Mar. 26--Liberty National Life Insurance Co. plans to hire 650 commissioned-based sales agents, including 100 people in the Richmond area.

The hiring spree began yesterday in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Savannah, Ga. Company representatives held job interviews at each location for 50 and 100 people, respectively.

During in the next two weeks, company representatives will be interviewing applicants in seven cities, including Richmond and McLean. They also will be in Houston and Austin, Texas, and Jacksonville, Fla.

Liberty National is a subsidiary of McKinney, Texas-based Torchmark Corp. It has 170 office nationwide, including one in Fairfax, and employs approximately 8,500 sales agents companywide.

The agents will be paid commissions and bonuses for selling lifeand health-insurance policies, said Bernard Blassingame, regional director of Liberty National.

The location of the Richmond office has not been determined, he said.

The average annual commission for sales representative who stay with the company for 12 months is $61,675, according to company statements regarding the expansions. -- Carol Hazard

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