The Best Training Programs for Commercial Insurance Producers

Feb 10, 2017

The Top 3 Technical & Tactical Training Programs for Commercial Insurance Producers

Note: This article has been recently updated for 2020. Click here to get the 10 Best Training Programs for Commercial Insurance Producers in 2020.

A simple Google search for "insurance agent training programs" will yield you 887,000+ results. Yet very few that will get you actual results. For insurance producers who want to become elite at what they do, effective training is critical. So what are the best training programs for commercial insurance producers?

Making the Best

The demand for high quality, commercial insurance producer training is at an all time high. According to a recent study by the National Alliance Research Academy, the most important factor in the success of a producer is effective training in certain critical areas. Great producers are the lifeblood of insurance agencies.

But with the intense pressure on profitability and growth, the old days of being able to "grow your own" and invest two or more years to develop a new producer are gone. This begs the question, who is responsible for making the best producers of the future?

A few of the larger national brokers still have internal producer development programs, but most, including nearly all regional and local agencies today choose to outsource this function to a third party - typically industry associations, insurance carrier partners or some type of general sales consultants.

A Bad Situation

While there are differing opinions on this "outsourced development" approach, most agree that the current state of producer training is a bad situation. And the number of quality options are few.

Outsourcing the development of their success is much like outsourcing parenting. The kids may eventually learn what they need to learn to be successful, and may even experience great success, but the familial bond is eroded and the values caught are those of "others."

But arguing the pros and cons of this approach is not the subject of this article (although we will cover that topic in a future article). The truth we are left to work with is that outsourcing producer training is the current mainstream approach.

So the real question for producers looking to hone their craft is, "how do I make the best of a bad situation?"

Making the Best of a Bad Situation

No matter how popular the belief that if a producer "has what it takes, they will figure it out" is, it's a lie. No athlete just "figures out" how to be the best in the world at their sport. No one is born a surgeon, nor given an innate gifting in heart surgery. All those who rise to an elite level in their respective field, have invested both the time and money into putting themselves through the very best training. Most of the time pushing themselves to a level most never attempt.

So for commercial insurance producers today who desire to be elite, they are forced to play the cards they have been dealt and make the best of a bad situation. Good training is still available, it's just hard to find and even harder to piece together a total solution.

So what are the best training options out there? Because there is no real one-size-fits-all option out there, we will break producer development down into two tracks:

Technical insurance training. Things like insurance coverage analysis, identifying gaps in coverage, working with underwriters, building programs, understanding policy forms, etc.
Tactical sales and business training. Things like building and running a massively successful business, relationship building, time management, setting boundaries, focused attention, understanding the buyer, developing processes, etc.

For each of the two tracks, below is a comparison of the Top 3 rated training options available for producers today, as rated by producers who have built exponential books of business.

For a complete and well-rounded development plan, the preferred path would be that a producer invest in a combination of the two tracks. Becoming a technical expert without effective sales and business training, essentially equips you to be a great underwriter. Investing in sales and business training without the technical knowledge, will prevent you from writing larger accounts and set limitations on your potential success. After all, this is a very technical business, especially as the accounts get larger.

So if you want to be an elite insurance producer, you must invest in effective training on both the technical and tactical sides of the business.

Best technical insurance training programs for commercial insurance producers.

The Top 3 technical insurance training programs for commercial producers on the market today are taught by the Hartford School of Insurance, the Chubb Agents & Brokers Academy, and The National Alliance. All three promote a "mini school" format and contain an element of sales training, but the primary focus is on increasing a producer's technical insurance knowledge. Overall the feedback for all three programs is very high, especially for newer producers with little-to-no insurance knowledge.

Hartford School of Insurance's Commercial Lines Producer School is a three phase program beginning with a self-study phase. The core of the program is a two-week in person mini school that expands on the self-study portion, with the last phase consisting of on-demand webinars for specific topics. The target audience for this program are new producers. This is the most expensive of the three options, but also has received a 4.9/5.0 star rating from it's graduates. You can view a summary of the training program here.
Chubb Agents & Brokers Academy has their own Premier Producer Development Program. This is follows the same three-phase format as Hartford's, with the core of the program being a two-week in person mini school. Chubb specifies that their program is best for producers with less than two years of experience. This is the least expensive of the three options, particularly if your agency is a "Cornerstone Agent" with Chubb, so if cost is an issue this might be a good options.

