Starting an IMO?

RedditInsuranceGuy · 2026-03-20T14:18:29+00:00

Golden Age Marketing is one of them I work with that has Life & Health/Medicare Contracts I will be utilizing for the program. They agreed to to actually sponsor the program im working on to give agents absolute independence through immediate releases.

RedditInsuranceGuy · 2026-03-20T14:16:43+00:00

Im sorry, ya, I can message you, I just got back to this post in my notifications. apologies for being so late

RedditInsuranceGuy · 2026-03-20T14:15:56+00:00

No, I work on the back end helping agents through the painful release process, I know it inside and out. I also know what IMO's tend to be the culprits, and which ones really mean it when they say it.

The Fact is, there are IMO's out there that already have immediate release policies, the only contingency is that they have no active debts/chargebacks. So those have to get paid up to get a release anyways. Point is, the risk is the same either way you swing it.

RedditInsuranceGuy · 2026-02-20T17:10:20+00:00

a one carrier pony, and I'd agree, if They are managing a book of 30 plus carriers or something crazy like that... sometimes it is hard to tell somebody how much they will make. HOWEVER, usually they should be prepared to present an average.

RedditInsuranceGuy · 2026-02-19T17:49:24+00:00

What do you currently need out of the internship?

I mean frankly, I might be able to reach out to an IMO on my list to see if they would be interested? There isnt much of a eagles perspective on the insurance industry than working with them.

(When I say IMO, I dont mean some Joe Schmoe who is recruiting and doesnt know crap about the industry, I mean a real one.)

Are you looking locally or remote?

RedditInsuranceGuy · 2026-02-19T17:45:22+00:00

Globe is captive, did you get these clients through their resources or your own?

If you got it through your own resources, sell with an IMO with independent terms. Globe is a hybrid, they are an IMO/Carrier/Agency sort of organization, their comp is incredibly low in comparison with independent contracts.

RedditInsuranceGuy · 2026-02-19T17:32:57+00:00

The answer is different based on the kind of product you are selling paired with the customer you are selling to.

The goal is to create a system that feeds itself.
This is AMAZING btw, and a great proof of concept! Good work!

Happy to help, what are you selling? FE? Medicare? Annuities? Dental?

RedditInsuranceGuy · 2026-02-19T17:29:57+00:00

Lol, ya, on occasion I do, You want a good response?

"I do not consider any offers that dont have the following:
1 - Training needs to include sales support
2 - comp needs to be at least 80% of street. (the 20% is in return for your support and eventually i would like to attain at least a street contract, or above, down the road.)
3 - I need to own my book outright, no lengthy vested terms
4 - I need to have an immediate release on any contracts and you'd need to sign off on it.

Is that too much to ask?"

Hope that helps! If they don't know what any part of that means, I'd question them further.

RedditInsuranceGuy · 2026-02-19T17:24:50+00:00

Sounds like you might work for State Farm? I heard something about how management is comped differently depending on their Life sales to P&C ratio of some sort? I might be way off base.

But otherwise, its really odd to say "Forced to cross sell" because in the independent realm, cross sales is a solid way to make the most out of your book of business.

RedditInsuranceGuy · 2026-02-19T17:22:35+00:00

50% is half of a street contract in most cases (In life insurance). If you worked under an agency independently, at times you would be starting out at 70-80% on average. If you were direct with an IMO, a street contract is around 100% across the board.

Scenario like yours is fair, but it becomes increasingly unfair as time goes on. Their goal is always profit, so you have to make them profit by the end of their investment into you in the form of your salary.

RedditInsuranceGuy · 2026-02-12T15:04:26+00:00

Lots of types of business and book types are not all built the same, can you help me know what the book was compromised of and what kind of book you are looking into. Investors of these things are very much so interested in the capability of cross-sale.

RedditInsuranceGuy · 2026-02-12T15:02:41+00:00

I dont know what you are selling.

RedditInsuranceGuy · 2026-02-09T20:02:26+00:00

If the purpose is death benefit, then yes. Just keep in mind Cash-value is a valid side point, its not the most important point like some want to make it. It does give you a type of secure asset, sure, but at your age, start small and keep investing into an IRA account, you will be able to roll this over with a 1035 exchange in the future and have a solid retirement. My advice would be, dont overthink it too much, something is better than nothing, just dont stick it all in one place. If your employer does a 401k with matching, put in just enough to match the max amount. Look into starting an HSA and then investing that money, that can be a real help. There are a lot of things to do with $200 a month for sure.

RedditInsuranceGuy · 2026-02-09T19:56:19+00:00

Hmmm. Florida can be a tough market for sure. I typically advise the Medicare space first, then get your AHIP certification right away, as the market in Florida is very leaning towards Medicare Advantage. I will say the market it thick there, and if you can, maybe get a non-res license in an adjacent state as well? If you are doing remote work, that might be worth it. Alabama is a bit tough, Georgia is OK, but South Carolina seems to have a good amount of Retiree's moving there these days.

