How much money does the average insurance agent starting out make in commisions?

Cathryn first off, congratulations on thinking of entering the Insurance Industry. The other answers you've received all addressed the same basic question, what type of insurance are you selling? There is only 1 true answer to your question. Whether you choose to sell P&C or A&S you will have to adopt a "produce or perish" mentality. I have recently opened an agency in Georgia. We have managed to generate enough business to cover all the office expenses plus a few hundred extra that is being reserved for a head start on next months expenses. I had 12 years experience managing a small agency immediately before this venture began. So my learning curve is diminished compared to someone fresh to the field of insurance. The question I have for you is how much experience do you have personally with insurance? Unless you have worked ina commission only sales capacity before you will need to adjust your personal and business spending habits to a 30 day cycle. This is the prevailing fact with P&C Insurance. Commissions (for the most part) are on 30 day cycles. The transition from weekly guaranteed pay to unlimited possibilities excites most new agents, but the brutal honesty is that this is definitely "survival of the fittest." The failure rate statistics are staggering, so go into this with your eyes wide open. Are you willing to work 12 hour days, with no guarantees at the end of success? Would you be able to pay your bills if you did not get paid for 4 months? These questions are impossible to answer for most people. The reason, I think, is most people are only thinking from this week to the next. If you decide to go into insurance as a career it matters not whether you go into A&S or into P&C, It doesn't even matter if you are working for another agent within their office. As an agent you are a small business owner- you are the small business. Can you imagine yourself as THE business? Now that you have been bombarded with the negative failure stats and the prospects of receiving no pay immediately. There are 3 reasons Insurance was compelling for me. Reason 1- 90% of people you know believe in the adage, "a day's pay for an honest day's work." I believe that it is more correctly stated as, 'an unlimited day's pay for an honest day's work.' In most jobs that pay by the hour you are trading your time for a predefined wage amount. This is a 1:1 ratio, so you start over everyday selling your time for the same amount of income. However, with insurance you trade your time for an unlimited amount of income. Yes, there is no guarantee of any income at all, but that also means there is no limit to the amount you can bring in. The negative facts are what scare people, because they are scary for most people. But you have the opportunity to create a work ratio of 1:infinity. You will find that most agent's have a portion of their book who has been with their agency for years. Every time they pay a premium the agent gets paid for work that was completed some time in the past. So initially you will take a pay cut, but you have the chance to build as much income as you can mange--it is all up to your ability to get past the fear of all the unknowns. Reason 2- I have never been the 9-5 type myself, so there are very few fields that allow flexibility in your schedule like insurance. Once you understand reason 1, you will realize reason 2 is just as important to most people, just not important enough to get away from the 1:1 ratio of earning income. Their fear keeps them stuck. You are the business and your business is to serve your clients with the best service, prices and efficiency you can. My agency is located in a place that has an abundance of 2nd and 3rd shift jobs. So I am able to be available when a vast majority of my clientele are transacting business- even tough it is not the traditional 9-5 approach. You must analyze your local territory and find what areas are being neglected by other agents. Find their need and then build your business to serve it as best you can. Reason 3- As corny as it sounds I like helping people with their problems. Insurance is a problem that most people only focus upon twice a year--such as car insurance renewal-- as you stay in contact through e-mail or blog updates you help them to think of their needs more precisely. Insurance is a public service. A service that has lost it's prestige due to lies, stealing and deceptive advertising ploys. Everyday you have the chance to help turn the public perception back around to making insurance an honorable career choice again. Well I hope this is helpful to your decision. I encourage you to continue doing research such as this and to honestly ask yourself the questions that have been listed. Don't stop asking them until you are willing to accept all the warts that come with the reward in whatever you decide to do.

At the start, $0, nothing. And it does not always go up. Under 10% actually make enough money to stay in the industry for a year. Over 90%, perhaps closer to 100%, do not.

A&H or Life? my nephew tried this [he had both licenses] and didn't make enough to satisfy him. so he went to chiropractic school and is now doing very well indeed.

No way to answer...depends on how much you sell, obviously.