The Agent’s Ledger
Gadgets worth your money this fall
F1
Annuity outlook: rates, products and demand
E1
The Policy at the End of the Road
F3Carrier pullbacks: product changes and lapse notices
Inside a defensible annuity file
Consent-based leads that actually convert
AEP: what is shifting this enrollment period
The Annual Enrollment Period is open, and the market clients are shopping in looks different from the one they saw a few…
E1First month free
The Agent’s Ledger, every week. $5 a month or $50 a year. Training, compliance and the business of insurance, in page-flip.
Start free →State rule changes agents must track this quarter
Annuity best-interest rules, replacement and illustration requirements, training credits, appointment housekeeping and Medicare marketing rules all differ by state, and none of them wait for a…
Consolidation reshapes life and annuity agencies
Life and annuity carriers are merging, financial investors are buying insurers and blocks of policies, and marketing organizations are being rolled up. This is how that…
“Some adopted the earlier suitability-only text, and a few may have made changes of their own.”
Get more leads for your agency
Straight Agent Training connects agencies with people ready to talk. See how it works.
See how →Free tools for your clients
Final-expense estimator, Social Security breakeven and a coverage-gap check. Send clients, save time.
Open the tools →“The carrier buys hedges to support those credits, and the cost of the hedges moves with market conditions.”
Why agents need a paper of their own
Every Monday morning, somewhere in the country, an insurance agent unlocks the office door before anyone else arrives, sets down a coffee, and looks at a…
The Agent’s Ledger is a weekly digital paper for working insurance agents: in-depth reporting, training you can use Monday morning, and room to breathe on the weekend. Write to the publisher, Steve Bitsko: newspaper@straightnewslettermail.com
First month free
The Agent’s Ledger, every week. $5 a month or $50 a year. Training, compliance and the business of insurance, in page-flip.
Start free →Inside a defensible annuity file
The NAIC's best-interest standard asks agents to prove their reasoning, not just believe in it. Here is what the model regulation requires, the five documents that…
CE rules state by state, and how to stay ahead
Every agent knows continuing education is required. Far fewer can say, without looking it up, how many hours they owe, by what date, in which categories…
“The model regulation says that an agent satisfies the best-interest standard by meeting four obligations: care, disclosure, conflict of interest, and documentation.”
Straight answers for agents
Plain-English answers to the compliance and product questions agents actually ask.
Read the answers →Suitability training that keeps you out of trouble
Most annuity complaints don't start with a bad product. They start with a client who didn't understand what they bought and an agent who can't show…
“The NAIC is a standard-setting body, not a regulator, so the model has no force until a state adopts it.”
Straight answers for agents
Plain-English answers to the compliance and product questions agents actually ask.
Read the answers →Consent-based leads that actually convert
Buying or generating leads has never been easier, and getting sued over them has never been easier either. Here is how consent-based lead generation actually works…
Closing techniques that work in insurance
The best closes in life, annuity, final expense and Medicare sales rarely look like closes. They are the natural last step of a conversation in which…
“Registering a number tells telemarketers not to call it, and sellers generally must scrub their lists against the registry and honor a new registration within 31 days.”
Get more leads for your agency
Straight Agent Training connects agencies with people ready to talk. See how it works.
See how →Social media that produces business
Likes don't pay commissions, but conversations do. Here is how working life, final expense, annuity and Medicare agents can choose the right platforms, publish content that…
“"Families in their thirties with a new mortgage and no life coverage beyond what their employer provides" is an answer.”
Free weekly training brief
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Join free →The numbers that build a book of business
Most agents can tell you what they wrote last month. Far fewer can tell you what their book is worth, how fast it leaks, or which…
Hiring and team building: when and how to grow
Most life, annuity and Medicare agencies stall because of the owner's calendar, not the market. This article covers when to hire, which seats to fill first…
“In the life insurance business, persistency is the proportion of policies, or premium, that remain in force over a stated period.”
Free tools for your clients
Final-expense estimator, Social Security breakeven and a coverage-gap check. Send clients, save time.
Open the tools →Agency tech stack: tools that save hours weekly
Most agencies don't have a technology shortage. They have too many tools that don't talk to each other, and a few missing pieces that cost them…
“Tasks that happen often, take a predictable amount of time, and follow a predictable set of steps are the best candidates for software.”
