People First Agency AIL Globe Review

By David Duford - January 02, 2023 - 5 Mins Read

Looking into a career in insurance? Are you considering working with People First Agency AIL Globe?

If so, you are in the right place. Before you decide to take this “opportunity” you need to complete your due diligence.

Whether you are an experienced agent or an individual who is just getting started, this article will provide invaluable insight into People First Agency AIL Globe’s internal structure, sales strategies, and work culture.

What does People First Agency AIL offer? Is People First Agency AIL a pyramid scheme? And, is People First Agency AIL a legally registered company?

Keep reading to find the answers!

PS: Check out my insurance sales jobs reviews of other agencies for more information.

NOTE: Are you an aspiring or new insurance agent looking for more insight on how the insurance sales industry works? Check out my free New Insurance Agent Resource Guide to help answer many of your questions (as well as ones you didn’t know you had!).https://davidduford.com/insurance-sales-resource-guide/

DISCLAIMERS: We are not in any way affiliated with American Income Life (AIL). In fact, we are a direct competitor of theirs. This article is our personal review of AIL and we aim to provide a balanced and fair review. If you would like to contact AIL, you can do so at 254-761-6400 or 1-800-433-3405

Who Is People First Agency AIL?

People First Agency AIL Globe is an organization in the financial services industry. They actively recruit and train individuals to sell insurance products and recruit new agents.

People First Agency is a principal subsidiary of Globe Life. * This can be found directly on People First Agency’s website.

Since they are a subsidiary of Globe Life the designations People First Agency AIL Globe, and AIL Globe will be used synonymously throughout this article.

Who Is American Income Life (AIL) Globe Life?

In 1951 a man named Bernard Rapoport started American Income Life (AIL).

He began the company with $25,000 and today AIL has 2 million policyholders with over 130 million annual product sales.

AIL’s main customer base includes credit unions, labor unions, and insurance solicitation associations.

The AIL headquarters is located in Waco, Texas. AIL carries an A rating with AM best as of 2020.

American Income Life is a subsidiary of Globe Life Insurance which operates in the USA, New Zealand, and Canada.

What Does People First Agency AIL Globe Do?

AIL is a captive insurance agency. This means that AIL agents only sell AIL life insurance products.

AIL recruits new agents and then trains them to sell and represent their products.

Their goal is to provide short and long-term support. American Income Life can help with prospecting and creating a lead system. They may also assist with management opportunities.

What Products Do They Sell?

American Income life sells supplemental health insurance as well as life insurance products.

AIL offers whole life and term life insurance products. The whole life insurance can be called permanent life insurance. It does not cancel at a certain age or due to health issues. The price of a whole life policy can never be increased.

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Term life insurance is different, in that, it is valid for a set term. This could be 5, 10, 15, or 20 years. Individuals may choose to go with a term life insurance product to provide coverage in case of early death or unexpected health issues.

Term insurance is cheaper than whole life insurance because there is no guarantee you will pass before the policy ends.

Why Do Agents Work At AIL?

AIL offers the opportunity for high-income earrings and entrepreneurship. With face-to-face training, AIL provides a good foundation for agents to learn how to recruit, train, develop, and manage other agents.

Is AIL Legit?

Yes, AIL is a legitimate company. They operate within the law and market insurance products to customers and recruit new agents.

They are rated on A.M. best, BBB, Glassdoor, and Investopedia.

AIL has been in operation since 1951 when it was started by a man named Bernard Rapoport. AIL now has millions of policy holders and annual sales.

Is AIL A Pyramid Scheme?

AIL is not a pyramid scheme or a scam. AIL is structured the same as many other insurance agencies. Their recruitment and sales process is similar to other independent agencies that recruit and train other agents.

How Is AIL Run And Structured?

Their structure is based on a MLM hierarchy, this means at the top is the insurance company.

That would be American Income Life, then beneath that are other agencies that are run in certain areas or territories. Then beneath that are smaller agencies and individual agents who actually sell the products.

This may look exactly like an MLM, however, this is the common structure for insurance agencies.

Pros Of AIL

The pros mentioned on Glassdoor are as follows:

No limit to your income and growth opportunities if you are consistent.
Make your own hours.
More freedom over your schedule, work location, and income.
“Great atmosphere to challenge yourself and grow…”
“Amazing support system – tool and training provided”

Cons Of AIL

Some comments and reviews on Glassdoor comment on the following:

Trouble with finding a qualified manager and/or mentor.
Long hours or pressure to work more.
100% commission based income.
Disagreements with the product quality and price. Multiple individuals comment mentioning that the insurance products are “overpriced” and “scam people”.

Issues with the company structure are also mentioned.

Personal issues with the MLM-based structure. Depending on the branch you are recruited by, you may be encouraged to focus more on recruiting other agents than actually selling insurance products.

Some individuals may find issues with a new agent, who has just begun their career, recruiting other rookies without a proven track record. A newbie training a newbie is not the best idea.

