This is a commentary on the 19 states ranking lowest for insurance brokerage marketing remains. Insider fact revealed - This analysis reveals that in 17 of these 19 states, they appear among the top 25 for highest income ranking. Find out why.
Logic would say, the richest states, should produce the best money making brokerage opportunities. In-depth Research should this is not true. The main factor being the overwhelming presence of career based life insurance agencies, pushing new agents into financial planning. How many agent trainees could be consider efficient financial advisors? This leads to few lasting very long in their insurance career venture. Insurance Brokerage Marketing requires sufficient numbers of semi-independent agents and independent brokers to make endeavors pay off.
DELAWARE, Rating = 32
The very small agent base consists of around 3,000 annuity, life and health producers. This number can be refined further to only about 1,100 who have interest in placing brokerage business. Because of the small numbers of producers, compared to MA, NJ, VA, or CT, it is often an overlooked state. If you eliminate the 2,000 agents not worth bothering with you might land a few good brokerage producers.
MASSACHUSETTS Rating = 33
Compared to the states of Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia, Massachusetts gets a much better recommendation. By no means is it a "poor" state, in fact the average median income in Massachusetts exceeds that of Montana by $16,000! With agent turnover not as drastic as nearby states, it means more agents are progressing into that ideal 4 1/2 year to 12-year range. From this lot come many of the prime annuity, life, and health brokers. Stay out of the metropolitan Boston to area increase your marketing results. The reception of this state (and most New England states) is often cold. The agents tend to turn a cold shoulder to brokerage marketing operations not housed in the northeast region or New England states. The ratio of agents to Mass residents is very good at 3.1 per thousand. With the household income $8,000 above the national average, it is a good state for annuities, and financial/estate planning. Loyalty is the main handicap for outside marketers.
SOUTH DAKOTA, Rating = 34
An overabundance of life health agents reside here. With almost half in the Sioux Falls area, the outlying are full of one and two man multi-line life and property and casualty shops. With the household income $7,000 below the national average, that is not an abundance of wealth. This means small life policies are the standard and the marketing of annuities is very limited. For health insurance products, the market is stronger.
NEW HAMPSHIRE, Rating = 35
As a small Northeastern state, New Hampshire is surprisingly a very strong financial state. The median family income is over $14,000 above the national average. This means the potential recruiting of agents for financial products is inviting. In regards to this, unfortunately it is just too small of a state to draw enough agents to a seminar. In addition, while agents may brokerage with one or two companies, those in New Hampshire are very conservative. Nationwide, the typical broker is likely to represent three or more carriers. However, the New Hampshire agents, those currently brokering, probably will sign at best with one additional carrier in the next 12 months. Making sure this carrier is you, means choosing the right list of proven agents, offering the best opportunity, and mailing at the right time. The "right time", is when he is sitting on the fence. Either the agent needs to add a product like yours right now, or he had had a present carrier let him down.
CONNECTICUT, Rating = 36
Are their more lawyers or more insurance agents in Connecticut? Based on census data and our agent figures, Connecticut has 40% more agents per thousand residents than any of the top brokerage states. Its wealth factor is substantial with some very well off communities. A high percentage of experienced agents have earned credentials like CHfC, LUTCF, CLU, CFP, RFP, and RIA. Your financial products here have to pass a grocery size list of qualifications from skeptical "over-educated" agents that insist on examining, then cross-examining any product they might consider selling. Almost like a lawyer examining the insurance coverage. What is missing is the prime middle ground, producers with 4 to 12 years experience. This causes an adverse condition. Not enough agents, percentage wise, are willing to become independent brokers or personal producing general agents. The best recruiting factor in CT is that agents receive far few insurance recruiting calls or mailings than those in MA, MD, or VA.
VIRGINIA, Ratings = 37
Another "high income" state, the life agents are very likely to have began their career birthing process with a life career subsidy program. It would be nice to separate the experienced 4 to 12 year professionals from the rookies, but in Virginia, it is not easy. As you know mailing the wrong agents = zero results. You should not throw thousand and thousands of unknown agents into our list. Keep concentration refined to the producer that might benefit from your offer.
MARYLAND, Rating = 38
There are many for Washington D.C. agents But most of the successful producers are licensed and reside in Virginia or Maryland. These agents are hit hard with insurance solicitations, especially those belonging to a local association. Moreover, they carry that same career life loyalty factor as Massachusetts agents. With the 4th highest national median family income, there is excellent potential for insurance brokerage marketing by introducing new annuity and variable products.
WASHINGTON, Rating = 39
Washington who be much higher up in the state ratings, but for one thing. Who are the agents of the caliber you are looking for? You certainly will not get this information from the Washington Department of Insurance, as they feel the information is not public information. Data on agents is kept sealed up. A while back, our firm was the last allowed by the insurance department to send in someone with a laptop computer to access records. Beware of obtaining a yellow-page derived list of Washington agents. That will only get you an abundance of highly captive Nationwide, S.F., Farm Bureau, and Allstate agents. Finding a good refined, multi-source compiled list from a reputable firm is your only answer here.
NEW JERSEY, Rating = 40
Surprisingly this is the "richest state", at least certain pockets of it, with $13,000 over the national average. Life agencies in the major cities tend to be extremely large with up to 300 agents each. With high numbers of career agents, also come high agent turnover, about 85% during the first 18 months in the insurance business. The state also has the largest percentage of multi-line agents, both captive and independent. Multi-line insurers are known for their lower turnover rate. A state with a whole lot of good brokerage and personal producing general agents to recruit, but only if you know who's who.
