Most insurance agencies do one of two things when it comes to pay.
Either they throw every new agent straight into commission-only from day one — no base, no safety net, figure it out or wash out. Or they cap experienced, established producers with a structure that was really built for beginners, one that limits how much a strong closer can actually earn.
Neither of those makes much sense when you think about it for more than a minute. So we built something different.
New agents: hourly + commission
If you're new to insurance, you get a real hourly wage plus commission on what you close.
Here's why that matters. In your first weeks and months, you're doing a lot of things that don't directly generate a sale: getting licensed in additional states, learning your carrier's systems, sitting through training, figuring out how to actually run a sales conversation instead of just reading a script. None of that pays you a dime under a pure commission-only structure. You're working real hours and earning nothing until your first close — and for a lot of new agents, that gap is long enough to make them quit before they ever got good at the job.
An hourly base changes that math. You're not betting your rent on your third week of a brand-new career. You get paid for the hours you're putting in while you climb the learning curve, plus commission on top once you start closing. It's a structure that assumes you're going to need a runway, because almost everyone does.
Experienced agents: commission-only, and here's the honest reasoning
If you're already licensed and producing, we usually recommend commission-only — though it's not the only option, and we'll match you with hourly + commission too if that's what you'd rather have.
The reasoning is simple: production-based pay tends to scale with experience in a way a blended hourly rate doesn't. If you're already a strong producer, an hourly component is often just diluting your split without adding much, since you're not the one who needs the training-wheel income anymore. Commission-only usually means a higher ceiling and full ownership of what you close.
That's our honest take, not a rule we're forcing on anyone. Some experienced agents still prefer the predictability of a base. If that's you, we'll find you a match that offers it.
One thing worth checking with any agency — ours or otherwise
Before you agree to any "hourly + commission" offer, ask directly whether that hourly pay is a true separate wage, or whether it's structured as a draw — meaning it gets deducted from your future commissions once you start closing. Those are two very different deals wearing the same label. A true hourly wage is money you keep regardless of what you sell. A draw is really just an advance on commission you haven't earned yet, and it can quietly leave you owing money back if you don't produce enough to cover it.
This isn't always disclosed clearly upfront, and it's exactly the kind of detail that turns "great offer in the interview" into "wait, what happened to my paycheck" three weeks in.
On residuals — because this comes up a lot
A quick note since it's related and commonly misunderstood: most agencies do not pay residuals, regardless of which pay structure you're on. When an agency provides or pays for your leads, they typically keep the resulting book of business — you're paid commission on the sale, but the ongoing renewal income belongs to the agency, not you. That's standard across most of the industry, not a red flag. Residual arrangements do exist, but they're the exception, and they usually show up when an agent is generating and owning their own business rather than working agency-provided leads. We'll always tell you upfront whether a given agency offers anything like this — never assume it's part of an offer unless it's stated plainly.
Why we're telling you all of this
Because most of the time, you don't find out how a pay structure actually works until you're already three weeks into a job and looking at a commission statement that doesn't match what you thought you signed up for. We'd rather you know all of this walking in.
This is also exactly the kind of detail we check for when we vet a partner agency — not just whether they say they offer hourly + commission or commission-only, but whether their agents confirm that's actually how it works in practice. Read more about how our vetting process works.
Looking for an agency with a pay structure that actually matches your stage in this career? Request info — takes two minutes, no cost to you.