New York Life New York Life-Great Company but there are better situations for new agents out there Nationwide

I recently left New York Life after a year and a half of being in the business and it was the best thing I ever did. While I learned some basics at New York Life, I did not have the one on one training out it the field I was looking for and wanted. We had a "trainer" but their time was so filled with all of the people that did not have any sales experience. My boss would say I should be more successful with my background, but somehow I wasn't. Having the opportunity to hear Mark Pfaff changed my whole career around. He was succinct and concise on the formula of what to do each day, the script to use and how to end calls. My call volume doubled, my sales started to soar. So why did I leave? 

My biggest beef with New York Life is that I wasn't treated as an individual with sales experience. I know what it takes to build a business and have a strong work ethic. My efforts were not paying off and I couldn't get help with it. We were required to go to so many meetings that it was hard to find time to have appointments. Essentially two days a week you could not book appointments. Monday nights were required phone clinics until 8:00pm so to meet with families or network, I would be working two or three nights a week and I usually worked three Saturdays a month. Not good for my family at all. Plus I would not take off during the day even if I was working into the evening so I worked way too much. 

I sold, on the average, 6-8 policies a month, but I made very little money. Selling is not the same as placing a policy. I actually had savings when I started at NYL, but after a year and a half I don't. Underwriting is tricky,but because I was not selling a number and a insurance need enough, people didn't always take their policies if they came back rated. My market was business owners which is very complex. My managers just did not have that skill set so my time was filled with trying to figure out what to do. We were also encouraged to write two or more policies on each person you wrote. Sometimes that was the right thing to do, but generally all that does is get you another life that you insured and it sticks the client for an extra policy fee. 

Fees were reasonable. $120 a month, but you pay for everything else out of pocket. Business cards, stationery. It wasn't too bad, but I was really happy to know that my new company pays for the first 250 for you and for your website. Except for the mall-I paid so much money to work a mall kiosk that was not my market. My boss required it, something I didn't know was going to be required when I came on board-I tried it, but by the time I worked a mall shift I could go out and meet 20 business owners, plus it was far from me and I was not working in that area. It was not a good mall, some people did wrote business, but I hear agents complaining their retention rate is low. 

So enter my new company. Not only do they train me on things I need to know; they pay me a draw, but I don't have to pay it back if I leave the company. The mantra at my new company is "How can I help you to succeed". They even have a health insurance company within our General Agency so that we can have steady income while we are building our book of business-which I OWN. The professionalism of my new office is so much higher than the NYL office. There are not any leads handed out to some and not to others. If you qualify to get leads you get them. If you don't, you might still get them if they feel you could benefit. At NYL, a few agents in our class were fed leads and orphans, but not most. I did get some nice leads at NYL, but I didn't own my book. My new company is also one of the largest insurers out there, plus I can go directly to 48 other companies through my broker if my company is somehow not a fit. I truly run my own business, but with so much support. I don't schedule parameds or keep up with my cases. My case manager does it for me. I get a report once a week unless they need something from me. I can focus on what I need to do which is PROSPECT.

Here is why I wish I knew before I started in the business. After I left NYL, your ledger stays open for 45 days. I had a couple of Temporary Coverage Agreements expire so I now owe them some money.  NYL says they will take me to collections if I don't make at least a partial payment in one weeks time. One of my policies in my pipeline was delivered by another agent which she rewrote so she got the commission. If I got the commission as I was supposed to as the issuing agent, then my ledger would be almost positive. And, I can't find who to talk to about this at NYL corporate. That seems like churning to me. 

Overall, I hope I do not sound bitter, because I am happy that I got into this career and NYL made that happen. I do feel a great sense of relief and so much less stressed now that I have left. It was a very negative environment that focused on what you weren't doing rather than what you were. So my best advice is steer clear of New York Life purely because of the ledger situation and the fact that you do not own your book of business, you are not truly the business owner. There are probably better NYL offices out there, but be aware of what you are getting into.