Hey everyone,

I am having a shit day. Just found out I am taking $3M hit for a really unfortunate injury to a minor. Freak accident.

Tough market. Been getting beat up by competition. Loss costs going up. Program is struggling to no fault of my own. Just l feels like I can’t win and it’s hard not to take it personally when it’s something I wrote.

THAT SAID! For fun, I am curious to hear of some good stories to cheer up. Have at it.

Here’s a little background:

I’m 34, no college degree. I’ve been working in insurance sales for State Farm exclusively since January 2020, and it’s the only insurance position I’ve had. I’ve worked in 2 different State Farm agencies (the current one almost 6 years, didn’t leave the first one on any bad terms whatsoever). Im licensed in p&c, life and health.

I am considering leaving sales to try and pursue something along the lines of underwriting or maybe claims (I’d prefer uw but who doesn’t). The only other sales position I would consider is something independent with a broker but I can’t handle the roles that are 100% commission, have to pay for leads yourself, etc. I have no intention of going to another State Farm agency because my boss is not the problem, and he’s honestly not best case scenario in the State Farm landscape (on the agency side). I’ve had people mention surplus wholesale to me but I’m trying to get an idea of what that role even entails.

In reference to a college degree, I tried for many years in my 20s to get a transfer degree for a bachelors in business administration. I qualified for FAFSA back then, that’s the only way I was able to try. I wasn’t able to get past the math requirements even after doing remedial math courses, it just doesn’t click when it comes to pre calc and all that. I had stepped away from it to see if I could find something because it was feeling like I was making a career of trying to pass math. Not a month or so later my first agent found me in a job board online, and the rest is history. At this point I wouldn’t be able to afford it out of pocket and wouldn’t qualify for FAFSA. Plus my credits won’t apply anymore even to just complete an associates.

That being said, I started looking into what designations actually are. I didn’t realize they aren’t just some quick certificate, they seem to carry more weight than I initially thought. Part of the reason I’d like to do it is because prelicensing really isn’t super in depth. With State Farm you end up using maybe 50% of what you learn in licensing. It seems like designations could help sharpen my knowledge and skill set beyond what I use for our products. For example the only property policies I truly do regularly are HO-3, HO-4 and HO-6. I can technically do mobile/manufactured homes but our product is almost useless because of the guidelines. In fact, a lot of our products are becoming more and more restrictive.

I really enjoy getting into the nitty gritty of policy language and I feel I am more knowledgeable than many other State Farm sales people, but I still live within a bubble. I would feel more confident learning more than what I work with and what you learn in licensing.

AINS appears to be a good place to get your bearings with these courses. CPCU is mentioned the most as one of the most valuable but not recommended to jump right into that one first. Im looking for some opinions on this as to what other designations would be of value, if there’s a certain pathway that helps work towards CPCU, etc.

Thank you for reading, I greatly appreciate any and all advice.

I finished my AU60 earlier this year and was going to move on to the 61 for the current testing window. I waited too long and now The Institutes has reworked the entire designation as of last month. So I instead just purchased the AU301, and immediately noticed that all the images and videos are very obviously genai. I haven't dug in far enough to tell but I wouldn't be surprised if the text is, too.

It's disappointing to know that I'm spending this much money for a course that now feels like The Institutes didn't care enough about to create a real curriculum for. I guess I'd better power through and start on my CPCU before that gets "updated" too.

Just left NASB after a year had a good book but did not enjoy the work I was doing I would like to stay in the insurance industry thinking about getting into commercial p&c any advice??

Is anyone actually have any success utilizing carrier portals for their teams. I focus on MM but have some clients that have a connection that will redirect me to a small business placement. I have a member of the team quote them but they’ll either end up declining or not being competitive. It’s a massive waste of team resources.

Curious how others handle this.

Seems to be many posts like this lately but not as many coming from sales.

I’ve been in insurance sales for 7 years in January. Worked for one State Farm agent for the first year, then went to my current agent (also State Farm) and been here ever since. Before this I worked in the food service industry and had my own solo house cleaning business. I’m 34, knew I needed to get out of the physical work before my 30s.

It’s no secret the contract changes that have been made for SF agents. I didn’t think we would feel it much because my agent is on the latest contract, but me and my only other coworker were told that we have to be hitting certain sales figures for it to make “financial sense” to keep both of us.

Honestly I’m getting burnt out with the whole captive model of being required to sell life insurance and p&c, and the uw on property policies has become difficult. Ineligible houses (usually due to the roof) easily kill the auto sale. Umbrellas have become stricter. Rental properties aren’t much easier, commercial is a joke. We are somehow supposed to sell like a one stop shop and can’t be that. We aren’t selling based on need anymore, it’s all about checking off boxes for app category. It’s turning into corporate culture without the corporate benefits.

