Anyone who has ever been involved in the MLM world lately has probably heard of the PHP Agency.

As with any multi-level marketing company, there are some success stories, but there are also some red flags that can make you wonder if it’s best to avoid them entirely.

In this review, you’ll learn about the PHP Agency and if it’s a scam or a legitimate business opportunity.

Let’s dive right in.

What is PHP Agency?

PHP Agency is an insurance MLM company founded back in 2009 by Patrick Bet-David.

There are over 11,000 licensed PHP agents across the USA, and they all sell different kinds of insurance, including home, auto, health and life. They also cover travel insurances and business insurances.

Who is Patrick Bet-David?

Patrick claims to be one of the most successful internet entrepreneurs in history. Since founding his own digital marketing company in 1999, Patrick has grown his business to a 7-figure + stream of revenue per year.

Today, he teaches other smart business owners how to replicate the success he has experienced while working from within his own organization.

As I mentioned above, he founded the PHP Agency in 2009, but he claims his history goes back to 1830, when his great-great grandfather first started selling life insurance. Patrick grew up poor and realized how important it is to have coverage…

Now he has opened the opportunity for others to work from home, set their own hours, and determine their own level of income—a chance to change your life forever (at least, that’s PHP Agency’s offer)

Patrick is also the same guy who runs the Valuetainment YouTube channel -another podcast-type of channel similar to Joe Rogan’s.

Patrick Bet-David net worth

It’s not every day that you meet a self-made millionaire who’s worth $150 million and never went to college. 

Patrick Bet-David is the founder and CEO of the PHP Academy, which offers a wide range of career-based programs for students.

Bet-David was born in Iran and lived there and in Greece before his family immigrated to the United States when he was a young child. He attended high school in Texas, but didn’t go to college and instead joined the Army after high school.

After five years of service, he began working in financial services with Morgan Stanley and Transamerica Corporation. He then worked at Merrill Lynch for 10 years before becoming an entrepreneur himself in 2009 and starting the PHP Academy.

PHP Agency Product Line

PHP Agency sells third-party insurance and financial products. They’re partnered with providers such as AIG, National Life Group, Nationwide, American National, Allianz, and more.

(However, to sell financial products you’ll need to get licensed, and that will cost you about $200)

Some of the products the PHP agency sell are:

• Term life insurance
• Return of Premium term insurance
• Indexed life insurance
• Life insurance for no medical exam
• Fixed annuity

How to get started with PHP Agency?

There is a lot of information that the PHP Agency doesn’t disclose online… Like the fee for their services. But third party sources have said that their initial costs are around $600.

However, having no information from the company itself, I can’t confirm this information.

Can you get your money back from the PHP Agency?

If you’re thinking of joining The PHP Agency you should know that they offer a money back guarantee.

This means that if you’re not happy with their service and have not used any services yet, then you can get your money back.

But there are some conditions:

• You must request your refund within 3 days of purchasing. The refund will be processed within 7 days after approval of your request. Refunds will not be issued for any purchases made more than 3 days prior to requesting one.
• You cannot make any changes to the membership after purchasing it. So if you decide to change your membership plan or cancel it before getting any value out of it, then the company will not give you any refunds on your purchase. You should therefore not make any changes to any membership plans until you have fully utilized them so as not to waste any money on them.

How you can make money with PHP Agency

PHP Agency is an MLM company. That means, you earn commissions from selling products and building a team.

In this case, you’ll have to sell insurances, or build your own “sales cloud” and make money from those you recruit as well as those who recruit those people (and so on!)

PHP Agency Reviews:

Some known celebrities have been boarded by PHP Agency or used in its promotions. That doesn’t tell us anything about its authenticity. People don’t realize how easy it is to get celebrities to appear in your ads. It doesn’t always mean that celebrities endorse products just because they appear in the ads. 

To get a better idea, look for reviews from people who have actually dealt with them. Most of the reviews I found online are negative. It has been termed a scam by most people who have been involved. Many people have correctly pointed out that if you have to pay to apply for a job, you are not an employee. The company has also been criticized for taking advantage of minorities and the uneducated.

PHP Agency Compensation Plan

Let me be honest here:

PHP Agency’s compensation plan is the typical MLM type: difficult to understand. It’s filled with graphs, charts, and tables that make absolutely no sense. However, this is the main idea:

Direct Commission Bonus

Like every other MLM, PHP allows you to earn a passive income by building your team and recruiting people using a multilevel commission structure.

