American Income Life a Scam or Legit? Honest Review, Facts & Complaints (2025)

American Income Life a scam is it a pyramid scheme is it legit in this video I'm actually going to be reviewing a former agent of mine who first started with American Income Life Giving his testimony experience so you can decide if the AIL opportunity truly is legit or not

Inflating Reality

questions before I continue with this uh interview process do you mind answering those for me and he's like yeah sure so at that point it's kind of like when I just basically said I I understand you know I understand the sales industry I get how it is I don't need to be promised all these things that don't hold true or only hold true for top producers just give me like a ballpark average understanding of

what this position is going to be and what I'm looking at as far as pay he again swore up and down like our our starting agents are making 100,000 a year and you're going to do great and I explained to him how I had a a son who was currently in the ncu and I just needed something that was going to be promising So Pro tip the average insurance agent does not start off at $100,000 a year that is a uh not true the vast majority of agents in fact fail out of the business to tunea probably close to 95% uh and probably more in the more multi-level marketed oriented style agency so

why should you care first of all if you see an agency conflating that your income is going to be six figures as an average and that's reasonable they're not telling you the truth it's just doesn't bear out uh if you look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics average income it's somewhere in the $440,000 range and there's no way that an average is going to be again an average not an exceptional agent it's going to be two and a half times as much

Stroking the Ego

Mnd so I had went in uh for the interview the second interview uh Mike is promising me this all the same stuff all over again uh also saying you know how basically blowing me up you know I think you've got great communication skills you're great people person and this that and the third you got away with you and all that I think that you

Mould do great and at that point I was like okay I am sold I want this job I want to do it so bad so one thing you have to understand in the insurance business any organization this isn't necessarily ail this is pretty much every organization they want to recruit people who have a pulse right well guess what that's everybody and they're going to tell you things that

May not necessarily be true or they may conflate or exaggerate or overly hypee up what they're saying to get you excited to take the position from them this kind of goes hand in glove with the income uh expectations of an averaging a six figure income which is silly uh but on another level what this is doing is they're they're telling you the things that you want to hear to stroke your ego to make you feel good so that you'll join them and not to say that people being encouraging is a bad

Thing but you have to take it with a grain of salt in this line of business because again the way that these organizations work in many cases is recruiting people in masses working their friends and families and then dumping them and then starting that process over with the next guy or gal so just be very aware of people who stroke your ego it may not be necessarily for your best benefit

How Leads Work at American Income Life

Union president is to send letters out to all of their members and let them know hey we've got this insurance company that we're working with if you'd like to receive additional information on your benefits please fill this information out and mail it back to them and they'll send someone out to speak with you or or they'll offer you more information H that's what I was told when I got this script I found out that this is not what it was yes

They work with union members yes they did offer a deal with the president yes the president sends everyone a letter but the letter that they're sending everyone literally is letting them know if you would like to receive a childsafe kit a a Amber Alert kit and so why I say bait and switch is because these people are sending information are sending this this filled out form back to receive I

nformation or receive their free child safe kit and what it is is apparently a booklet that you write your child's information in so let me jump in here and comment so what Bucky is saying here is that the lead that the union members get so the concept is if you look at Al's website you'll see they talk about they work hand

Inand with unions to provide them valuable life insurance benefits which is true but the question here is well you would presume as a new agent which probably are that the lead developed would mention life insurance but instead based on Bucky's testimony the lead that is getting received is based off of getting a child safety kit uh or an amber alert kit like he said and the idea behind this uh and this is how the

Theory goes is that if somebody fills out one of these cards and sends it back they think they're getting this Ki but instead what they're getting is an agent that shows up and tries to sell them an insurance policy so let's think about the the consequences of this for a second so number one if you're selling life insurance don't you want to mention on the front end that you're selling life insurance or at least talk about something that's

Directly related with taking care of final expenses or life insurance and so the reality is is that that's what most agents believe that's what we want to work that's what we do at the Dig agency work leads that say life insurance and that are direct and how it's presented and if you think about it that's how all marketing is whereas what we're seeing and based on Bucky's testimony that the

AIL lead is based on something other and completely different from a life insurance policy and it's not that you can't make a sale to these child policy type of leads it's just you got a lot harder of a hill to climb to change a conversation about an amber alert benefit to now let's buy a policy from me again the concept here with the lead system is if anybody expresses any interest in something it doesn't even have to be life insurance they're a lead for life insurance and there's some level of

Truth to that in the insurance business but the less connection there is with the intent of of replying to the information versus what it is that you're selling it's going to be a lot harder for the average agent to deal with it's going to be a lot more frustrating and uh my reports over the years that I've done this 10 plus years in the insurance business agents who use these kind of leads that say one thing but don't say anything think about life insurance uh for a lot of Agents it's a pathway to failure a pathway to frustration and is something that is not ideal for a lot of agents to work and what they would expect either way when it comes to leads for insurance

Bucky’s Summary of American Income Life

In wrapping all of this up cuz at this point this video is taking way too long fact is is that I did my own research as Annie was bringing this information to me I pulled into a different search browser and found out that they were in MLM what they do is is they hire you on to go out and try and bait and switch people

knowing that the main objection that you're getting from people is I can't afford this and when you're getting that objection it is your time to turn that script around from selling them something to now recruiting them to become employed for the company you let them know hey look you can't afford this I get it

