Allstate Agency

[bill3173]

Correct oh wise one. 125-150K liquid to go....

The responses on this forum are funny and so much like real life. If it weren't for that, I may not have a job.

The poster asks why Allstate isn't discussed on the forum. An Allstate Rep comes on and takes the stance that he is defending the company and DJ Jazzy Jeff congratulates him.

That's why I don't worry about being the first caller on leads.

 

[moonlightandmargaritas]

their wives live in a world where their hair doesn't move

As a one time member of the "Good Hands People" I knew many Allstate wives.

Their hair did in fact move, however their boobs did NOT move.

Go figure.

 

[VolAgent]

The poster asks why Allstate isn't discussed on the forum. An Allstate Rep comes on and takes the stance that he is defending the company and DJ Jazzy Jeff congratulates him.

I'm glad someone noticed... I do not need anyone to defend AllState to me, I already respect the company and have coverage with them. I just wanted to find out why no one talked about them here and see if perhaps my respect was misplaced.

This place almost feels like TV news. Mostly negative, with any positive news buried between the financial news and the weather.

 

[moonlightandmargaritas]

I do not need anyone to defend AllState to me

I've held off for a long time, but can take it no more. You're killin' me man.

It's Allstate. No big "S".

 

[VolAgent]

I wish I could say I did it intentionally to get you, but that would be a lie.

Moonlight, I must say I love your posts. I lurked on the forum for quite some time and usually your posts are good for a laugh. Often harsh, but typically hilarious.

 

[rva1CT]

Rich -

Good response. I'm not affiliated with Allstate, but I do have a lot of respect for the company. It's easy to find fault with any company, the successful people find a way to move past a speed bump rather than stopping and complaining that they migh scratch their bottom side going over it.

Sure, Allstate has had a few lumps, so has State Farm, Farmers, AAA, Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Health Net, Kaiser, and virtually every independent agency out there. It's not that you have lumps, its how you move past them that builds character.

3X earnings? That's pretty awesome.

Dan

Thanks Dan. I realize that there are a lot of biased responses here and my point was to offer an experienced point of view to balance things a bit. I also realize that my comments may seemed biased.

My next journey is to build a scratch independant agency and I have to say that the foundation I have from my years with Allstate has been very well received from the marketing reps I
have met with so far.

Still, no regrets from past career. I was compensated very well and profited nicely in the end.

By the way, this is a GREAT forum!

Rich

 

[VolAgent]

Thank you Huckleberry. That is the kind of information I wanted to find out when I asked about Allstate. It is a shame they are not retaining their past year 2 or 3, perhaps they need to review their agent development model to see where they are dropping the ball. Unless they like having a bunch of agents create small books so existing agents can buy it, or Mr. Money can walk in and buy several to start himself off.

 

[djs]

What killed Allstate for me was when I asked, "Has Allstate rolled out some agents EVERY year in (state)?" The answer was yes. Then my next question was, "Can you give me a list of 5-10 agents I can talk to who rolled out about 5-7 years ago? " I was told that it would not be appropriate for them to do so. So I used the Allstate office locator online and called over 50 offices. Only ONE agent I called had rolled out in a 4-7 year range. I encountered a LOT of 1 year and 2 year agents (answering their own phones) and a lot of 15-20 year agents. There seemed to be a missing, "lost generation" of agents--as if after 4 years most agents dropped off the earth.

This may not be true everywhere, but in my area (Bay Area, CA), you will find this across the board. Actually, a wider gap. Till about 4 years ago, nobody was starting in the P&C world, so you have a lot of agents 10+ years and a lot of agents 4- years, but very little in between. Doesn't matter what P&C carrier you talk to.

Other opportunities existed for faster, bigger money.

4 years ago, carriers figured out they had a bunch of 65-70 year old agents floating around and they needed a newer generation to replace them in a few years.

The 65-70 year old agents are not happy with being hinted at that it may be retirement time. There is little reason for a P&C agent to ever retire, since he can work on Wednesday after golf and call it a week, if he has the right office staff.

This actually has very little to do with Allstate, just a fluke in the industry.

Dan

 

[xrac]

I interviewed with and closely studied Farmers, State Farm, Allstate, American Family, Country Companies, Horace Mann, and I spent a month grilling a family friend who is a successful independent agent.

Since this is a thread on Allstate, here is my broad stroke on that company, and why they were not my first choice as an agent wannabe who was looking at every choice possible:


Most people interested in insurance know that Allstate started in Sears with employe agents, then fired all the old W-2 agents about 10-12 years ago and rehired them as 1009 contractors. Probably still some age lawsuits out there about that. DEEP animosity between the agency force and management. Lots of products, but it appears that the agency model is for agents to roll out pretty much scratch, sell about 200-300 households before burning out of their friends, family, and neighbors, then Allstate buys back the interest in the book. The life expectancy seems to average about 18 months to 24 months. The only agents who seem to make it longer than 5 years buy a book.

A very recognizable brand, and much better advertising focusing on the agent than they used to have a few years ago (with the steak on a plate driving like a car). A publicly traded company, so many company decisions seem to be based on getting the stock price up a quarter point and not the long term health of the company. Lots of pressure on agents to sell a broad range of financial products, with new agents driven out of agency if they don't meet certain levels of financial production.

For as bad as some of that sounds, Allstate still wound up being my second choice overall. For an entrepreneur, it seems that you could bust your tail, buy smaller nearby books of business, and grow your business both by prospecting and book acquisition. Brutal, but it doesn't pretend to be easy. (I have since been told that buying a book of business is more about company politics and your financial service production levels than on any of your other qualifications. No matter how good your financing.)

What killed Allstate for me was when I asked, "Has Allstate rolled out some agents EVERY year in (state)?" The answer was yes. Then my next question was, "Can you give me a list of 5-10 agents I can talk to who rolled out about 5-7 years ago? " I was told that it would not be appropriate for them to do so. So I used the Allstate office locator online and called over 50 offices. Only ONE agent I called had rolled out in a 4-7 year range. I encountered a LOT of 1 year and 2 year agents (answering their own phones) and a lot of 15-20 year agents. There seemed to be a missing, "lost generation" of agents--as if after 4 years most agents dropped off the earth.

For whatever reason, I took that as a danger sign. A fine brand, but it seemed to me that the company wasn't set on what they wanted their agency model to look like. Did they want to see big agent offices with multiple staff in major strip malls in which the agents have 3,000+ households (that's the way nearly every State Farm office looks in my town), or does it want a sea of one-man shops in which the agent has to close the office and put a sign on the door if he is sick, or has to go to the bank, but he is adding another 200 new households to Allstate's Big Book before he runs out of his personal savings (or credit limit) playing insurance agent . . .

As it turned out, that question, "Can you give me a list of agents to talk to who started 4-7 years ago?" was very telling across the board.

There are spectacular agents with every brand, so success is not guaranteed, or limited by brand alone. However, it seems that the Allstate agency opportunity is still evolving.

Great post! Huckleberry, you are a very smart guy and have done your due diligence. I predict good things for you. Here are my questions. Are you still going with SF and what did you not like about AF?

 

[superdave45040]

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