PHP Generation Bonus

The PHP Generation Bonus is a monthly bonus you’ll get at the end of each month from your downline members.

Their commission levels outline looks like this:

• 10% on Level 1 (personal recruits)
• 5% on level 2
• 4% on level 3
• 3% on level 4
• 1% on levels 4 to 7

How much do PHP agents really make?

According to their website and some other reviews online we’ve been able to gather, the average national income of a PHP agent in the US is around $65,000. 

This is pretty good considering that you don’t need any kind of experience in this field and that you can make money while working from home.

It’s important to note that even though this is a great opportunity for anyone who wants to work from home and make good money at the same time, it’s important not to expect too much from it because it won’t be easy at first. 

In fact, most people don’t get results until after a few months or so.

Pros of PHP agency

• Wide product line: PHP Agency provides life insurance products throughout the U.S.
• Well-known partners: PHP partners with various famous life insurance companies, including AIG, Mutual of Omaha, Foresters Financial, and National Western Life Insurance Company.

Cons of PHP agency

• Lack of transparency. The company’s lack of transparency has led to a lot of people questioning whether it’s a scam. The company doesn’t provide any information about its products, services, costs, or locations. It doesn’t even provide information about its pricing.
• The company’s advertising is misleading. Many people have complained that the income they have received from the company is much less than what they expected. Several of PHP’s recruits have also complained about being ripped off by the company’s agents. Most of their money is spent on marketing, and individuals at the bottom of the pyramid are left with very little cash for themselves.
• Products vary by provider: All life insurance providers will not offer the same terms, commissions and cost options.
• You’ll need a license. And that’s a lot of time and money you’ll have to put upfront before seeing any result.

Is PHP Agency a pyramid scheme?

In the past, PHP has been accused of operating like a pyramid scheme. In particular, the company’s use of independent contractor agents who sell multiple levels of membership has led to questions about whether this structure follows legal requirements for multi-level marketing businesses.

The term “pyramid scheme” has no legal meaning in the United States. 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) defines a pyramid scheme as “a business model that recruits members via a promise of payments or services for enrolling others into the program, rather than supplying investments or sale of products or services.”

PHP’s membership programs are not illegal because they require a person selling products or services to generate revenue from retail sales rather than recruiting new members. 

The company has said it doesn’t believe it violates laws requiring multi-level marketing companies to pay sales commissions only on actual product sales.

In 2016, however, a judge ruled against PHP in an FTC lawsuit that accused it of operating an illegal pyramid scheme through its affiliate program. 

However, the company claims that it doesn’t operate a pyramid scheme because there’s no requirement for agents to recruit new members, and the company prohibits members from paying into the program unless they are making money from it themselves.

But there are still some red flags that you should be aware of before signing up.

Is PHP Agency a Scam?

There are a lot of shady companies out there that offer the dream of being your own boss and working from home on your own terms. That’s how it is with the PHP Agency scam

They promise you the world but in reality it is just a scheme to take money from you.

There’s a reason why the PHP Agency has been labeled a scam even from its own employees. You would have to spend tons of time and effort just to get a few people to sign up for your business. And you’re not even guaranteed to receive any pay for your efforts.

Also, PHP and its agents have been repeatedly and publicly accused of being a pyramid scheme. They were even fined $1 million in 2016 for insurance-related violations.

If you want to join an MLM program, then you might as well join one that’s transparent and legitimate.

There are still many MLM programs out there that offer great compensation for those who affiliate with them. It’s important that you choose the right one so you won’t waste your time and money on a scam like PHP Agency.

I’d recommend you stay away from any programs promoting a handful of products and a handful of “commissions” as the only method of financial gain.

These types of opportunities aren’t designed to make you money, they are designed to trick you into making them money. They trick you into thinking that they can help you achieve your goals, but their goal is to get your money.

In the end, all this PHP Agency scam wants is for you to help them recruit more people into their scheme.

Here’s a better alternative

I don’t recommend you joining the PHP Agency. I’m not in favor of pyramid-schemes, not only because they are illegal and non-profitable scams, but also due to their costly signup.

Instead, I recommend lead generation. The reason is simple:

Unlike with PHP Agency’s business model, you won’t depend on recruiting to make money. Instead, you could build your 6-figure business on autopilot using lead-flipping.