tikibarrister
Guru
- 497
Sorry, but @DHK is right.
You're conflating a lot of things:
(1) The legal definition of a pyramid scheme, which is very narrowly defined. Primerica doesn't meet this definition and so it is operating legally. I mean, freakin' Amway also doesn't meet this definition.
(2) The convetional, conversational definition of a pyramid scheme. I think Amway is a pyramid scheme but that doesn't mean anything legally. The term "pyramid scheme" is sometimes even used as a synonym for "scam" which is inaccurate. A pyramid scheme has a specific meaning, whereas there are lots of bad MLMs that are not pyramid schemes. For example, Senior Life is a bad MLM, but it's not a pyramid scheme.
(3) The FTC's consumer advice. Lawyers don't go into court and say "there's a red flag listed on the FTC's web site..." The FTC will advise you to not join various MLMs even if they are operating legally..
I think your point is that since "the number of policies issued closely mirrors the count of people recruited" it must be a pyramid scheme since it sounds like the only sales are internal.
However, having known a few Primerica drones, what I've observed is:
(1) They do train their reps (however ineffectually) to go out and sell policies. The "buy term and invest the difference" sales pitch is closely associated with Primerica.
(2) The ones who've approached me have been trying to sell policies, not recruit me. My wife bought a Primerica policy 20 years ago and was never contacted about becoming a rep.
(3) Even in good agencies, isn't the failure rate like 95%?
Disclaimer: I haven't watched the "infiltration" video above or really looked at Primerica at all in several years, so apologies if something has changed.
I think it's more accurate to say that because Primerica's product is crappy, often agents are only able to sell to themselves and their own circle of friends/family and fall short of the promised dream...which isn't that different than the typical "Project 200" many agencies do.
That's different than the intent of a true pyramid scheme.
Does Primerica suck? Oh yeah. Should you join Primerica? No.
