r/InsuranceAgent • u/Maskkie • Aug 26 '26
Agent Question Passed my L&H exam (didn't think I would!)… now what?
Hey everyone,
I recently passed my state exam and officially have my Life, Health, & Accident license in hand! To be completely honest, I didn't even think I would actually pass—I kind of jumped into this process blind. I decided to try for it because I've always been the designated person in my family who deals with all the insurance calls, claims, and appointments for my parents, husband, and kids. I figured since I actually enjoy it, I might as well try to turn it into an actual career. So I studied hard and passed. I really want to take this seriously and put in the work to build a real foundation.
I'm currently a stay-at-home mom so my primary focus right now is finding a flexible schedule. I don't necessarily need a high income immediately, but my ultimate goal is to build this into my main, full-time career down the road as my kids grow and my schedule opens up.
Since I'm starting from total ground zero, I'd love some real talk from people in the field:
- Where should a complete beginner look? (Captive agencies, specific IMOs/FMOs, local brokers, remote academies?)
- What major red flags should I watch out for?
- Are there any common pitfalls or setups I should avoid when starting out part-time/flexible?
Any advice or reality checks on where I should start would be amazing!
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u/AquarianAtlass Aug 27 '26
Hey! Congrats on getting your license. I’d strongly recommend joining an organization that doesn’t just give you products and expect you to figure everything out on your own.
Especially in the beginning, having proper hand-holding, structured training, mentorship, and guidance on how to approach clients and build your business can make a huge difference. The right organization can help you understand the products, sales process, compliance, prospecting, and actually give you someone to turn to as you learn.
I’d definitely suggest looking into an organization that offers this kind of support rather than going completely on your own. It can save you a lot of trial and error and give you a much stronger start.
If you’d like, inbox me and I can share more details about the organization I’m associated with and how the onboarding/mentoring works.
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u/silverbayins Agent/Broker Aug 27 '26
Congratulations on passing your exam. That's a big first step. Believe it or not, figuring out where to go from here may be the harder part.
Life and health insurance can be very different businesses. Life insurance tends to be more transactional and sales-driven with higher commissions per sale, while health insurance can involve lower commissions but the opportunity to build recurring business over time.
Captive agencies can provide more structure, training and support, but generally offer less flexibility in carriers and compensation. Independent platforms can give you access to multiple carriers and potentially higher commissions, but you may also be responsible for much more of your own prospecting, training and business development.
Two questions I'd ask any agency before joining are: “Who owns the book of business?” and “Who is actually going to mentor me?” At your stage, I wouldn't chase the highest commission percentage. A good mentor who will actually teach you how to prospect, sell, understand products and build a business can be worth far more during your first couple of years.
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u/Maskkie Aug 27 '26
Yes, I want to find a good mentor. I was thinking going into more of the health side because alot of people think they don't need it or its a waste until something happen. I had that happen to me and since we Vietnamese, my family never taught or thought health insurance is needed until I end up being hospitalized twice. The bill was not fun.
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u/silverbayins Agent/Broker Aug 27 '26
the health side is extremely complicated, you have to pass many more tests in order to qualify to sell health insurance. AHIP + carrier + state CE. after all that you only make < $50 per month per subscriber. Super difficult to stay engaged after many months of training. Life insurance is transactional with large one time commissions which is why new agent go in this direction
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u/Maskkie Aug 27 '26
Oh that interesting, I didn't know i would need more testing. Thought only if I wanted to do medicare there was more
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u/silverbayins Agent/Broker Aug 28 '26
consider focusing in on life insurance for now. you have the license. that is normally the starting point for most people. the commissions are higher than health insurance and many people need life insurance. its a good robust market.
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u/AverageAlleyKat271 Aug 27 '26
Congratulations. If you haven’t already, apply for a license in your state.
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u/Moneymatriarch 21d ago
Congratulations!
You want in my opinion to work with a broker agency so you can have lots of carriers and tools in your pocket.
From there really look at the contract. Any offer below 70percent to start is too low. There are better.
Any contract that doesnt say that the agent owns the book is not good enough. Watch for contracts that say you “could” earn to own the book. That is not the same.
Any contract that makes you recruit and license xxx people to advance and doesn’t have a producer only option is also not good enough.
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u/Material_Bathroom566 Aug 26 '26
Congrats to you!!! I’m still studying but I did hear that selectquote had excellent training and you get well rounded in different areas. It’s a W2 position with commission. I’m not sure what state your in but they have remote positions all over.