I've been at this gig for almost three years. I, too, retired from the insurance biz on the P&C side. Still do an audit or two now and then for fees.
This spy stuff is fun and must be valuable to the retail industries. For the Plebes (newbies?) out there, ya gotta cut your teeth on the small stuff to start. When one makes a little mistake, and who doesn't? And your $10 or $15 shop gets rejected, big deal. You learn a valuable but inexpensive lesson, no? Loosing a $50 or $75 fee hurts, especially when fuel is three bucks and parking is $15 or $20.
I don't do anything for less than $20 now. That's maybe close to minimum wage counting travel and reporting time. And I sprung for Carrie Porhammer's, Undercover Essentials, Video seminar and also bought a PV-500 mini-cam setup. I really like this end of the business. The companies are more professional, the jobs more interesting and most importantly they pay well, from $50-200 a pop. You can't get wealthy but you can pay for your time and a few groceries.
I don't want to sound like a union organizer, but it's good that the responsible shoppers and companies are getting together to weed out the robbers. I'm sure I've missed a commission or two but for a company to rob some poor working stiff who's actually willing to get 1099'd, pay FICA and taxes, buy gas, parking and so on for the mere pennies they are offered is a crime of the highest order. Interstate fraud is a crime. When wages are earned and not paid,regardless of the weak "independent contractor" status, they rely on, Income Taxes are not paid. And guess what? The hiring contractor is still responsible for those if the "independent contractor" status fails the test of 21 questions. And they almost always do. But if fraud is involved and the taxes arn't paid some Secret Shopping company might get a mystery shop from Efrim Zimbalist, Jr.( For you young one's he pretended to be an FBI agent on TV.)