Here is an example of my day as I am Moving forward;
"The uniform
simultaneous death act solves the problem of determining who
receives the policy proceeds if the insured and the primary beneficiary are
killed at the same time due to a common accident. If there is no conclusive
evidence of who died first, then the Uniform Simultaneous Death Act states that
the policy proceeds will be paid as if the primary beneficiary died first and
the insured died last, in which case the policy proceeds are paid to the
contingent beneficiaries or to the insured's estate."
This is from my medical and life insurance course that I am taking so I can sell insurance in the state of Florida. Soon I'll take a state exam an then I'll start looking for those in need of Medicare Supplements.
A long time ago and in a quieter time I did the same thing. Sometime in the summer of 1987 I was Introduced to a real charger of an insurance agent. He needed help and I needed a way to become an Allstate agent. I had taken a couple of jobs in the Atlanta area while deciding what my REAL job would be and having two jobs in 2 years made me not quite desirable to Big Blue. The idea was that I would work under this superstar agent and then when I had paid enough Allstate dues...I'd get my chance at being an agent.
Computers were coming . but not yet in the insurance office. Funny thing was that my boss would say to customers, while on the phone, "let me pull up your file on the computer and we'll see what I can do to help you." Actually he was looking at a microfiche and the client data was at least a week old....but the customers loved it. From the back it looked like a big old computer screen....sort of.
Although over the years I would get many hours of valuable training and learn all kinds of insurance details as I went along ....my training started in a kind of homegrown way in this little office in Snellville. First, there was No training material. So, the best we could do at that time was for me to read the policy jackets. They used to hand these out to customers...they don't anymore cause those darn customers ask too many questions. There was a large closet in the office and that was the only space available. I was studying in the closet for a short time and then I got my office.
My continued training was unique....sort of an apprentice program , if you will. As I was taking care of customers , explaining coverage or handling customer payment disputes there was a frequent observation going on of my every move. One of the other Senior agents in the office would stand outside my door and listen to my every word. after the customer left...I would get a verbal review of my performance and immediate lessons on how to close a sale, or solve a problem. This, for me was a great way to learn.
After a year or so my boss notified the managers that I was doing everything that an agent for Allstate needed to do....and they opened the book and made me a regular agent. "Opened the Book" is sort of a Mafia reference....cause in a way the insurance business is like the Mafia. My manager wants me to be a good earner, his boss wants his group to make lots of money and so on...everybody gets paid up the line off of the efforts of the agent on the street.
