Build a meaningful career protecting families

No. Most Sahlman agents start with zero insurance experience. What we look for is coachability, drive, and a genuine desire to help families. We mentor you through the licensing process and your first appointments.

Yes. Every state requires a life insurance producer license before you can discuss, recommend, or sell coverage — there is no way around it, and no reputable agency will ask you to work without one. We walk you through your state’s requirements, point you to approved resources, and stay with you until the license is issued.

No. Recruiting is completely optional and is never required to earn, advance, or stay active. Many of our agents focus entirely on personal production and never build a team. If you later decide you want to develop other agents, that path is open to you.

A captive agent can only offer one company’s products. An independent agent can shop several carriers and recommend whichever one fits the family in front of them. Sahlman is independent, so you are not asking families to fit a single product line.

No. The work is appointment-based. You meet families who have asked to speak with someone — by phone, video, or in person — and you run a structured needs-analysis conversation rather than cold-knocking neighborhoods.

Yes. Sahlman agents are independent contractors, not employees. You are responsible for your own taxes, you set your own schedule, and nothing on this site is an offer of employment.

No. Because agents are independent contractors rather than employees, employee benefits such as a 401(k), health, or dental plan are not provided. What the agency provides is licensing guidance, training, mentorship, and carrier access.

It can be. Many appointments happen by phone or video, so agents work from home or anywhere in the states we serve. Others prefer meeting families in person locally. You are not required to relocate or sit in an office.

Most days combine three things: reaching out to and scheduling families, running appointments, and following up on applications already in underwriting. New agents also spend time in training and with a mentor. The rhythm is yours to set, but consistency is what separates the agents who build something lasting.

No. Agents earn commissions on life insurance policies they sell to families — period. Team-building and recruiting are completely optional. You will never be required to recruit or pay fees to advance. Our business model is licensed insurance sales, which is regulated by state departments of insurance.

Yes — this is a full-time career. Building a book of business takes consistent daily activity, and our mentorship and onboarding are built around agents who can commit to it. As an independent contractor you set your own schedule, but plan on this being your primary focus.

There is no clock to punch and no quota you must hit to stay active — but this is a full-time commitment, and the agents who do well treat it that way. Your manager will be straight with you in the interview about the activity level the role realistically takes.

It depends on your state. State exam and application fees typically total roughly $85–$310 across the states we serve, plus course tuition where a course is required — five of our 15 states (Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, and New Jersey) require a pre-licensing course, while the other ten let you go straight to the exam. This is the primary out-of-pocket cost to start, and we'll walk you through your state's process.

It is a closed-book, multiple-choice exam covering life insurance concepts, policy types, and your state’s insurance law. Some states run a single exam; others split it into a general section and a state section taken separately. Scheduling, fees, and passing scores are set by each state and its exam vendor, and most states allow retakes if you do not pass the first time.

Yes. Every state requires continuing education to keep a producer license in good standing, and the hours and renewal cycles differ from state to state — some renew on a fixed cycle, while others issue a license that stays active as long as CE is completed. Your state’s Department of Insurance publishes the current requirement.

Yes. Once you hold a resident license you can apply for non-resident licenses in other states, each with its own application and fee. Sahlman itself serves families in 15 states, so there is room to grow beyond your own.

You earn a commission when a policy you place is issued and paid for, and renewal commissions on some products as those policies stay in force. Commission rates are set in your carrier contracts, not by the agency. There is no base salary, and income is not guaranteed.

We do not publish average or typical earnings, and you should be skeptical of any agency that does — income here depends on your own activity, skill, the market, and your carrier contracts, so an "average" tells you very little about your own result. What we will do is walk you through how commissions actually work before you commit. Our income disclosure explains what we do and do not represent.

The first few months are the steepest part — you are learning products, getting comfortable in appointments, and building a pipeline from nothing. Many agents find their rhythm somewhere in the first several months, but there is no guaranteed timeline and results differ widely. Coming in with some financial runway is a real advantage.

Your state licensing fees and any required pre-licensing course are the costs you can plan for up front. Anything else — lead programs, optional tools — is your choice, and your manager will lay out the current options plainly during onboarding so nothing is a surprise.

Through lead programs, referrals from families you have already helped, and your own community relationships. Training covers how to work each of those consistently rather than leaving you to figure it out alone — prospecting is the part of this job that never stops, and we would rather be honest about that up front.

Lead pricing depends on the program and lead type you choose, and those options change over time. Your manager will go through what is currently available, and what it costs, during onboarding — before you spend anything.

Term life, whole life, universal life, children’s whole life, accidental death coverage, and annuities — placed through multiple national life insurance carriers rather than a single company, so you can match the product to the family.

Product knowledge, needs-analysis conversations, quoting tools, and compliance basics — then live appointments alongside a mentor who coaches you through them and debriefs afterward. You shadow experienced agents first, then they shadow you.

Working in bursts instead of consistently, skipping follow-up on families who did not buy the first time, underestimating how long the early months take, and trying to memorize a script instead of learning to listen. Every one of those is fixable with coaching, which is why mentorship matters more than raw talent here.