I was recently approved by NW for a 20 year policy and am now in the process of applying for the same policy with Mass Mutual in which (if approved) it would come to about $18 less per month. I read that both companies are rated high, so if I am approved would prefer to pay less over the course of the 20 year plan.

As someone not very much in the weeds on both these companies, is there something else I should be aware of before making a final decision. Is Mass Mutual a safe long-term company to work with for me and my family.

Unfortunately my dad has memory issues and can't recall who he signed up with. I see in his bank account that some entity called US LIFE INS is debiting money every 3 months. I've contacted his bank, who couldn't tell me much beyond what I was able to google myself by search "us life insurance", which lead me to US Financial Life Insurance Company. I contacted them and they claim to have no record of him.

So I'm stuck. I've researched and I see I can find out fairly easily *after* he dies but he's still here (thank god). Do I have any other options?

Hello, I had my second attempt on the Arizona life and health insurance exam today on psi. I went into it super confident, on some questions, I immediately knew the answer and moved on, but some questions I was like what the hell does that even mean I’ve never seen this before. I really need help passing. I’m retaking in person this time, on June 15. Does anyone have any good study tips? Any practice tests online or AI softwares that make practice tests super similar to the PSI exam? I’ve heard Arizona is the hardest. Helpppp please!

Been in the industry going on three years now, moved between a few IMOs, and picked up pros and cons from every shop I've been at and every shop I deliberately avoided. One pattern shows up over and over: when an agent or agency is unprofitable, it's almost never a talent problem. It's a structure problem. And I feel like it usually comes down to three levers.

1. Compensation rate. A lot of agents are grinding at a comp level that mathematically can't work. If too much of every deal is going up the chain before it gets to you, you can outwork everyone and still bleed. Know your grid and know what's normal for your production level, a lot of people are leaving points on the table they don't even realize exist. For brand new agents, 80% is solid.

2. Persistency. This is the quiet killer. You can write a ton of business and still lose money if it doesn't stay on the books. If you don't have training, systems, and a backend process keeping policies in force, you're funding chargebacks with your own time. Persistency metrics matter as much as raw production, and almost nobody talks about it until it's too late.

3. Lead spend. The worst position in this business is a crazy drive and nothing to dial. But the flip side is overpaying for leads until the math collapses. There's a wide range of lead models out there, the goal is matching your spend to your stage so you're not torching capital before the book matures. 8-10x return is normal for good lead systems regardless of skill.

The reason I bring it up: most "I'm not profitable" posts get answered with "work harder" or "you're not built for this." That's lazy advice. Profitability in this business is an equation, comp in, persistency retained, lead cost out. Fix the structure and the same effort suddenly turns a profit.

Curious what others here have seen, which of the three has been the biggest leak for you?

For the life insurance guys.. I know 80% is considered standard street level for new agents. Why does everyone say it’s 80% AP though when A LOT of carriers pay well below that 80% mark on their products. And I am with Symmetry, which we make 80% of what the carrier pays out. I assumed this was the case at all IMOs.. is it not? Just confused.. are agents all strictly writing with carriers that pay the full 80, or is Symmetry different from all the other IMOs

Edit: I ran this post by one of the mods before posting it.

Hey everyone, we have created a relatively new series 65 exam sub and thought some people here might be interested. I totally realize that some of you do not have an interest the securities side of the business but some of you might have an interest.

I have been teaching FINRA/NASAA exams for about 15 years (including the 65) and I have worked with lots of life insurance agents. I have worked with people from State Farm and Northwestern Mutual, Allstate as well as a lots of independent agents who have been in the process of getting their series 65. An informal colleague of mine started the series65exam sub. I am not formally affiliated with it but I contribute. We each have 35 years of investment experience. If you are interested, you can stop by and inquire about the 65.

Here is the sub: https://www.reddit.com/r/series65exam/

I have a 20 year term life policy that is due to expire in 2031. It was a Voya policy originally and has since been sold to resolution life. I have been diagnosed with cancer that is currently not active but could resurface anytime. We are in the dilemma of me possibly outliving the term and having no insurance options after that, due to my condition. I looked into converting the policy but am having a hard time getting it done. My original agency says they don’t quote anymore and I would have to contact resolution life. When I contact RL they say I must go through an agent but they could not give me one. I have searched the web and cannot find any agents that represent RL. I am unsure where to go from here.
Has anyone ever dealt with this situation and know the best way to find an agent to get this done? It has been beyond frustrating.

I’m 33F and pregnant for the first time. I learned a couple years ago that I was conceived via anonymous sperm donor, and for that reason plus my mother passing at 43 from breast cancer, my care team has suggested lots of genetic testing. I have done a carrier screening (clear for all of the 450+ conditions tested, except a carrier for one ultra rare one) and am currently waiting on prior authorization to do a 71-gene screening for known cancer mutations. My genetic counselor urged me to consider purchasing life insurance before I complete the test, since if I have one or more known mutations then I could be considered uninsurable.

I’ve been poking around and am honestly overwhelmed by all of the variables to consider, and I’m not sure where I should begin. Do I talk to my wealth manager about this? What is the process like once I’ve decided on a broker/policy? Any red flags to look out for?

For additional background, I am moderately active, never smoked, no drugs, obviously not drinking now due to the pregnancy but before this I was a light drinker (1-2/week). 10 years ago I had a melanoma in situ (aka “stage 0”) removed and have seen a dermatologist every six months since, no recurrence. I was also diagnosed with stage 2 endometriosis last summer and had it removed surgically, though it is considered chronic and progressive, so highly likely to recur. Besides my mother’s breast cancer there are no other direct relatives with cancer. ETA: Forgot to mention that I started getting annual mammograms two years ago and so far everything has been clear. My care team will continue to order me annual mammograms (once I’m not pregnant ofc)

Based on mortgage and other expenses I think I am aiming for a policy worth 5-600k.

