The men selling bits of paper: a sociological portrait of life insurance agents in Quebec, 1900–1960
This article is about the development of the profession of life insurance agent in Quebec. We examine the characteristics of this profession that each year manages to recruit thousands of new salesmen. The latter have to convince a reluctant population of the merits of attaching a “monetary value to their life.” While many fail in their attempt to become insurance salesmen, those who succeed are able to amass small fortunes. This high-income potential, combined with the absence of any requirements of any training or any start-up capital, are what make the profession so attractive to the great number of candidates, both good and bad.