I got this job opportunity I'm making a 100,000 a year for it why don't you come in sit in a meeting and just check us out I'm sure you're going to like us and we'll get you an interview set up what Bucky's describing here is really the norm when it comes to an MLM oriented Insurance Agency you see they have some kind of base

Tevel lead that they can do at scale that has very little intent and to get in front of people then to try to pitch them on buying life insurance and then to Pivot from that if the client's objection is I can't afford it or don't want it and then to present to them a job opportunity to them drive them into the a agency to recruit them into the organization so a couple of things I don't like about this number one uh it turns you as an

Tnsurance agent salesperson to an insurance recruiter asking people to come in asking people to join your agency and now you're responsible potentially for their training and you may not know anything at all so why should you be in a position to train these people when you haven't had success yourself as a new agent and plus it's a detraction from the actual process of developing the skill to sell successfully and

That takes time and trying to get into the recruiting game along with being into the selling game trying to do two things at once and being a master is is not a really good uh idea and more people fail because they try to juggle all the balls in the air at once as a new person versus waiting later on as an agent to start recruiting once they know the sales process very well

A Lack of Info When Joining

So a common complaint a lot of Agents get is that when they join an agency what was revealed to them wasn't the full story that they weren't told the full expectations of what it really takes to be successful in business in this scene bu is going to describe what his opinions are when it comes to a and what he feels is like a

Lack of transparency of what the a opportunity really required of them once you take your test they don't you don't get any information about from anything of them like they don't give you any script they don't give you any of that information because if they gave you any information before you paid for the

Training course then you would see that they were a bait and switch program and of course it's going to turn you away from it one thing I'll mention here with Bucky saying this this is a again a common tactic you're going to see with large Insurance

Agency organizations the best way to pitch the masses of people out there is not to talk about how difficult it is to sell insurance it's not to talk about the technicalities of actually selling the product and and all the challenges that come with it instead the best way to recruit mass is to tell everybody all the good stuff and then really

Dress it up to make it sound sound as awesome as possible all the money you're going to make all the notoriety you're going to have the cars you're going to drive right the lifestyle you're going to have and to emphasize the sizzle but not necessarily what it took to cook the steak right so again this is customary and expected really with any

MLM agency you're probably not going to get the full perspective that you would otherwise get when it comes to what does it actually take to do this successfully what are the requirements for the job what are the pros what are the cons these are the things you should be asking as an agent because again if you're looking at a job uh no matter where where you're going you're likely only going to hear the good stuff when it comes to selling insurance and not the bad side especially in the MLM side of the business

FAQ About american income life insurance

1. Is American Income Life (AIL) a scam?

No, American Income Life is not legally classified as a scam. It is a legitimate insurance company that sells life and supplemental health insurance. However, many people feel misled by the recruiting and pay structure, which often resembles multi-level marketing (MLM) tactics.

2. Is American Income Life a pyramid scheme?

Technically, AIL is not a pyramid scheme because it sells real insurance products. However, critics argue that its heavy focus on recruiting new agents and earning commissions through team overrides makes it feel similar to one.

3. How does American Income Life make money?

AIL makes money primarily through life insurance policy sales and premiums paid by clients. Agents earn commissions when they sell policies, and in many offices, recruiters also earn bonuses from new agent sales or recruitment performance.

4. Why do some people call AIL a scam?

Some former agents call AIL a “scam” because of high-pressure recruiting tactics, unrealistic income promises, and a lack of transparency about the actual difficulty of selling insurance. Many new agents fail to earn sustainable income during their first year.

5. What kind of insurance does American Income Life sell?

AIL sells whole life, term life, and supplemental health insurance policies. The company often partners with unions and associations to market these products to their members.

6. Does AIL require you to pay for training or licensing?

Yes. In most cases, new agents are responsible for paying their state licensing fees and sometimes additional training materials or exam costs before they can begin working.

7. How much do AIL agents really earn?

While some top producers claim to earn six figures, the average insurance agent’s income across the industry is far lower — typically between $40,000–$60,000 per year. Many new agents leave before reaching profitability due to commission-only pay and inconsistent leads.

8. What are the biggest complaints about working at AIL?

The most common complaints include:

Misleading income claims during recruitment
Lack of clear training or guidance
High-pressure sales culture
Unpaid training time
Overemphasis on recruiting rather than selling insurance

9. Are American Income Life leads legit?

Leads provided by AIL often come from union lists or “child safe kit” requests. While they are technically real leads, many agents say they are misleading because the prospects do not always expect to be sold life insurance.

10. Should I join American Income Life as an insurance agent?

It depends on your goals and comfort with commission-based income. If you are new to insurance and prefer transparent training, guaranteed pay, or non-MLM structures, AIL might not be ideal. However, some agents do succeed with persistence, discipline, and strong sales skills.

Conclusion: Is AIL a Scam or Legit?

so that's it from Bucky's video what do you think do you think ail is a scam or is it legit feel free to leave your comments below and I truly hope that today's content and review of Bucky's video gave you some context behind American Income Life from his stand stand point to help you decide if joining AAL is really a good fit for you if you'd like to take a look at what we do at the Dig agency where we provide free fresh and exclusive

High intent leads to agents who want to sell in person or over the phone or if you just want to buy your own leads and have a higher commission go to davidd for.com learn about how our worldclass training program works how our lead systems work and how so many agents hundreds of Agents across the country get amazing success with the Dig agency system again go to David de.com to learn more thank you