejection. It's rewarding because of what you make, but also being able to help people who really do appreciate that you are calling them to see if you can help them out.
22. Explain me how would you describe the application and interview process?
I applied online. I applied at the Job Wanted Ads here at Texas State. They put their ad in through them. I got a response the next day. I called them, emailed them my resume. When I went in for my first interview, it was more difficult than I expected. Usually in an interview I felt that it was going to be more or less like, “Okay you've done this job before. Tell me a little bit about the experience you've had with it.” With that one they wanted to know more information about schooling. How I was able to best suit the job? How my job performance was going to work with that? If I was able to make 75 phone calls in an hour versus making 15 phone calls in one hour. Doing things like that.
23. Explain me your job title and primary duties?
I was a marketing coordinator agent. I was the annoying person that would work on your leads. Those were telephone marketing, emails, different things like that, but I also did handle social media. Anything that our agency posted social media-wise on Facebook, Instagram, different things like that, was all through me. With that position I was able to … You have the potential to work your way up with all the certifications and eventually becoming an agent. That's what my boss had actually done. That's not what I really wanted to go into.
24. Tell me are you able to handle rejection? If so, how?
The fact of the matter is that insurance industry is competitive. I understand that rejection comes with the job. Agents are constantly targeting each other's accounts. Sometimes a client decides to make the move to another insurance agent. It can be hard to lose an account after spending a lot of time on it, but I don't see it as a failure. It just means I have to work that much harder to find other leads and build more relationships. Also, it's always possible to contact lost clients again and ask them to give me another shot at finding them a better program.
The more insurers an agent represents, the more options she can present you with. At the same time, an agent may have a few favorites she prefers to work with. Captive agents, of course, work with only the one firm, but those companies are likely to provide cradle-to-grave coverage options on virtually every type of protection.
Ideally, an agent with a long history in the business has longstanding relationships with the insurer(s) she works with. If not, that raises a concern that she has not been the kind of agent an insurer wants to keep. That said, there are also legitimate reasons why an insurer might drop an agent, not the least of which is state regulations that make a company decide to no longer participate in the market.
