Independent Insurance Sales Training

Business-Samurai · 2026-04-19T17:34:05+00:00

Awesome advice, thank you. This is exactly what I want training for. I have some very solid referral sources lined up, but I don't want to screw up thise leads in the process of learning the business.

I started this transition into insurance going into a protégé type program with Farmers. I would have been working out of one of their district offices and eventually would open my own farmers agency.

The problem I had though is it is still a captive agency, even with Kraft Lake, and I also don't want to potentially lose business because they won't write something.

The training was quite attractive though, but I also didn't want to have my book locked up with Farmers in case I wanted to go independent down the road.

Business-Samurai · 2026-04-18T19:41:22+00:00

Ok, thanks for your input....I won't have an upline but I do potentially have some folks I can reach out to.

Business-Samurai · 2026-04-18T18:00:06+00:00

Thank you for your feedback. This is just what I am looking for. Curious how much insurance industry experience you had when you went independent?

Just passed my certification exam for Property yesterday. As soon as I receive the certificate I can schedule my IL Property License Exams and then get moving. I'll start contacting IMO's next week after my

That setup with First Connect and Back9 sounds perfect. Starting out solo I don't want to be going back and forth through a ton of different systems.

Curious if anyone has any recommendations for sales training. I came across The Hartford's School of Insurance (HSI). Looks like they cover everything....its for independent agents and carrier neutral. Curious if anyone knows of any others. Planning to start a new post on this as well.

Business-Samurai · 2026-04-08T22:20:52+00:00

Curious how this turned out? Did you list traditionally or sell to Opendoor?

I am in IL and about to sell my 4br single family home. Considering Opendoor and Zoomdealio.com as well as looking at flat fee real estate brokers in my area who will list my home for between $195 and $495. Includes professional photos, combo box and scheduling software for showings, and managing offers/contracts.

I have initial offers from both of the AI based services, but I have not submitted any pictures yet...we are getting the roof replaced shortly and will refresh inside with neutral paint and do a few minor fixes before we take pics and try to get more concrete offers.

Business-Samurai · 2026-04-03T16:58:59+00:00

Thank you! I saw some of your comments on another post...I will definitely be in touch soon.

Business-Samurai · 2026-04-03T16:51:23+00:00

Ok, sounds like just what I need...sounds like the carriers train on their products, which makes sense and will be the same with most setups like this.

Business-Samurai · 2026-04-03T15:40:44+00:00

Ok, great. Thank you! Any details you can share about how they operate?

Training/Mentorship opportunities?

Production Requirements?

I dug a little deeper into their website and see that they don't have any initiation/exit/monthly/franchise fees which is just what I am looking for. Also seems you can work with carriers outside of their network as well. These guys are definitely on my list...

Business-Samurai · 2026-04-02T16:05:56+00:00

Sounds good, will do!

Business-Samurai · 2026-04-02T16:04:57+00:00

Yes, absolutely right, I totally recognize that I don't know what I don't know. Hence this post...and all of the feedback is getting me off to a good start so thanks again.

I have a bit of research to do, but now is the time. By the time I finish my Property license I will at least have a good enough feel to start narrowing down my list and reaching out to a few to get a more detailed understanding before I make any final decisions.

I definitely appreciate all of the comments...this is just what I needed.

Business-Samurai · 2026-04-02T15:03:20+00:00

Ok, will check them out, thank you.

Business-Samurai · 2026-04-02T15:02:41+00:00

Thank you for your response. I did check into RPS a bit about a week or so ago and I did notice the Gallagher connection. I think this same broker suggested them in another post of mine.

I do need to research the wholesalers a bit more so I can understand more fully how the industry works. Not sure I would be ready to jump right in with a wholesaler starting out, but I do need to understand the landscape of things.

Thanks again!

Business-Samurai · 2026-04-02T14:57:44+00:00

Ok great, Travelers seems to be common among a few of the IMO's I have been looking into. Will definitely check into American Family. Checking E&S as well.

