How much commission do you make selling life insurance?
Asked by: Lauretta Brakus | Last update: June 14, 2025Score: 4.5/5 (23 votes)
What is a good commission rate for life insurance?
Commission structures vary by policy and company. But typically, life insurance agents receive as commission 60% to 80% of the premiums you pay in the first year. They collect smaller commissions in subsequent years. Added up, 5% to 10% of all the premiums you pay over the life of the policy could go to commissions.
How much do you make for selling a life insurance policy?
Whether you are selling them to employers or individuals, these policies tend to be large, with significant annual premiums. In the first year, a life insurance agent can earn anywhere from 30% to 90% of this premium, along with 5% to 10% of premiums paid in later years.
Is selling life insurance a good income?
As of Jan 18, 2025, the average annual pay for a Life Insurance Sales Agent in California is $113,805 a year. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $54.71 an hour. This is the equivalent of $2,188/week or $9,483/month.
How do life insurance agents get paid?
Typically, a life insurance agent receives anywhere from 30% to 90% of the amount paid for a policy (also known as the premium) by the client in the first year. In later years, the agent may receive anywhere from 3% to 10% of each year's premium, also known as "renewals" or "trailing commissions."
For New Insurance Agents - How Commissions Work!
Which insurance company pays the highest commission?
Some of the companies that offer high commission rates to their agents are HDFC Life, Max Life, ICICI Prudential, and Kotak Mahindra. These companies also have attractive incentive schemes and bonus programs for their top-performing agents.
Can selling life insurance be a side hustle?
Earn Supplemental Income
Looking to make some extra cash on the side? Now's the perfect time to start selling insurance! While we would never recommend going into any profession solely for the money, some people do enjoy earning something a little extra on top of their primary income.
How to calculate life insurance commission?
Take your base commission and multiply that by the premium that's paid on the insurance policy you sold. If you have an override, multiply that amount by the premium as well. Take the amounts of both of those calculations and add them together to get the final amount you will earn in commission.
What is the most profitable insurance to sell?
Life insurance is the most profitable—and the hardest—type of insurance to sell. With the highest premiums and the longest-running contract, it brings in cash over a long period of time. In the first year, agents make the largest annual sum on a policy, bringing in anywhere from 40–120% of the policy premium.
How much can you sell a $100,000 life insurance policy for?
A typical life settlement is worth around 20% of your policy value, but can range from 10-25%. So for a 100,000 dollar policy, you would be looking at anywhere from 10,000 to 25,000 dollars.
What kind of insurance agent gets paid the most?
- Reinsurance Accountant. ...
- Health Insurance Specialist. ...
- Insurance Broker. ...
- Liability Claims Representative. ...
- Insurance Adjuster. ...
- Insurance Manager. ...
- Final Expense Agent. Salary range: $62,500-$98,500 per year. ...
- Life Insurance Actuary. Salary range: $79,500-$98,500 per year.
Is selling life insurance stressful?
Insurance sales jobs are highly stressful with little pay guarantee and is an industry with a high quit rate. To be successful in the industry, new agents should understand the skills and attributes that are common among top producers.
Why are insurance commissions so high?
Insurance Company, Policy Type, and Coverage Level
For example, a life insurance agent might earn higher commissions on whole-life policies compared to term-life policies. Similarly, policies with higher coverage often yield higher commissions, as they typically have higher insurance premiums.
Why did I quit being an insurance agent?
There's two big reasons why insurance agents quit: they don't feel valued, and they aren't given the technology they need to do their jobs well. In addition, managing commissions while hitting performance goals is a stressful part of the job for many insurance agents.
What is a good monthly commission amount?
Commission structures are also a motivating factor that give salespeople some independence, help them reach on-target earning (OTE), and help managers meet goals month over month. The average commission rate for sales sits somewhere between 20% and 30% of gross margins, but this depends on the sales structure.
What percent commission do insurance agents make?
For auto and home policies, captive insurance agents earn about 5% to 10% of the entire premiums paid for the first year, while independent agents receive about 15%. Commission rates for renewals range between 2% and 15%, averaging around 2% to 5%, regardless of the type of agent.
What is a good commission ratio in insurance?
"An ideal ICR range should be between 75 and 90%, which indicates a healthy settlement of claims by the insurer against the premium collection," says Narula.
How do you calculate commission payout?
Total Sales ($) X Commission Rate (%) = Total Commission ($)
This commission is in addition to their regular salary or wages, so if they make $2,000 per month, their total monthly earnings would be $2,500. But again, that's the basic formula. There are more!
How fast can you make money selling life insurance?
Most businesses don't make any profit in their first year of operating. It could take anywhere from 18 to 24 months for your insurance sales to actually provide profit. Don't feel discouraged. Every small business owner has to clear this hurdle.
How hard is it to sell life insurance?
A career as a life insurance sales professional can be challenging. The competition is fierce, and you may experience a lot of rejection before a successful sale. Conducting business in the comforts of your home isn't any different. You should be willing to put in the effort for your venture to grow.
Is being a part-time insurance agent worth it?
One of the key advantages of working part-time as an insurance agent is that it enables you to maintain your main job. If you have bills to pay and responsibilities to meet, this can be hugely beneficial. You can gradually transition into the insurance field while ensuring a steady paycheck from your existing job.
What type of life insurance pays highest commission?
Commission rates for whole and universal life insurance plans are often significantly higher than those for term life policies. Agents, however, must ensure that their clients are able to meet premium payments.
What is the highest commission paying job?
- Pharmaceutical sales. ...
- Sales consultant. ...
- Medical devices sales representative. ...
- Real estate agent. ...
- Software sales. ...
- Mortgage sales representative. ...
- Sales executive. ...
- Sales engineers.
Which life insurance company pays agents the most?
Top paying companies in Insurance for Life Insurance Agent are National Agents Alliance, New York Life, and National Income Life.