Most likely, you’re here today because you’re interested in selling insurance either for Colonial Life or Aflac.

Further, you’re probably looking for information that will help you determine which of these organizations will best suit your insurance career goals.

If this describes your situation in any way, you’ve found the right article!

Today’s review will compare both Colonial Life and Aflac with the aim of helping you decide between either organization.

Plus, I’ll share my experience at the end as someone who’s sold insurance since 2011 and been an insurance agency owner since 2014.

Let’s begin.

PS: If you would like to learn more about insurance sales opportunities other than Hartford Insurance, we’ve posted tons of insurance career reviews on this page.

NOTE: Are you interested in selling insurance as a business? Yes, then check out my Free Insurance Agent Resource Guide [NEW] to find out more.

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• • About

• • Products Sold

• • Commission

• • My Thoughts

• • Conclusion

About Colonial Life and Aflac

Colonial Life is a well-established insurance company based in Columbia, South Carolina, with over 80 years of experience in the industry.

A fully owned subsidiary of the Unum Group since 1993, Colonial Life is one of the leading voluntary benefits providers in the country, as well as an industry leader in new insurance sales.

Colonial Life has a network of more than 10,000 independent insurance agencies and brokerages and over 1,000 home insurance office professionals.

Aflac (American Family Life Assurance Company) has been one of the leading business insurance providers in the United States for over 65 years. It is the largest provider of supplemental insurance in the United States.

In 1974, Aflac was the first American company to obtain a license to sell insurance policies in Japan. Aflac Japan generates over 60% of the company’s total revenue.

The company is headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, and has offices in Nebraska, South Carolina, and New York.

Products Sold

Colonial Life offers several types of coverage including life insurance (term, universal, and whole), disability insurance, accident insurance, cancer insurance, critical illness, and hospital confinement insurance. Its products are sold in 49 states.

Unlike most insurance companies, Aflac focuses on supplemental insurance for both individuals, families, and businesses. It is a leading provider of life, accident, cancer, critical illness, and dental insurance products, all of which are designed to supplement existing health insurance.

The company also offers life insurance, along with stand-alone dental and vision coverage.

For its life insurance policies, Aflac doesn’t ask medical questions, which means that customers can’t be denied coverage based on pre-existing health conditions. In addition, policies can also be used to insure policyholder’s children and they can be maintained throughout their adult life.

Commission Levels

Colonial Life agent salaries are 100% commission-based. The company offers a transparent compensation model with competitive, straightforward, net commissions that are not reduced by enrollment or other fees that other carriers may charge.

In addition, agents have the possibility to participate in a variety of training programs and field training exercises.

If you are working for Aflac, your commission rates will vary depending on your area, carrier, and policy. As an Aflac insurance agent, you can expect somewhat lower commission payouts than with other insurance companies. Some insurance agencies will pay double or triple the commission on the same type of policies that Aflac agents sell.

For example, accident insurance policy sales yield a commission rate of 34.5% for first-year policies and cancer and critical care policies a 40% commission rate. For policy renewals, accident policies pay out a commission of up to 7%.

Aflac pays out the commission as soon as the coverage is issued. That means agents don’t have to wait until a policyholder starts paying for coverage before they receive money.

Similar to Colonial Life, Aflac offers product and company-specific education to provide agents with the necessary support to grow their business.

My Thoughts

https://youtu.be/Fvd922sRk_M

Now that you know more about how working for Colonial Life vs. Aflac works, I’d like to offer some of my experience selling insurance as both an agent and agency owner.

I think listening to advice from someone within the industry will not only help you make a more informed choice between both organizations but also help you determine whether neither option is right for you.

How leads are generated

Before joining any agency, one of the most important things to consider is lead generation.

What lead generation or prospecting system does the organization promote? And more importantly, will following that strategy make sense for you?

Here’s the thing. Both Colonial Life and Aflac depend on more traditional forms of prospecting. In other words, expect to work your existing network of friends, relatives, and current business associates in combination with cold prospecting door-to-door.

For some, this strategy works very well. Especially if you have an existing network that you can pitch to. However, if you don’t have an existing network like I did when I first started, you’ll find this strategy challenging.

Plus, some people just hate the idea of cold prospecting. Imagine walking into a business unannounced and asking someone (you’ve never met) to buy from you. It can be a daunting process. And it’s the same over the phone.

My recommendation? If you’re not comfortable with cold prospecting your personal connections, look for an insurance business model that incorporates paid leads instead of cold prospecting.

For instance, in my Final Expense and Medicare Agency, we don’t do network marketing or cold prospect at all! Instead, we utilize a paid lead program using Direct Mail, Facebook-generated leads, and even television leads. Utilizing this strategy gets us in front of warm prospects who are interested in buying.

Obviously, the trade-off is that you have to invest your own money into the leads. Why? Because I teach agents how to run insurance sales businesses versus being employees. But this results in quality leads who are interested in buying insurance. Plus, there’s no weirdness or shame like you usually get when you pitch to family and friends.

In my experience, investing in paid leads drastically changes the whole sales process. It’s a far better experience dealing with people who want to talk to you versus walking up to a business owner unannounced or bothering your friends and family.

Conclusion

I hope this article has taught you a few things you didn’t know about how working for either Colonial Life or Aflac works.

I recommend all agents continue researching the insurance industry, especially if you’re still confused about which organization to join.

There’s just so much information about the insurance sales business that new agents don’t know. That’s why I created a Free Insurance Agent Resource Guide. You’ll find plenty of information plus answers to questions you didn’t even know you had. Please check it out!

Also, if you’d like to learn more about how I’ve helped insurance agents sell final expense and Medicare either over the phone or face-to-face, there’s more information on my FAQ page.

Thanks for reading!