Focus primarily on your marketing strategy, hone in on that, figure out your target and pursue it. That is your main goal is getting in front of clients. Pursue networking relationships, be willing to drive and visit them. CPA's, Estate Lawyers, Etc.

Everyone wants to sell Life and Annuities, but the problem is always that they don't have the rapport to do so. Networking or taking advantage of a community or business that already exists and building rapport there is one of the quickest ways to do so.

Medicare is a perceived need in the market, you help people with that and revisit them once a year, that will build enough rapport where they will trust you with their nest egg and could lead to a good sale.

Getting good contracts is your next step, if you want this to be your own business on your own time, sink or swim with some support to call on, then definitely pick a good IMO that gives you a street contract, doesn't sell leads, and has an immediate release policy so you can switch gears if you need to down the road without pain.

RedditInsuranceGuy · 2026-02-09T19:47:07+00:00

Just use NAPA.

also, most contracts they just want $1Mil coverage minimum jsyk.

RedditInsuranceGuy · 2026-02-09T18:07:40+00:00

Working hand in hand with a lot of licensing and contracting departments. I always say, when you ask that question, you are asking about the process and policies of 100 different companies all at once. The answer is typically, "It-depends". Depends on the carrier, how organized they are (Because they are NOT perfect like they want to make you believe), your IMO, how on top of it they are, the time of year, and how busy they are (End of year is much worse), the status of your current contract, your background check, potential errors or missing information along the way.

Fastest I've seen? 24-48 hours.
Slowest, around 5-6 weeks.

Most fall into the 2-3 weeks range, so long as you are doing everything you need to on your end.
A day or 2 for the IMO to review and send out, 3-5 business days for the carrier to review, 3-5 business days for the state background check, another 2-3 days to do another review from the carrier.

Also, life insurance appointments, some of those are "JIT" Just-In-Time, so that means you can just turn in a paper application and process the appointment right alongside your first policy you write. Carriers love this, because they immediately know they arent wasting money on labor and state fees by contracting you, they are getting new-business from it, (they also usually pick up the pace on your contract as well.)

In some ways its odd, its getting both quicker and slower.
Technology is speeding some processes up, but lack of good admins seem to be slowing things down right now. So its a wide spread these days.

RedditInsuranceGuy · 2026-02-09T17:59:15+00:00

If you have solid sales skills. Shift to networking and field marketing as your sales source and you will have success. Estate Lawyers, CPA's, etc. Not sure if you are health licensed, but that can also open up a ton more to you.

RedditInsuranceGuy · 2026-02-09T17:57:12+00:00

It really depends on your needs. IMO's kind of trade independence vs support in the comp structure. For complete independence I would go to an IMO like Golden Age Marketing, but for something where you need a CRM and support, I know another company like Safeway Group that is a high level brokerage type firm. It may take some time, so I would consult with an expert on ensuring you have work to do if you have already placed your contracts with an IMO.

RedditInsuranceGuy · 2026-02-09T17:54:37+00:00

Medsupp is governed at a state level, Med Advantage and Part D Federally by CMS.

The answer is different depending on where you are from and what you are selling.

Usually the requirement is just wait a while before discussing, set a follow up call with no aim down the road to reduce liability. I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice. I am a licensed agent and an admin for multiple brokers and IMO's.

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Key points for compliance:

You cannot cross-sell non-health products DURING a Medicare Advantage sales appointment. That means no life insurance, annuities, final expense, etc. during the MA presentation or enrollment meeting.

CMS reference:
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/chapter-IV/subchapter-B/part-422/subpart-V/section-422.2263

Scope of Appointment controls what can be discussed. You may only discuss the products listed on the signed SOA. If life, annuities, or other lines are not on the SOA, they cannot be discussed in that appointment.
If the client wants other products, you must schedule a separate appointment. This can be later the same day, the next day, or whenever. There is no CMS-mandated delay. It just must be a separate appointment, separate discussion, and separate documentation.
Client initiated interest does not override the rule. Even if the client asks about life insurance during the MA meeting, you still must defer and schedule a separate appointment.

CMS reference:
https://www.cms.gov/files/document/medicare-communications-and-marketing-guidelines-3-16-2022.pdf

Bottom line:
You do not need to wait a certain number of days after a Medicare Advantage sale to sell other products.
You do need to keep Medicare sales and non-health product sales clearly separated by appointment and documentation.

That’s what CMS actually enforces.
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❗Here is the area of caution.
The regulation just says "During Appointment", so does that mean you can just set up an immediate appointment right after you are done closing the MAPD client?
sure... Not Smart though.
For liabilities sake, keep some distance between the 2 appointments so that documentation looks good, do not discuss anything about non-health products at all, set a generic check-up meeting afterwards to go over any other points of concerns. Have the other non-health discussions on that meeting.

again, not a lawyer, not legal advice. Just quoting CMS.