**Note: Both Hartford & Chubb spend a portion of the classroom time on their respective company products and underwriting appetites, but do a pretty good job of not "selling you" on their company.

The National Alliance's Producer School is the most unbiased of the three. As an educational association, they do not spend any precious classroom time on pushing their own products or appetites. Instead they use the extra time on a more general sales strategies. However, this program is just the two-week in person phase and does not include a pre- or post-classroom aspect. Here is a sample course agenda.

Best tactical training programs for commercial lines insurance producers.

This is a little more difficult to limit to three. There are dozens of professional sales schools and hundreds more, if not thousands, of independent consultants out there. First let's define what is meant by "tactical training."

Essentially this is training and development for everything not having to do with understanding technical insurance coverage, definitions, etc. Things like how to grow a book of business, manage time, sell complex accounts with multiple decision makers, set up business processes, deciding where to invest in resources, run a sales process, etc. Basically everything about working on your business, not in it.

Even greater variability exist when it comes to expected pricing for this type of training. General estimates typically range between $2,000 - $5,000 per person on the low end to about $10,000 on the higher end, not including any additional costs for travel, lodging, food, etc. Larger agencies may be able to negotiate better pricing for a group session for their producers.

For independent commercial insurance producers however, three programs that are consistently brought up among the elite are:

Sitkins Group. Sitkins Group ProducerFit program is highly thought of by thousands of agencies. Founder and primary instructor, Roger Sitkins, has been doing it for over 35 years and is a great motivator and communicator. His niche focus on the commercial insurance sector makes him highly respected and his base price $1,950 per producer is very reasonable. Add in about $2,000 for travel, lodging and food, and you can safely estimate a total investment (not including time out of the office) of about $4,000. Most producers who have worked with Roger though would say the investment is worth it.
Lappin180. Lappin180 taught by Dan Lappin is recommended by some of the most successful producers in the business. Lappin180 focuses primarily on the mindset of a producer. Shifting your focus from "closing the sale" to "helping the prospect determine if they should change their status quo." Expect to invest a more money for this training, but perhaps a shift in mindset is what you really need.
Miller Heiman Group. Miller Heiman is quite different and larger than the other two, but not as specific to insurance. While they offer several different types of courses, their Strategic Selling course seems to be one of the favorites of elite producers. This course focuses on large complex sales with long sales cycles and teaches participants how to identify all the key players in the customer's organization. The potential wild card with Miller Heiman is the quality of each course is highly dependent on the instructor teaching it, which can vary course by course.

How to choose?

For producers struggling to decide which programs to choose, don't stress. You'll never regret any investment you make in yourself. Warren Buffett said the greatest investment you can ever make is in yourself. Do your research, and find the ones that align with your style and spirit the most, then go for it. For a well rounded training program, you can expect somewhere around a $10,000 total investment.

Elite producers are lifelong learners, constantly improving and training. So look at this not as your last investment, but your first of many. That being said, here's a couple helpful tips in deciding:

Go with experience. All the programs listed here know the insurance business well. To get the most out of your training, it's important to learn from someone who has experience successfully selling your service. In this case, someone who's spent time as a producer is ideal. Experience matters.
Go with uncomfortable. It's easy to shy away from pushing yourself. The best training programs force you to put in work you don't want to do, and stretch you in areas that make you uncomfortable. If the program seems easy and comfortable to you, it's not the right one. Becoming elite is not easy. And that's the point.
Go in humble. The best learners have a spirit of humility. Some of the greatest athletes in the world are extremely coachable. They want to get better and look for every advantage they can get. Most producers fear embarrassment or looking like they don't know something, which in turn can lead to pride. No matter what program you invest in, if you go in with a prideful attitude, you're wasting your money. Stay humble and hungry.

Becoming an elite producer is not something that happens by chance or a fortuitous sequence of luck. It's hours of dedicated, deliberate practice through effective elite-level training. The good news is, that's something anyone can invest in. If you're willing to put in the work.

You are your greatest asset. You can be elite.

Invest in yourself.