Bankers Life and Casualty ??

[xrac]

It seems obvious that everyone in this forum has to have a first a first posting. I would hate to think my thoughts would be discounted for that reason alone.
I can tell you that I am not in management with Bankers neither am I in recruiting and I have rejected all attempts to push me in that direction. I want to develop excellence in what I am doing before instructing other people.
I am not ignorant of the shortcomings in the Bankers system. I can see why people would apply the "churn and burn" tag as I have seen plenty of that. It does sometimes seem that Bankers hires nearly anyone in hopes of holding on to a few that have a certain personality. I do not have that kind of personality but have stayed anyway. It has not been easy, I have struggled mightily over the last year, but I believe firmly that I can make this work through hard work and perseverance.
I would love to see some things change. Bankers does a great job in training their people but I think they need to go even farther in developing talented individuals. I also think they need to make a big investment in digital technology. However, I am far more likely to be able to effect those changes if I stay. Bankers has a long and storied history of leadership and innovation and I think they can do that again. I suspect I am just the guy to help make that happen.
I will also tell you this: I am not an overly optimistic inexperienced youth. I'm in my fifties now with a degree in business and attempting to get my Masters in Financial Planning. I bear the scars of bad managers and lousy work places. I may be new to insurance, but I am not new to business or bosses or corporations. Bankers is not perfect, but if you have a great boss, and I do, it can be a terrific place to get a start.

I curious as to what state you are in. The local BLC does not have a good reputation.

 

[fibonacci112]

I happen to be in North Central Florida and I am sure you are correct; some BLC offices do not have good reputations. There is one about an hours drive from ours that has suffered from a deplorable rep. However, as I have said, a great deal of whether or not it is a great place to work has to do with the person or persons who are running the place. Mine happens to be great; but I have heard numerous stories of others that were not. But that shouldn't come as a surprise; its been the same in every industry I have worked in.

 

[duncan65]

I was with Bankers fro 5 months, never got the training pay I was promised. Then when you quit they send they rainers out to rewrite your polocies. It is a Koolaide mentallity, if you are smart enough not the drink the Koolaide you will see the big picture. Their offices are in low rent districts which, now looking back should of been a clear sign of the type of company they are. I would stay away, they keep the lie going with all this RAH RAH bullshit, and to try and impress the new sales people they count commisioson a few times so you think veteran agents are making money. My final straw was when of these so called veteran agents who was always top 2 or 3 had her car repossed, she told me should could not make the 183.00 a month payment because on average 57% of polocies are denied. Bankers tells you to write anything and see if it sticks, what a waste of time for all, especially the people who are hoping you can help them.

 

[pvellenga]

I am going to make a quick comment and move on from that. I know for a fact that there are good and bad Branch Managers. This will have alot of impact on your experience at a company like Bankers. The training is very good for the most part. Alot of places throw you out there with nothing. The branch I work at has a week long class which includes both Saturdays. So you get over 40 hours of class training. Then you get another 4 weeks of field training. I personally have my own trainer that rides with me all the time. On top of that he sits along side of me while I am on the phone and helps to develop my phone skills. I get half of the business that he writes and I have also received 100% of the commision that I wrote myself. I will say that they do use high pressure tactics but most of the agents dont follow that to the letter. I also will add that I havent been there all that long but the experience has been good and I have learned alot. So if I choose to leave Bankers for another company I have gotten a good start to this business. I have learned how to be good on the phone and I have learned how things work. Such as different policies and lines of insurance.

 

[maleman2045]

I am going to make a quick comment and move on from that. I know for a fact that there are good and bad Branch Managers. This will have alot of impact on your experience at a company like Bankers. The training is very good for the most part. Alot of places throw you out there with nothing. The branch I work at has a week long class which includes both Saturdays. So you get over 40 hours of class training. Then you get another 4 weeks of field training. I personally have my own trainer that rides with me all the time. On top of that he sits along side of me while I am on the phone and helps to develop my phone skills. I get half of the business that he writes and I have also received 100% of the commision that I wrote myself. I will say that they do use high pressure tactics but most of the agents dont follow that to the letter. I also will add that I havent been there all that long but the experience has been good and I have learned alot. So if I choose to leave Bankers for another company I have gotten a good start to this business. I have learned how to be good on the phone and I have learned how things work. Such as different policies and lines of insurance.

I agree with pvellenga; your experience will be directly related to the strength and dedication of your BSM and his direct reports. If you are new to the biz, it is probably not a bad place to start, as you will receive lots of training, some of your training/updates will be given at least for 1 hour during your office days (3 days/week).

A few of the things that caused issue for me were

1. The time lost going to the office, as I am disciplined enough to work from home and can make better use of that time.
2. Shared leads. Early on, all T65 leads were given to all of the agents. You think a prospective customer receiving 6-8 calls from leads provided by online websites was bad, imagine receiving all calls in a 30 minute span from ALL of the agents in the office. Hint, not a good time making those calls.
3. Lists primarily made of up of DNC numbers. Unless you have allocated in your marketing budget for
   1. a) methods to convert paper lists into electronic for a mailing campaign and
      b) some type of a mailing campaign,
      
   I hope you like door knocking. BTW, I actually did and made most of my money that way as I knew most others (same company or not) were going to take the time to door knock. If you are considering this, let me know as I can provide some tips on this)
   

Good luck in your future endeavors..