AAA Insurance

[Bitnis]

I've been reading here for about a week trying to see what's going on in the insurance business these days. To see if maybe there's somewhere I can fit in. This would be my first post here. I guess this could go in the introductions section but it's more a question than an intro.

My mother worked for AAA insurance for 28 years in many different different departments. A life long friend of the family is a former STAR with State Farm from way back in the day. I believe he started in 1964. I think he finally
retired within the last ten years. I was reading his bio online last night and was amazed.

I've owned an auto paint repair franchise for seven years. It's steady but I'm ready to move on. I'm 44 and looking for a new career. I'm very seriously considering insurance. I picked up my books today.

Is anyone familiar with how AAA pays their insurance salesman? I believe they are a solid company and worth looking into. I'm in North Carolina and seeing more and more of them. I've been here 16 years but grew up in CA where I believe AAA started.

I would prefer to be an independent agent from the get go but I am guessing this is not likely. Unless there's another way to be your own boss in this business, this would be my ultimate goal. If a company like AAA is willing to fairly compensate their salesman than it would be something to consider.

I was very sad to read the thread about State Farm and the contract with their agents. We've already got SIX State Farm agents in my immediate area. It sounds like State Farm needs to get back to making their agents the HEROs they used to be. I would love to be a State Farm agent but seeing the way they are stacked up in areas makes it very undesirable to me.

Feel free to give free advice . I'm guessing I should go work for someone else to get started and just wondering if the captive agents get paid as much as you independent super stars. AAA in particular.

Pleasure to be here.

 

[Mr. Bill]

I have a good friend there. He says average is about $70k, the "top producers" are at $150k. This is the P&C side only.

 

[HomeService]

They had a life ins division here in TX, I think they still may have it. I had a phone interview with them a few years ago, but it went no further. I think they make about 25-30K a year to start. And they were to be stuck in the office for many hours , including Saturdays, if memory serves me. I do not like being in an office like that for that many hours, I like going out in the field.

 

[fastrack1]

I have a good friend there. He says average is about $70k, the "top producers" are at $150k. This is the P&C side only.

State Farm has its problems for sure, but if you follow some of the advice on these posts about State Farm, you can make more money than that with them.

 

[xrac]

State Farm has its problems for sure, but if you follow some of the advice on these posts about State Farm, you can make more money than that with them.

That's not what I am reading in the posts on SF!

 

[HomeService]

A person could make 100K a year doing any number of things.

 

[kcfan]

I used to work for AAA Missouri. I got recruited and there was one other agent of 20 years in the office in Joplin, MO. The other agent quit and he had a very large book of business. I ended up spending most all of my time servicing his book of business and not getting paid for the work. AAA calls those house accounts. Anyway, I was spending up to 80% of my time servicing those accounts with ridiculous quotas I had to meet. Starting month 13 you had to meet a certain quota by month 18. If you met that quota you still had a job but then your quota goes up another 50% starting month 19-24. Then in month 25 the quota goes up another 50%. All AAA seems to care about is auto sales. Most agents get fired before their 25 month and then the company does not have to pay any commission on that business anymore. Now the poor agent still in the office has to service the fired agent's book of business while being expected to meet an ever increasing quota himself. By the way, the quotas must be met for each 6 month time period for as long as you work for AAA.

What I was seeing they (AAA) cycle agents out every 2 years. I was in month 17 when I got fired. My District Manager (name is Greg Hubbard from Little Rock, AR) and the territory manager from Kansas City met me at my office and told me I got fired for making a personal phone call at work. I filed for unemployment insurance and the Appeals Tribunal found I was fired unjustly. I was actually on a call with a client who is also a friend and I was asking him how his fiancee and brother was doing and another customer in the office heard this part of the conversation and wrote a note to my boss (Hubbard) saying I was on a personal call and refused to wait on him and he was taking his single auto to State Farm.

Don't expect your manager to go to bat for you especially if his name is Greg Hubbard!

I do not recommend AAA for a prospective agent. AAA wasted almost 2 years of my life!!