Step 10: Completion
Getting Paid On Your Business
Now that You Have Submitted your Application, The Following Steps are the MOST IMPORTANT Part of the Process
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It really is amazing that agents will go through all the hard work of getting licensed, buying leads, learning how to get good on the phone in order to book the appointment, go over with their mentor on which product suits the client the best, drive to the clients house, sit with the client, fill out the paperwork, collect the voided check, make sure the app is filled out correctly by watching the videos and comparing it to the sample apps, submitting the app, and then……..NOTHING…..moving on to their next appointment while disregarding the very applications they just spent so much time and hard work to get!!! They just let the application sit there, at the carrier, not getting approved or issued, and in effect, not getting paid!
Could you imagine a farmer doing all the hard work of clearing the field, removing the weeds, tilling the ground, planting the apple seeds, watering the seeds, keeping the bugs away, and then come harvest time, when it is time to reap the rewards of all their hard work, the farmer decides to go 
out and clear a different field, pull different weeds, and plant different seeds while he lets all the trees with fresh apples grown on them fall to the ground and rot! That would be the STUPIDEST thing in the world for a farmer to do, wouldn’t it?! After his first season, he would be OUT of business and bankrupt. Unfortunately, many agents run their business just like the example of the farmer who ignores his harvest. Allowing your business to “sit” at the carriers without checking it, calling the carriers, or getting the necessary outstanding requirements, is as detrimental to your business as the example of the farmer, and quite frankly just as STUPID!
I believe all of our goals in this business revolve around 2 major things, helping families protect their loved ones, and increasing our financial situation in life to provide for our loved ones. Either way, not following up and getting your business issued accomplishes neither goal. By now you should have realized that you are an independent agent and that your income is reliant on you and you alone. The key difference between a profitable agent and one who quits and goes back and gets a job, working for someone else that understands the philosophy of profit, is the ability to turn your applications into issued policies.
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Check Your Pending Business
Congratulations on submitting your application to the carrier. This is just the first step in getting this policy issued so don’t forget to continually check the status of the applications to make sure everything goes through smoothly. Occasionally the carriers will have outstanding requirements that you may need to get to them in order to get your application issued in a timely manner. The challenge is that there is no way of knowing this if you don’t continually check your pending business. This is a common oversight with new agents so we highly encourage you to check your pending business at least twice a week. Watch the video to the right to learn how to check your business with four of our primary carriers: American-Amicable, United Home Life, Transamerica, and Americo. The other carriers are very similar.
Submitting the Policy Receipts
Once the policy for your client has been approved, issued, and mailed to you, you will need to schedule a time to deliver the policy to them. Included with the policy will be a policy receipt and possibly an amendment that may be required from the carrier before you will get paid. The policy must be signed by the client when you deliver the policy. This is a very important part of the process to ensure that the policy has been delivered and accepted by the client. In some cases, if these policy receipts are not received in 60 to 90 days, they will actually cancel the policy and chargeback the commissions. You WILL be notified by email and or a letter in the mail before this would happen. You can click below on the carrier contact button to locate the email to send in your policy receipts or instructions for each carrier on where to send the policy receipts will be outlined with the policy receipt when you receive it.
Getting Paid on Your Business
The final step is the best one, which is getting paid for the work you’ve done! Learn from our experiences by listening to the following 3 audios on how to set proper expectations with your client, avoid unnecessary declines, and how to get paid quickly on your business.
National Life Group’s unique process
As the majority of the carriers follow similar processes in terms of getting paid Direct DAILY deposit into your bank account, usually within 3-5 days of your business being submitted National Life Group’s process for getting paid is slightly different and they only pay once a week.
Unlike the other carriers, LSW will NOT draft the premium until the application is APPROVED and then ISSUED. Keep in mind that if they are healthy that the auto underwriter could approve the case within 12 -24 hrs, so tell the client when applying that they could see the draft come out anywhere between the next 2 to 3 days to 2 to 3 weeks.
