Crybabies FMO win suit against CMS

[Tired1970]

Look. I'm not saying we are a perfect FMO for anyone. I prefer saying.... It is like a club today.

I get your hatred of FMOs. But, we worked hard to get here. L/RMOS, etc. Decades of work.

As an FMO & LMOS, ETS, WHAOIEUIEOU...I pay a lot. Just G2 license, and ads wow. But, here is the funny thing...I don't advertise for Agents. We are happy with those who hear about us word of mouth.

But, since I pay a lot...let me give you an idea.

So we all see those emails of 30000000 and you can bank it! Or, sign up...or links...or this and that.

We don't play those games. We train.

I have a new agency, down the street from us...claiming they are FMO/GA. I know they are not. This is my street.

So, I called a carrier they represent...and asked. Well, they responded they can't give out information. But, she did say...."They are not." I asked...why is your carrier NOT examining websites and more...before you visit? Her reply? Report to CMS. So on their end, 'It's numbers." On REAL FMO ENDS...it is getting the crap out.

And this is one story.

I represent my brokers, that one carrier stated, "You do too much, no FMO and above does this."

Not only that, our agency agrees to be the FDIC of commissions.

So, you argue ORs.

Our ORs...pay for you. And it depends if an FMO strictly uses it as profit, or for Brokers.

There are amazing great ppl out there. You just must find them. Hint..The best...will never sell out. Or go with companies aligned with or known with Large Agencies. And, that is all I can say.

Have a great night.

 

[Shyla Christensen]

First, beware.

Integrity Marketing Group (based out of TX) has been on an FMO buying spree, trying to gobble up as many FMO's across the country as they can, simply in order to reduce market competition.

FMO's, such as Agent Pipeline, Holland, NAA (Superior Performers), AGA, Premier Marketing, Western Marketing, and many others are included in their portfolio (this list can be verified/expanded via the Integrity website).

Integrity hasn't been able to grow organically, and so have had to take the FMO merger route.

Integrity hasn't been able to grow organically (i.e. gaining more Agents via better support), and so acquisitions have been their key to growth.

As per another post elsewhere:

"Welcome to the world of insurance full of empty promises and recruit anybody with a pulse."

And Integrity owned FMO's are no different, even perhaps amongst the worst offenders.

Burn & churn is the Integrity way.

Integrity has adopted a quantity over quality approach in regards to Agents.

They would rather have 100 low-producing Agents (often via lack of support) that each write only 1 app than 10 better-producing Agents that each write 10 apps.

The net dollar gain is the same for them (100 apps written is 100 apps - regardless of the sources).

Integrity only cares about Integrity.

Again, burn & churn is the m.o. for Integrity (in regards to both Agents & employees).

Perhaps worse, many Medicare carriers could care less about Integrity, and so offer little-to-no dedicated support and/or training, meaning Agents are often left completely in the dark.

Most Integrity employees themselves don't even know the process for onboarding new Agents, and so cannot offer any real help.

Even worse, Integrity has in-house CRM's & databases that are outdated by some 30+ years, but continue to pump out propaganda claiming they are "leaders" in "AI" (ha!).

Let's not ignore the massive data breach that recently occurred at some Integrity companies (a class action suit is pending).

Plus, many of those Integrity owned FMO's all operate on different systems than each other, so any one of their FMO's is largely unaware of what the other(s) are doing, and there is virtually no cohesion amongst those similarly owned FMO's (imagine the nightmare caused when several subsidiaries of the same parent company each have different policies, procedures, processes, computer systems, forms, etc.).

Worse still, many of those Integrity similarly owned FMO's simply don't get along with each other (given the lack of cohesion/cooperation between each other), and so don't even offer support for each other.
I have frequently seen employees from one Integrity owned FMO simply refuse to return calls/emails from employees of another Integrity owned FMO.

And I have never seen as many data processing errors as I have w/Integrity owned FMO's (Integrity hasn't even initiated training programs for their employees, thus many don't even know how to properly submit Agent info to conform with NIPR/licensing info, creating unnecessary delays and/or rejection when trying to onboard.

Integrity has completely ignored sustainable operations and infrastructure, meaning lack of knowledge, low efficiency, low productivity, and low effectiveness.