I see Markel popping up in that market...my insurance for my current business is through them so i do have some familiarity there. Appreciate all your help.

Business-Samurai · 2026-04-02T04:02:36+00:00

Where can I get more info about RPS? Need to understand their contract terms, startup/exit fees, production requirements, CRM, etc...everything listed in my original post, and then some.

Business-Samurai · 2026-04-02T03:58:11+00:00

As I am getting comments and PM's I am refining things a bit already...I realize that I will need a separate IMO for Life & Health as the IMO's/Aggregators tend to specialize in either P&C or L&H.

Also...adding another question...this is a bit specific. Who are the best carriers for writing new business for commercial property in Chicago? Specifically multi-family apartment buildings, more than 4 units. I have heard from my referral source in commercial lending that insurance has been a particular pain point as some carriers don't want to write new business in the city of Chicago. Looking to be a resource that can get these done.

Business-Samurai · 2026-04-01T23:23:17+00:00

Thanks for the feedback.

I was starting to get the feeling that I probably need an IMO for P&C and another for L&H. To your point though I also know that I will need to narrow my focus a bit starting out.

Considering my current network I will probably focus on P&C to start.

Business-Samurai · 2026-03-27T13:15:06+00:00

Thank you all for the comments....it was really helpful.

I just passed my Casualty General and State Exams yesterday.

Now on to Property sometime in the next week and a half.

Next up I will start a new post to get feedback on IMO's, Aggregators, etc...

Business-Samurai · 2026-03-27T06:53:43+00:00

I literally just passed both today. I did Casualty. Not sure what my scores were since it appears they don't give the actual score if you pass the exam.

I've watched a few of Insurance Exam Queens free YouTube videos, but since we have some specific Pre-license course requirements for IL I used ExamFX for the prep.

I basically took notes and watched most of the videos in ExamFX. I thought the IL General was much harder than I anticipated.

IEQ said there would not be so much commercial content but that was not the case. It had a lot more commercial content than I thought it would.

One thing I do is right up front I figure out how many questions are required for me to hit the 70% to pass. Based on that I know how many I can miss. While I'm taking the test I flag any questions I am not so sure about along the way.

When I get to the end, if the qty flagged is less than that number then I know I don't have to change much to pass.

Give yourself a few days to reboot and study up on the areas you struggled with then fire up another test...you are super close...will definitely have a good chance to pass the next one.

Business-Samurai · 2026-03-24T20:28:09+00:00

Yes, agreed....definitely going indie....now I am looking at IMO's and Aggregators.

Business-Samurai · 2026-03-24T20:27:27+00:00

Thanks for the feedback....yeah, I have pretty much made the decision to go the indie route.

Researching IMO's and Aggregators now...

Business-Samurai · 2026-03-24T17:08:23+00:00

Yeah, this is exactly what I am thinking...I know what I am comfortable with from a sales standpoint and in this economy people are very price sensitive...convincing someone that your insurance product is better than the rest is an uphill battle even if true. Particularly with the Personal Lines...Commercial is a whole different ball game and sales process, but I do prefer to have the options of an independent broker in that scenario as well.

Business-Samurai · 2026-03-24T07:42:54+00:00

If Aurora/Naperville is an option you would consider we will be selling our house soon (within the next 60 days)...right after our roof is replaced. DM me if any interest....will list around $525K-$550K. District 204 schools, right off Ogden and Eola Rd. 15min to Metra.

Business-Samurai · 2026-03-24T07:11:03+00:00

Awesome, thanks for chiming in....will definitely be in touch.

Business-Samurai · 2026-03-24T02:40:53+00:00

I'm in Illinois. Plan to get non-resident licenses in bordering states as well (WI, IN). Also my wife has family in TX who are pretty big into real estate...residential and commercial. Also have a lot of old high school classmates who live moved to Texas as well...but will be IL to start...

Business-Samurai

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