If you want to find out the branch’s focus, ask a few questions during your interview. You could ask questions such as:

What is the company culture?
Is production more important than recruiting?
What are your starting commission levels?
How do you get higher commission levels?

Complete your due diligence to ensure you understand the branch’s culture and values.

You could even look for a previous or current agent at the branch and have a quick chat about the branch.

Know what you’re getting into so you can make the best choice.

Independent Agent Vs. Captive Agent

Are you aware of the difference between independent and captive agents? If not, you need to be!

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In a nutshell, there are two different approaches or structures for organizations in the insurance business. There is the captive model and the brokerage or independent model.

An independent agent or the independent model allows an agent to work with multiple insurance providers. This allows the independent agent to compare more options and offer better coverage.

You have access to a variety of carriers and products. More options means more flexibility and freedom when selling. This means you can confidently sell a product to your client because you can confirm it fits their needs and compare alternatives.

I believe the independent model is far superior to the captive model. While some people are better suited to a captive model, I stand by the independent model.

Captive agents on the other hand, work for one agency. They are the exact opposite of an independent agent. In most cases, a captive agent can only provide you with one insurance product. American Income Life is a captive organization.

You are not able to provide comparisons for your clients meaning you may not be offering the best product for the client.

This model can be an attractive option for some. It offers simplicity because you only sell one product. You can focus on one product and learn it really well.

But it still presents some significant downsides. One of those is, many captive organizations will not “vest” your business for a certain number of years. If you decide to leave the captive agency, you risk losing ALL future commissions. You can say goodbye to any commission earned.

Commission with the captive model is usually much lower than the commission with an independent model.

Lastly, a good amount of these captive agencies fully buy into the MLM structure. They heavily stress recruitment and building a “downline” of agents below you. If you want to succeed with those organizations you need to “drink the Kool’aid” so to speak.

AIL Low Starting Commission

Your pay with AIL is straight commission. This has its pros and cons. If you are a great salesperson, this is not so bad. Your income is based on your ability to close sales.

But, if you are new to sales or you are not great at it, this can become a challenge. The good news is, sales is a skill. It can be learned and improved upon with the right support and training.

If you’re looking for a salary or set wage, then this is not a good fit for you. Many insurance agencies provide compensation based on commission. So, selling insurance in general will not usually provide a set salary.

American Income Life starts their agents at a 50% commission, this commission level may not be across the board for all products. So, be ready for some products to pay even less commissions.

Agencies that focus on mass recruitment may discourage you from looking too hard at their commissions. They often say “Work hard and the money will take care of itself.”

While that can be true, it can also be a huge red flag. Commissions may not be the number one factor when deciding on an agency, but they are still important.

Compare an agency’s commissions with other agencies. AIL’s commissions are lower than Symmetry, Equis, but higher than PHP and WFG.

However, when compared to many other organizations, AIL by no means offers the highest commissions.

Get Comfortable With The Selling Process

While I have said they sell very well, I do notice that over time agents can become weary of the actual prospecting and presenting process.

AIL will use a “bait” such as No-Cost Child Safety Kit or a response card to a union member’s beneficiary on an accidental policy. Then the agent will “switch” the presentation to sell life insurance.

Some agents do not like this because they are uncomfortable starting a presentation under false pretenses. That can rub a lot of people the wrong way! I am a straight shooter, let your prospect know the EXACT reason you are there.

Most of the time, everyone you talk to will really appreciate honesty.

That being said, AIL’s presentation and prospecting strategy does work well, they have many successful agents that sell a lot. Just be prepared for this “bait” tactic if you do choose to work with AIL.

Vesting

Vesting is ownership over your insurance book business. Some agencies will vest you 100% but other organizations may only vest you after your business has been running for multiple years.

How could this be a problem?

Well, if you are not 100% vested, it means you do not own 100% of your commissions and renewals. So, if you were to decide to leave the organization then you lose ALL of the unearned income.

From what I know, your upline gets it. So, if you are not 100% vested and you leave, those above you benefit from your months or years of hard work.

With AIL, from what I understand, you are not 100% vested until 10 years have passed.

Conclusion

American Income Life may be a good fit for individuals who want to sell one insurance product and are comfortable with an MLM structure. AIL offers 50% commission or less on their products and they may “vest” you after 10 years.

If you want to continue researching AIL, take a look at these resources:

AIL Training Manual – this will give you a good explanation of the sales and prospecting process.
There are a few articles criticizing the mass recruitment strategy many at AIL employ. You can read about these writers’ perspectives here and here.
Read up on well-regarded career review websites like Indeed.com and Glassdoor.com.
The Insurance Forums always has good reviews on organizations.
Like the idea of growing a downline outside of MLM? Check out these MLM review web pages for more ideas on affiliate marketing and their thoughts on AIL: Digital Business Creator, Smart Affiliate Success

If you want to be an independent agent and work with an agency that offers more freedom and 100% ownership over your business then consider my agency David Duford Group.

To learn more about my agency and how I got started, read about me here.

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