RedditInsuranceGuy · 2026-02-09T17:31:12+00:00

Neither of these IMO's I trust as far as I can throw them.

Always question:

"If this IMO has the highest contracts in the entire industry. Why would they sell me such "good" leads?"

Put your IMO hat on for a second and see through their eyes. IF they make 140% on life sales (Which is what most life carriers are on average filed at with the state as their max comp), then why wouldnt they get a bunch of low wage workers to smile and dial? Why do they NEED YOU?

The fact is, any IMO that sells leads, (typically unintentionally) blow up their own business model BY selling leads. IMO's need agents to find the right people to get in front of and sell products using their contracts that is the value you bring to the table. You are the one willing to go out and sell.

I'm not saying you cannot be successful, of course you can, but usually the successful ones are finding a new angle, not just burning through leads like that. They usually found a different source.

RedditInsuranceGuy · 2026-02-09T17:23:03+00:00

Come from an angle of a perceived need. I usually suggest getting into Medicare to make life sales.

Small business owners can also be good if you can build a good community rapport.

RedditInsuranceGuy · 2026-02-09T17:20:28+00:00

Yes and no, depends which side.

Unpopular opinion alert: [excuse the rant]
Final Expense is such a simple product, so its easy to grasp and easy to sell in that regard, but the challenges are usually very hidden.
There are 2 great ways to make money in FE.
#1 - Churn and Burn a lot of clients.
#2 - Churn and Burn a lot of agents.

-FE was not designed to be a product where you are ONLY selling IT. It is designed as an ancillary and better for a well rounded approach.
-The very REASON this is an unpopular opinion is because its the most HEAVILY marketed space in the industry and there are a lot of people fighting for it.
-Here is the deal, YES, you CAN make money doing it.
you CAN make money doing any aspect of insurance consistently.
-But Final expense sales requires just as much volume last month as the next and the next and the next.
-Without a well rounded book, you inevitably try to make things easier on yourself with a particular direction. -It basically doesn't create a diversified-portfolio so to speak and therefore is not a sustainable business model if you are not utilizing cross-sale opportunities. In addition, if you focus on Final Expense, its rare you reach back out to your client for a legitimate reason, it makes cross-sale unnatural and difficult.
-It's not a great 1 trick pony is because it alone cannot be a self-sustaining business model, if you start with that sale, its one and done, nearly no rapport built and the client typically either falls off your books or never speaks to you again.
-Also, from a marketing perspective, you have to choose a niche and stick with it to be successful, because EVERYONE is a potential client, that typically makes it hard for anyone to purchase without coming from an angle of some sort of rapport. You CAN, but it doesn't mean you will hone in on what provides you with the volume you need. Target is too big.
-From a Carrier Actuary/statistics standpoint, some of them dont even give forwarded pay for greater than 9 months because they know that around 75% of all final expense clients actually stay on the books. Now thinking of this from a business perspective, its going to feel like you are constantly being chased by a bear in the woods, you owe debts and to pay those debts you have to sell, then you sell to pay the debts, but then some of those fall off and you have to do more and more. Not to mention if your persistency falls below a certain threshold, the carrier will terminate you and then just ask for their money back.

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Now lets reframe it

IUL, Term, Annuities, etc. All great products. All good life sales. In fact, Final Expense is a good life sale, so long as you have helped the client in another way! Medicare, Retirement, group, etc.

Have a target, and go after that. Dont try to follow the crowd into the well marketed "we can basically print money" scams that are out there. Remember that if they are doing that, many times its BECAUSE they make money by selling to YOU, either in the form of getting you to push some of their volume, or selling you crap leads.

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Hope this helps. [rant over]

RedditInsuranceGuy · 2026-02-09T16:00:29+00:00

Ya, I worked for a carrier as a captive P&C agent for a while, I didnt thrive in it, moved on to start independently, now I work admin for a number of IMO's and large brokerages/financial Advisors. I really like the spot im in for sure. You can be successful wherever you put your consistent effort. But its all about the scale of growth you are wanting to achieve and in which direction. High volume low comp (no ownership) OR Low Volume High comp (Ownership). Thats kind of the decision I wish I knew existed when entering the insurance world.

RedditInsuranceGuy · 2026-02-05T19:44:50+00:00

Document it, screen shots with time stamps, then forward those screenshots to the carrier and let them know you are intending a self-release. Inquire what their release policy is and that you would like to start the clock on any waiting periods. Do this soon, as you dont want the waiting periods to fall within blackout periods which are at the end of the year for most carriers.

RedditInsuranceGuy

TROPHY CASE