Life and Health Specialist - Warm Referrals, Base Plus Commission

Smith Davis Insurance, Inc.; Papillion (NE); On-site; USD 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual Base Salary + Commission

Paid Time Off (PTO)

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Life Insurance

Parental Leave

Hands on Training

Mon-Fri Schedule

Career Growth Opportunities

Retirement Plan

Vision Insurance

Disability Insurance

Job summary

Smith Davis Insurance in Papillion, NE, is seeking a life insurance professional to leverage warm referrals from a large P&C book and close on opportunities. You’ll receive a real base salary plus commission and bonuses, not a draw, with a clear offer letter detailing pay structure and targets.

You’ll operate within a direct, evidence-based setup, ensuring independence to recommend the best carrier solutions, and you’ll see your weekly target and production rhythm clearly outlined before joining.

Qualifications

• Licensed life and health insurance in Nebraska and Iowa or ability to obtain
• Proven sales production history or quota-carrying experience
• Comfortable with needs-based sales conversations and asking closing questions
• Willingness to discuss income, health, family and beneficiaries with clients
• Strong written and verbal communication and organizational skills

Responsibilities

• Cross-sell into our existing book by working referrals from P&C managers
• Conduct needs-based reviews with clients to assess life, disability and long-term care needs
• Build internal referral rhythms to generate opportunities
• Track and report conversion for households handed to you
• Manage cases through underwriting from application to delivery

Skills

Sales

People skills

Needs analysis

Communication

Education

Life & Health insurance license (NE/Iowa)

Tools

AMS360

AgencyZoom

Salesforce

Microsoft 365

Excel

Job description

Job Description

Most life insurance jobs hand you a phone and a list. This one hands you thousands of households that already trust us.

Smith Davis Insurance has been protecting families and businesses since 1931. We have a large property and casualty book, and most of those clients have never had a serious conversation about life insurance with anyone. Not because they do not need it. Because nobody has sat down with them.

That is this job.

That seat is based out of our Papillion office, serving Sarpy County, the Omaha metro, and western Iowa.

Let's Be Direct About What This Job Is

Life insurance is the hardest thing to sell in this business. Nobody calls asking for it. The client will never use it. They will not miss it if they never buy. Everyone who is good at this can sit in that discomfort, ask the hard question anyway, and close.

If that sounds like a job you would be good at, keep reading. If it sounds unpleasant, we just saved you a resume.

What You Actually Get Here

• Warm referrals from a real book. Our property and casualty team works with thousands of households and business owners. You are not building a prospect list from scratch. You are working relationships the agency has already earned.
• A base salary. If you have spent the last few years on pure commission at a captive carrier, you know exactly what that sentence is worth. You get a real base plus commission plus bonus, not a draw that follows you around like a debt.
• Independence. We are not a single carrier shop. When one company's underwriting says no or the pricing does not work, you go to another. You are recommending what fits, not what you are contractually required to pitch.
• Clarity in writing. Your base, your commission rate, your bonus structure, and your production target will be in the offer letter before you accept. Nothing important about how you get paid will be a handshake.

Compensation

Base salary of $40,000 to $55,000 depending on experience and licensing, plus commission on everything you write, plus bonus opportunities on production and cross-sell conversion.

You will have a monthly production target and you will see your number every week. We will tell you exactly what it is before you accept.

What Success Looks Like

• First 90 days: licensed and appointed, trained on our carriers, running your first referral appointments, first policies placed.
• First 12 months: hitting your monthly production target, a working referral rhythm with our P&C team, and a measurable conversion rate on the households you are handed.
• Year two and beyond: you are the reason our clients have coverage they did not know they needed, and your production reflects it.

Who Thrives Here

• You can ask an uncomfortable question and stay in the room for the answer.
• You are competitive with yourself and you track your own numbers without being asked.
• You are good at getting internal colleagues to think of you, not just external prospects.
• You follow up. Most life sales are lost to silence, not to price.
• You want a scoreboard, not vague direction.

THIS IS PROBABLY NOT THE RIGHT JOB FOR YOU IF

• You want to educate people and let them decide on their own timeline.
• You are uncomfortable asking about someone's income, health, or family situation.
• You want a salary that does not move based on what you produce.
• You want inbound leads who already decided to buy.
• You need a manager to build your week for you.