NEW YORK, Rating = 41
Here's a jumbo state. Nevertheless, New York has its own rules and regulations, making it not worthwhile for many companies to be licensed in, and if they do it usually ends in life insurance company of New York. However, some well know life insurance companies with career-orientated agencies are located there. New York regulators feel that the freedom of information act does not apply to agents licensed in their state. They have a significant team of attorneys ready to battle any notion you have on invading their state for agent information. A calculated guess would be 58,000 licensed life and health agents. Here like Washington, the problem lies in obtaining a qualified list of broker names. For smart marketers, here is a tip. New York insurance agents receive less solicitation from your competitors for any large state or any state with half the population.
INDIANA, Rating = 42
Definitely one of the highest agent turnover states in the nation. This is why the agent per thousand residents is slightly over normal About 8 years ago the agent per thousand people was almost exactly double! Like New Mexico, life career agencies shrank, realizing the profit potential here was not very great. Left over are still too many agents having the experience, but still have not taken a big enough step toward independence. If you might enjoy spending unlimited money, time, and patience "teaching an old dog, a new trick", charge ahead. Otherwise move on and concentrate your insurance brokerage marketing on more lucrative states.
ALASKA, Rating = 43
Too few agents for the decent population base. Maybe there are too many occupations that pay far beyond what most of the state's agents earn. Only three other states are a higher median family income. Most of the recruiters that have the state in their territory are based out of Washington or California. In addition, there are nowhere near enough quality brokers to send out a 1,000-piece mailing. Unless it is absolutely necessary, spend your time on easier states to recruit agents in.
WYOMING, Rating = 44
How can you promote your products in a state where the agents are so geographically spread out? Usually direct mail would be the answer, but like Alaska, and a few small states the number of brokers is very limited. Therefore, the proper suggestion is not to bypass Wyoming in your marketing, but tie it in along with Montana or Idaho and mail the best.
VERMONT, Rating = 45
With Vermont being one of the smallest states, it is one of the hardest to judge. There is minor insurance brokerage marketing demand. Along with little feedback on the state, it is hard to place in the overall ranking. Upon analysis it was able possible to compare Vermont to other states in the Northeast. Unlike Maine, or New Hampshire, it lacks the brokerage mentality of those two much higher ranked states. Its agents are not very receptive to product selling opportunity. In addition, the life career agencies have made enough of an impact to hold the agents true to their old school thinking.
RHODE ISLAND, Rating = 46
Rhode Island is a very difficult state to find out what agents write what products. This combined with career agent loyalty, and a small number of total agents means that not too savvy marketers spend their money soliciting all the agents, to find the few that might meet their qualificati
COLORADO, Rating = 47
Banks that offer insurance, definitely take away from the normal base of independent agent flow. So do aggressive mutli-line agencies like Nationwide, S.F., Allstate, etc. After all, a bank offers an agent something a career life agency cannot. This feature is an endless supply of "potential client leads" with full information on their assets. Compare this to the "lead" the life agency commonly gives an agent. It is a policy owner with $1,000 to $25,000 of insurance that 5 previous agents have either unsuccessfully solicited, or have sucked away the policy owner's previous cash value as a source of purchasing a new policy. Usually 50% of "wirehouse" securities brokers have a life insurance license, in Colorado and Arizona they figure is closer to 90%. All this is topped off by an enormous amount of recruiting competition. Either get the right agent list, or be left high and dry.
ARIZONA, Rating = 48
Too hot to handle, but not because of the heat. Insurance Brokerage Marketing firms think this is an easy state. Not just a few of them, but also tremendous floods of them send offers to every single agent in the state. You can easily waste money trying to attract 12,000 of the state's agents that will do little good to you. Thousands of Allstate and Liberty Mutual style agents, and an unusually high amount of rookie agents. Like Colorado, it has the same problem of too many under trained starving rookies, combined with too many stuck in the mud old-timers. In addition, for the marketers that think Arizona is crammed with retirement havens, think again. Its senior population is right in line with the average state.
NEVADA, Rating = 49
Bet you 10 to 1, that the number of professional gamblers making a decent income, outweigh the number of insurance agents earning likewise, by 10 to 1. It seems like every other insurance with this state in their lineup wants to roll out wads of money and gamble on the chance of hitting hot producers here. The problem is that there are so few hot producers, and they have little agent competition. The marketing competition could fill a trash dumpster with their advertisements in no time. Five words: No agents, tons of competition.
HAWAII, Rating =50
Here is a state that is hard to comment on. You have no other states bordering Hawaii. On top of this Hawaii itself, it split up with its various islands. The few number of brokers and geographic distance make it a state better served by an insurance brokerage marketing firm located right in Hawaii.
Right here, in case you are printing out the ranks, are the top ranking 31 states in order. They are Florida, California, Texas, Ohio, Georgia, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Carolina, Michigan, Missouri, Tennessee, Oregon, Alabama, Kentucky, Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Utah holding the 20th position. The next eleven are New Mexico, West Virginia, North Dakota, Montana, Maine, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Montana, Iowa, Idaho, and at #31 is Illinois.
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