One of the main reasons why their Agent support is so bad.
And many Integrity Managers are amongst the least knowledgeable of products, carrier processes, etc.
I once had to speak to four different Marketing Managers at an Integrity FMO, and was given four very different answers, each of which was completely wrong (which I discovered after finally speaking to carriers and getting the correct answers).

Integrity is easily one of the worst run companies I have ever seen.

My best recommendation, is stay far away from any Integrity owned FMO.

 

[wehotex]

First, beware.

Integrity Marketing Group (based out of TX) has been on an FMO buying spree, trying to gobble up as many FMO's across the country as they can, simply in order to reduce market competition.

FMO's, such as Agent Pipeline, Holland, NAA (Superior Performers), AGA, Premier Marketing, Western Marketing, and many others are included in their portfolio (this list can be verified/expanded via the Integrity website).

Integrity hasn't been able to grow organically, and so have had to take the FMO merger route.

Integrity hasn't been able to grow organically (i.e. gaining more Agents via better support), and so acquisitions have been their key to growth.

As per another post elsewhere:

"Welcome to the world of insurance full of empty promises and recruit anybody with a pulse."

And Integrity owned FMO's are no different, even perhaps amongst the worst offenders.

Burn & churn is the Integrity way.

Integrity has adopted a quantity over quality approach in regards to Agents.

They would rather have 100 low-producing Agents (often via lack of support) that each write only 1 app than 10 better-producing Agents that each write 10 apps.

The net dollar gain is the same for them (100 apps written is 100 apps - regardless of the sources).

Integrity only cares about Integrity.

Again, burn & churn is the m.o. for Integrity (in regards to both Agents & employees).

Perhaps worse, many Medicare carriers could care less about Integrity, and so offer little-to-no dedicated support and/or training, meaning Agents are often left completely in the dark.

Most Integrity employees themselves don't even know the process for onboarding new Agents, and so cannot offer any real help.

Even worse, Integrity has in-house CRM's & databases that are outdated by some 30+ years, but continue to pump out propaganda claiming they are "leaders" in "AI" (ha!).

Let's not ignore the massive data breach that recently occurred at some Integrity companies (a class action suit is pending).

Plus, many of those Integrity owned FMO's all operate on different systems than each other, so any one of their FMO's is largely unaware of what the other(s) are doing, and there is virtually no cohesion amongst those similarly owned FMO's (imagine the nightmare caused when several subsidiaries of the same parent company each have different policies, procedures, processes, computer systems, forms, etc.).

Worse still, many of those Integrity similarly owned FMO's simply don't get along with each other (given the lack of cohesion/cooperation between each other), and so don't even offer support for each other.
I have frequently seen employees from one Integrity owned FMO simply refuse to return calls/emails from employees of another Integrity owned FMO.

And I have never seen as many data processing errors as I have w/Integrity owned FMO's (Integrity hasn't even initiated training programs for their employees, thus many don't even know how to properly submit Agent info to conform with NIPR/licensing info, creating unnecessary delays and/or rejection when trying to onboard.

Integrity has completely ignored sustainable operations and infrastructure, meaning lack of knowledge, low efficiency, low productivity, and low effectiveness.

One of the main reasons why their Agent support is so bad.
And many Integrity Managers are amongst the least knowledgeable of products, carrier processes, etc.
I once had to speak to four different Marketing Managers at an Integrity FMO, and was given four very different answers, each of which was completely wrong (which I discovered after finally speaking to carriers and getting the correct answers).

Integrity is easily one of the worst run companies I have ever seen.

My best recommendation, is stay far away from any Integrity owned FMO.

Let me take a guess that Integrity is a reason (maybe THE) reason that we are not receiving the $50/$100 override too?

 

[MedicareWAA]

First, beware.

Not sure I agree with everything you said about Integrity, BUT … the OIG did drop (bury?) a curious footnote in its recent Medicare broker special fraud alert …

"OIG recognizes that … payments from [Advantage plans] to agents, brokers, and others may also … implicate the federal Anti-Kickback statute. OIG has received significant and credible reports of potential violations in these areas."

Hmmmm …..

They go on to explain that breaking the kickback statute is a criminal offense. Imagine the irony if a broker ends up in the same federal prison where they keep Diddy and Luigi.