First month free
The Agent’s Ledger, every week. $5 a month or $50 a year. Training, compliance and the business of insurance, in page-flip.
Start free →AEP: what is shifting this enrollment period
The Annual Enrollment Period is open, and the market clients are shopping in looks different from the one they saw a few years ago. Here is…
Annuity outlook: rates, products and demand
Annuity sales have set records three years running, driven first by high interest rates and then by a wave of retirees looking for guaranteed income. The…
“With a hard ceiling, the question becomes how quickly the client reaches it and how the plan structures its deductible and its monthly payments along the way.”
Medicare, made plain
Send clients to GetStraightOnMedicare.com for plain-English guidance before AEP ends Dec. 7.
Visit the site →Medicare Advantage vs. Medigap: the 2026 landscape
Every client turning 65 faces the same fork in the road: stay in Original Medicare and add a Medigap policy, or hand the whole thing to…
“Part A covers inpatient hospital stays, skilled nursing facility care after a qualifying hospital stay, hospice, and some home health.”
Medicare, made plain
Send clients to GetStraightOnMedicare.com for plain-English guidance before AEP ends Dec. 7.
Visit the site →Three days away without losing your book
Every agent I know has the same vacation story. You book the trip in a burst of optimism, you spend the week before it clearing your…
Gadgets worth your money this fall
Every October, the tech world stages the same parade: new phones, new earbuds, new things you didn't know you needed. Most of it is noise. An…
“Many local agent associations run informal coverage-swap lists, and it's worth asking at your next chapter meeting.”
Free weekly training brief
Not ready for the full paper? Get the free newsletter. Short, useful, no spam.
Join free →What to watch this week
It's late October, which means the sports calendar is at its most crowded and your evenings are at their most contested. Football has settled into its…
“We are deep enough into the season that the contenders and pretenders are starting to separate, and the trade deadline chatter is giving way to real standings.”
Dinner in 30 minutes or less
By the time you've closed your last client call, answered the last email, and driven home through traffic, nobody has the energy for a complicated recipe.…
“Add a few big handfuls of spinach, or any greens, and a splash of the pasta water.”
Life insurance, no jargon
StraightLifeInsurance.com helps your clients size coverage in a 30-minute check.
Visit the site →The Policy at the End of the Road
Life insurance, no jargon
StraightLifeInsurance.com helps your clients size coverage in a 30-minute check.
Visit the site →Get more leads for your agency
Straight Agent Training connects agencies with people ready to talk. See how it works.
See how →AdvertisementFirst month free
The Agent’s Ledger, every week. $5 a month or $50 a year. Training, compliance and the business of insurance, in page-flip.
Start free →AdvertisementStraight answers for agents
Plain-English answers to the compliance and product questions agents actually ask.
Read the answers →AdvertisementFree weekly training brief
Not ready for the full paper? Get the free newsletter. Short, useful, no spam.
Join free →AdvertisementFree tools for your clients
Final-expense estimator, Social Security breakeven and a coverage-gap check. Send clients, save time.
Open the tools →AdvertisementMedicare, made plain
Send clients to GetStraightOnMedicare.com for plain-English guidance before AEP ends Dec. 7.
Visit the site →Field News
Training & Compliance
Sales & Marketing
Business & Practice
Market & Trends
Opinion
- Why agents need a paper of their ownA4
First month free
The Agent’s Ledger, every week. $5 a month or $50 a year. Training, compliance and the business of insurance, in page-flip.
Start free →Compliance questions?
Straight Answers for Agents. Plain answers, updated often.
AdClient calculators
Final-expense estimator for your next call.
AdSocial Security breakeven
Show clients when waiting pays off.
AdCoverage-gap check
A quick way to open a conversation.
AdFinal expense, explained
StraightFinalExpense.com, a client-ready resource.
AdMoney, plainly
GetStraightOnMoney.com for clients who ask about fraud and budgets.
AdMedicare clients
GetStraightOnMedicare.com: AEP help, in plain English.
AdLife coverage sizing
StraightLifeInsurance.com: a 30-minute check.
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Get more leads for your agency
Straight Agent Training connects agencies with people ready to talk. See how it works.
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The weekly digital paper for insurance agents. Training you can use Monday morning, plus the in-depth reporting and the long reads that keep you sharp.
- Five sections of in-depth reporting each issue
- Training, compliance and self-improvement
- Travel, tech, sports, food and long-form fiction
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