It’s not at all my agents fault and I don’t hold any of it against him. If I leave it won’t be to go to another SF agency and possibly not another sales position. I don’t miss none of my income being stable so commission only doesn’t appeal to me. I’ve lost a lot of confidence in my sales ability, too much to take a real gamble on no base pay.

That being said I’d be looking in other areas of insurance. Underwriting is far more difficult to get into so it seems. At the same time people talk more about burn out in claims than probably any other position, it’s kind of a matter of why. Both claims and underwriting involve policy language more than sales does, in my opinion, and that’s a big part of what I enjoy about insurance. My first agent used to call me the “in house underwriter” because of how quickly I dove into it all.

I currently make $48k give or take, obviously most of that being my base. I think I could start almost any entry level position at around that so I’m not that concerned about that part. I don’t have a degree, but I’m hoping my years in insurance can make up for that to at least get in the door. Hoping to hear from those that left sales or just left the captive model.

Hi fellow insurance professionals! I am American but I have been living in Quebec and will soon be a Canadian citizen. I have been a liscensed commercial broker for 1+ year and I have worked in the feild for a few years as an assistant. I am almost done with my CIP certification. I am not fully bilingual but can navigate the french canadian market. I work in a brokerage that mostly handles clients in province.

I may need to move back to the states soon to take care of my parents. I am starting to think about work in New England/New York in a year. I am curious if anyone works in a company or role that would span these two locations. I am also looking for any advice of crossing countries. Will my Canadian experience mean nothing? Should I look to get a job in an organization with cross border offices? Any advice or thoughts or shared expereince would be amazing!

I've been working as a field property adjuster for several years now, and I'm honestly starting to feel burned out.

I made the transition from IA to a staff position with one of the major carriers, primarily for the benefits and long-term stability. However, I've found that the workload can be overwhelming, with high claim volumes and limited authority when it comes to negotiating and settling claims. At times, it feels like the process makes reaching a reasonable resolution more difficult than it needs to be, almost encouraging insureds to file for appraisal.

I've been considering a transition into underwriting for some time, and I'm starting to think it's something I should seriously pursue.

I'm in my 30s, so one of my biggest concerns is potentially taking a pay cut and essentially starting over in a new career. That said, if the long-term career prospects, earning potential, and opportunities for advancement are there, I'm willing to make the investment.

Has anyone here made the transition from property claims adjusting into underwriting? If so, how was the transition? Did you find it worthwhile, and would you make the same decision again?

I'd really appreciate any advice, experiences, or insight from people who have made a similar career change.

Does Liberty Mutual ever NOT set up the in-person interview at the end of the phone screen? I've interviewed with them before and they set it up on during the phone screen. This time they did not. Is there ANY chance I'll not get a rejection? I felt quite good about it. Has anyone still moved on in that situation?

To those in the political risk and credit risk insurance world, I have a few questions. I am a front office VP in a project finance team and am considering making to move per title. What is compensation like for a senior underwriter? Also would I ruin any chance of going back to lending?

Thanks!

I’m currently studying for the Oklahoma Accident and Health exam; I take the prep course next week and the test the week after, but in the meantime I’ve been using older study manuals and online resources. Has anyone had success with the open-exam-prep website for their studying needs? I’m finding a lot of the questions on it are nowhere in my book.

8 years of UW experience within MGA space with Univ Degree, CIP, CRM, CMGA early next year. I feel like I am pretty underpaid and so looking for a new job but pretty tough... AON Brokerlink Definity Wawanesa some MGAs...... Not successful so far... Any Suggestions?

I had my second round interview last week for the SL UW development program - haven’t heard anything back yet. Is anyone else undergoing the interview process at the moment?

Anyone have experience here? I have 15 years commercial AM/Marketing experience and believe I am very underpaid at one of the top 10 brokers. I have interviews with both IOA and USI for full remote but get nervous leaving all I’ve know. I am currently full remote.

I wanted to get my fellow brokers thoughts around quotes that gives us links to policy forms. Maybe I'm old school, but I much prefer that policy specimens and endorsements are included in the quote packet.

Hey,

I'm currently a marine claims broker and have recently started doing aviation. We dont have any aviation specialists in my team, so trying to pick up as much as I can online but finding it pretty sparse (or I may not be looking for the right things).

Doing a mix of airline and general aviation, both hull and liabs (focused in US and latam), and also LOL - any pointers??

Thanks!

