Day in the life of
Investment Advisor Representative – Candida Hinton
I’m an Investment Advisor Representative licensed in Life, Health, Accident, Long Term Care, Variable Annuities (in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Texas, Georgia).
My typical day
My typical day at work involves education and implementation.
Education involves getting to know clients and understanding their insurable needs, which is generally centered around their family and their goals. They educate me about their situation and I educate them about insurance and how to use it to protect, provide and preserve their assets. While people can understand the need for cell phone insurance to protect them against a financial loss in case the phone is lost, stolen or breaks, or car insurance to cover the same scenarios with additional protection for drivers and passengers there are many who don’t understand what life insurance is, or how it works. Most people associate life insurance with loss of life, and no one wants to think about mortality. This is correct, as certain products provide for beneficiaries when a loved one passes. However, there are also living benefits to certain types of life insurance such as cash accumulation, provisions for long term care, chronic illness, and terminal illness. The most important part to remember is that insurance plans may vary (depending on the state in which you live) and there is a qualification process, and applicants have to answer questionnaires and in certain instances have a medical exam for the policy to be approved. The upside of life insurance is the potential to plan for the unknowns in life – the what if such as:
- What if I live too long? Protect cash value accumulation, provides tax free income
- What if I die too soon? Provide tax free wealth transfer for beneficiaries, instant estate created
- What if I get sick? Preserve quality of life with long term care, chronic and terminal illness
The next part of the day consists of assisting the applicant with any questions regarding the application, identifying the program for the client’s approval, and getting permission to submit it to the insurer. If there are no questions or issues with the application and the policy is approved, the coverage begins.
What made you enter this career?
I entered this profession as an adult because I felt that the men in my life knew a lot more about money than I did. So at first, it was out of curiosity. I decided that it was time for me to grow up and get the inside scoop on money. I was lucky enough to be invited to a women’s event about money on Wall Street, and that’s when I first heard about insurance and the power of compound interest. I was hooked! So I joined a firm, got licensed, and vowed to tell everyone I could about how money works. Things were good. But along the way, I had a catastrophic car accident and was in a coma for two weeks.
I nearly died, but obviously didn’t. In my experience, even in a coma, I was thinking about life, my kids, my work, my mission if I ever went back to the real world. Even though I was a financial professional at that time, it occurred to me that I was doing a lousy job of teaching my own kids about money. How would they know what to do about money if I wasn’t there to show them? I shouldn’t take a nearly fatal event to remind you of what’s important to the family. So from that point on, I promised to do a better job of communicating with them and others about the importance of personal finance. I reveled in simplifying the concepts of insurance, assets, and a financial strategy that was so easy, even a child could grasp the basics, and scaffold from there. But to help the family, you have to reach the adults.
To this day, I volunteer and engage in lots of community events to share information with others, as well as to meet new people and have new experiences. This outreach is so rewarding that I was honored with a citation from The Brooklyn Borough President for my educational outreach.
But it’s not all about finance – the last event I went to was a zoom gala for social workers because a friend of mine was receiving an award, and as an audience member I wound up winning social media coaching session! So my network just keeps expanding, and I love that.
I have the flexibility to set my own schedule – some days are phone calls and follow ups with existing clients. They might want to review or make changes to their programs. Other days are appointments out “in the field” to network or meet with people who have asked for my help in understanding their finances. There are also days spent working with the back office to make sure that any business submitted meets the business review and suitability standards for the client’s goals and objectives. I also have the ability to bring new agents into the business, so there are days that are spending training and developing others who aspire to become professionals. Some days are 9 am to 5pm and others are 9am to 9pm. It really depends on what needs to be done for the business.
Pros and Cons
The pros and cons of this career are straightforward and depend on personal preferences. A technical person could really get into crunching the numbers to compare cost, benefits, benefit riders, and timetables for coverage by different carriers. A people person might enjoy learning about clients’ insurable interest, their families, goals, and dreams. A structured person will enjoy outlining the advantages of insurance as an asset class in building wealth as the basis of a financial plan. The action-oriented person will want to insure the world for a better quality of life – in case something unplanned happens. On the other hand, insurance types are often perceived as nerdy or salesy which can be tough on one’s ego from time to time. To maintain a professional license, renewals and continuing education credits are required every two years.. So there is some cost associated with the profession (which employers may or may not pick up, depending upon the agency). There is also oversight and compliance as a financial professional that must be followed, which is reasonable and for everyone’s protection.
The biggest plug for the insurance profession is that it is inclusive regardless of age, gender, orientation, race, religion, national origin. It is rewarding personally and professionally to help others.