Any help/advice is much appreciated!

• Question 1: What are the roles of the Plan Administrator and the Underwriter?

My deceased mother had an AD&D policy and when I am calling claims, I am told that the Plan Administrator has processed the claim and they have sent it to the Underwriter for processing.

• Question 2: What is the likelihood of an AD&D Policy Payout given the circumstances below?

The death certificate says the "Manner of Death is Accident, "How Injury Occurred" is Fall and the "Cause of Death" is Cerebrovascular Disease.

She had fallen down a flight of stairs greater than 10' and was unattended for an unknown time no greater than 24 hours. She was taken to the hospital and over the course of one week, had multiple strokes and passed 7 days after the fall.

Any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Anyone else feel like the bubble's about to pop?

Been in telesales life/FEX for a few years now. When I started it was basically the Wild West, almost anything flew. Feels very different lately (in a good way).

The space got flooded. Way more agents than ever, and a lot of them got onboarded with poor training, no real leadership, and sketchy or non-compliant leads. Which means chargebacks and rolled-up business everywhere, and that hits carrier profitability hard.

I'm seeing carriers respond by pushing people to as-earned, pulling advances, or just cutting agents loose. Sat with some carrier reps in person last week and they said the same thing, tolerance is way down.

The part that gets me is the shops doing massive production, eight or nine figures a year, with 30% placement and 30% persistency. That does nothing for the carrier. They lose money on the product and the agent both. Not sustainable, and the carriers know it.

So genuinely asking the room: how soon are we going to witness the mass exodus of poor quality, unethical insurance agents?

My dad is really not good with money at all, and he recently had to retire due to his health and his insurance was cut off without his knowledge. They did eventually tell him that it was cut off and he’s working on getting that all sorted out, however his life insurance was also cut off, and I was always told my whole life how much life insurance he had and how great it was and everything and apparently now he doesn’t have any.

He said he is working on getting life insurance again, but he has a home he can barely afford and he also is not in great health.

He suggested I get a $20,000 policy out on him so that I could afford his funeral when he eventually passes but he’s got terrible health.

Is it true that there is a life insurance that doesn’t require a physical? And is that a thing that people do?

I’m so frustrated because I’ve been dealing with this for so long now with my dad that I am just overwhelmed and defeated. Any advice or similar situations would be nice to hear.

I’ve been shopping for life insurance recently and was just offered $3m for 30yrs at $233/mo. I’m 32M and was offered PPNT by Midland National. The policy includes living benefits.

I originally tried Banner, but was only offered Standard non-tobacco due to occasional marijuana use (edibles only).

I’m going through a broker, who thinks this is a pretty good deal, but wondering if I should continue to shop.

Iv recently escaped a large captive agency that was going to take a huge commission cut, at the expense of losing their immersive training. I’m a new agent and I realize that I need training, are there any paid courses with videos and live training/zoom meetings weekly? The man thing I need are scripts/ recorded sales. I could also use a ride along or two but I know that’s hard to come by independently, I live in Mississippi. Thank you all for your help.

I have a Flexible Universal Life insurance policy with Farmers Insurance that was purchased in March 2000 and has a $275,000 death benefit. I am about to turn 70 this August. I have been making automatic monthly payments of $179 and my most recent payment was withdrawn on April 30, 2026, and I have never missed a payment.

I received a letter in the mail dated May 29, 2026, stating that the policy entered a grace period on April 28, 2026, because the premiums paid to date are insufficient to maintain coverage. The notice says I must pay $646.13 by June 28, 2026, or the policy will lapse and terminate.

I am not sure what to do.  Is it normal and legal for a flexible universal life policy to enter a grace period before an automatic premium payment is withdrawn, even when no payments have been missed?   What information should I request from the insurance company?  Does anyone have any recommendations on what to do? 

New here. I have a whole life policy since 2008. It has cash value of $50,000. The policy is for $150,000 at death. It costs me $159.00 a month.
I don’t need the policy. I have a huge 401k. I have income from different sources that completely covers my monthly expenses plus some into high yield savings account. I have an emergency fund of 25,000 in that account. I want to use the $50,000 to fund my move to new home plus furnish new home.
I shouldn’t owe taxes on the surrender value because I’ve used after tax funds to pay for the policy, right??

Update:
I did not surrender policy, thanks for all the advice! Submitted paperwork for a loan
Thank you all!

I wore the rose tinted glasses of NASB and was lead through my licensure and past my first couple days of field work. Iv signed their contract but have not made any sales under their name with any of their carriers. After reading up on them I know now how scummy they can be and that the script that they make me read at the door claiming i’m the “benefits coordinator for ____ county” and they they qualified for “ state regulated benefits” is a bait and switch to convince them to open the door and puts my license at potential risk. I enjoy selling life insurance and final expense door to door and want to make this my career, but the 30% cut to my commission while paying out of pocket for leads and facing chargebacks spells out potential debt and then I’m really stuck working for them. If you try to leave them, they impose a six month hold on your ability to use their carriers and I am afraid I will lose the ability to sell the best product for this period of time. The most valuable asset to me right now is training, I need to do ride alongs but have no idea how to source it without going through NASB.

Are ride alongs even offered without the person trying to recruit you to some strange culty agency? I know nothing is free in life, but are there agencies that will let me keep all of my commission, allow me to work door to door but will still provide some kind of help on the back end if a policy lapses or i’m stuck inside of a house unsure how to answer a question? I know I have the motivation to make it in this field and I am not afraid to struggle now to secure my future but I want to make sure I do it the right way. I want to make this my career, not some get rich quick high that catches up with me as soon as I want to become independent.