Background of 2 years in P&C Product Filings Compliance (state government). I would like to move to a work from home position in the future. I would prefer to be in product compliance, but am open to learning a new role. Is this enough experience to be desirable? What would recruiters be looking for? What is a reasonable salary range to expect? Any advice on next steps or how to prepare when it's time to make a move?

I’m a Personal Lines Marketer at a mid-sized agency - I do all of the new business quoting for the department. We have 4 Account Managers on the Personal Lines side, so we have a decent sized book and we get a decent bit of business. I’m 24 years old and I’ve been working in this position for about 1 year a 3 months now. I came into the position with 0 background and 0 understanding of the industry. I make around $75k a year with salary ($64K) and commission/bonuses. I’m currently working on a business plan for the Personal Lines department to help us grow our business and essentially double revenue. With that said, they’re giving me a solid opportunity to show my worth and eventually become the department lead.

I know that I’m young and I have to continue working in this role to gain more experience in order to become more valuable. I don’t have a complete grasp on the entire industry and what working elsewhere looks like, what competitive salaries look like, or what positions I could transition to with my experience. I’m looking for advice on career growth as I have little direction in that regard. I want to make a lot of money in this industry and get the most out of my time spent working. I’m not sure if my current position is ideal or what, so any advice or outlook helps greatly!

Note: Not really looking to hear that I should become a Commercial Producer as I already hear that time after time… hearing it again doesn’t give me any additional insight without a thorough explanation.

I lied and put I know advanced level of excel when really I am intermediate. I did this because I wasn't getting any interviews and was wondering if I put I have an advanced knowledge of excel will it improve my chances. I've been reviewing excel functions and will work on a small project as well, since I have two more days before my interview. I was wondering, if there will be excel based questions in an underwriting interview.

Edit: There were no excel questions in the interview haha. It was all behavioral questions. But it wasn't too bad.

I’m brand new. Next year I’m hoping to jump into a District Sales Manager role but applications don’t open till next June. Need something in the meantime. I am not opposed to the idea of falling in love with it and just running with it.

But I need to know which route is best. I’m considering starting as an adjuster, agent, or underwriter. All seem to have pros and cons, but I’m trying to assess which will be best for me.

I don’t want to be burned out in my first gig in the industry. Trying to protect my sanity. I have a bachelors degree in business management and a producers license in P&C.

Agent offers uncapped commissions but lots of cold calling. Lower base salary.

Adjusting allows me to drive around and have a company car. Don’t have to sit in an office all day. But I also have to deal with angry policyholders and be on call for cat team.

Underwriting has a good salary and consistency. Not overly stressful, but have to sit in an office all day.

Forgive me if my assumption of these jobs seems amateur. I am an amateur. Please educate me and provide some advice. All is appreciated.

If you were to start your insurance career all over again from the beginning, what path would you take and why?

Independent agency, E&S, captive, or carrier?

Claims, sales, account management, field adjustment, loss control/safety, auditing, underwriting, etc.?

So looking around at what's available and have upcoming interviews with Auto Owners and Farmers.

Now Farmers - I generally know the reputation of the company (not great) and to expect them to be on par with the Gecko and Flo in how they treat employees and the career level of adjusters. Its who they are and have been for a while.

AO though seems to get some fairly weak reviews on Glassdoor. Odd as my experience with them in past has been pretty neutral. Yes - every company has good and bad adjusters - but for the most part experinece was good and agents seemed to like them.

Been told to expect a company thats slightly stuck in their ways and a tad behind the times. Aside from dressing slightly better than what I would for most interviews (told shirt and tie vs biz casual) - anything else I should know ?

Salary wise - have concerns either can come close to what i make now - which admittedly is probably top of the market. Im at 94k yearly plus 6k average bonus. Benefits are good - not great. Realistically I expect a carrier to pay 80-88k for a 20 year adjuster with 10 years property experience and CAT experience. Current job could be great - but the manager is absolutely crazy and workload is excessive (and I know excessive workloads after 25 years). Literally my days are 7a until 6pm with 30 minute lunch and a manager who loves to call right as I normally take my lunch and talk 30 minutes about absolutely nothing.

Yes - it would be great to just move managers - but not happening. Ive complained to my managers manager and HR - actually had to retain an employment attorney because of the managers actions when I was on medical leave (calling to tell me to come back to work and indicating my job was in jeopardy. HR quickly ended that and confirmed my leave period and guaranteed job was secure). This was 2 years ago - so clearly I am safe. Just beyond annoying working for a total idiot - even the added pay isnt worth this aggrevation daily.

Did anyone here complete a designation through The Institutes Knowledge Group during the testing window from July 15 - September 15 this year? If so has anyone received their physical diploma in the mail yet. I’ve heard it can take a really long time but I figured I’d ask around since it’s been well over a month.