About Smith Davis Insurance

Independent property and casualty agency founded in 1931. Offices in Papillion, Nebraska, Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Logan, Iowa.

We run on EOS, which means clear roles, a weekly meeting rhythm, real numbers, and no guessing about priorities. Our core values are GRIT: Growth, Gratitude, Reliability, Integrity, and Teamwork. We hire and fire on them.

We are growing on purpose. Three acquisitions completed and we are not done. Every acquisition adds households, and every household is a conversation you have not had yet.

We close at 3pm on Fridays and you get your birthday off, because we would rather you have a life than a plaque.

Smith Davis Insurance is an equal opportunity employer.

Benefits

• Annual Base Salary + Commission
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Health Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Life Insurance
• Parental Leave
• Hands on Training
• Mon-Fri Schedule
• Career Growth Opportunities
• Retirement Plan
• Vision Insurance
• Disability Insurance

Responsibilities

CROSS-SELL INTO OUR EXISTING BOOK

• Work referrals from our property and casualty account managers and producers.
• Conduct needs-based reviews with existing clients who have never been asked about life coverage.
• Build the internal referral rhythm. Make it easy for our P&C team to hand you an opportunity.
• Track and report conversion on every household you are handed.

NEEDS ANALYSIS AND PLACEMENT

• Meet with individuals, families, and business owners to evaluate life, disability, and long term care needs.
• Quantify the gap. Income replacement, debt, education funding, final expenses, business continuation, key person, and buy-sell funding.
• Recommend appropriate solutions across our carrier portfolio.
• Present, handle objections, ask for the business, and place the policy.
• Manage the case through underwriting, from application to delivery.

OUTSIDE DEVELOPMENT

• Develop new business through referrals, networking, and community involvement.
• Build relationships with CPAs, attorneys, and financial advisors who encounter life and disability needs.

RETENTION AND COMPLIANCE

• Conduct annual reviews with existing life clients and update coverage as circumstances change.
• Stay current on product offerings, carrier changes, and underwriting appetite.
• Maintain accurate documentation in AMS360 and AgencyZoom.
• Maintain licensing and continuing education, and follow all carrier and regulatory requirements.

Requirements

REQUIRED

• Active Life and Health insurance license in Nebraska and Iowa, or the ability to obtain both within [XX] days. We pay for courses, exam fees, and study materials.
• A documented record of sales production. Life and health experience preferred, but a proven quota-carrying record in another industry will be considered.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct a needs-based sales conversation and ask closing questions.
• Comfortable discussing income, health history, family circumstances, and beneficiary decisions.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills, including the ability to manage cases through underwriting without dropping any.
• Comfortable conducting client meetings in person and virtually.
• Comfortable in a CRM and agency management system. Experience with AMS360, AgencyZoom, Salesforce, or similar is a plus.
• Proficient with Microsoft 365, including Outlook, Teams, and Excel.
• Valid driver's license, reliable transportation, and current auto insurance.
• Willingness to meet clients outside standard business hours when that is when they are available.

Preferred

• Two or more years selling life, disability, or long term care insurance.
• Experience with term, whole life, universal life, and indexed products.
• Business insurance experience including key person, buy-sell funding, and executive bonus arrangements.
• Experience with underwriting, including field underwriting and managing rated or declined cases.
• Designations such as LUTCF, CLU, ChFC, FSCP, or progress toward one.
• Experience at a captive life carrier and interest in working with a full carrier portfolio.
• Existing relationships with CPAs, attorneys, or financial advisors in the Omaha metro or western Iowa.

What We Screen For

• Willingness to ask the uncomfortable question and stay in the room for the answer.
• Ability to generate internal referral flow, not just external prospecting.
• Persistence. Most life sales are lost to silence, not to price.

Company Description

Since 1931 Smith Davis Insurance has been a full-service INDEPENDENT insurance agency serving the residents and business owners of Council Bluffs, Omaha and the surrounding communities of Western Iowa and Eastern Nebraska. Our agency provides Auto, Home, Business, Umbrella, Life and Health insurance coverage.