Interview With Alan Town - $22,752,532 In 2017 Final Expense Production

[HoosierLife]

There still has not been a real criticism of Columbian's product itself and how it is inferior to other FE products. If my go-to company is ABC, and I have client who is not tall enough for her weight, which would make her graded or modified with ABC, but I could get level with XYZ who does not use a height/weight chart, that does not make ABC's product inferior to XYZ.'s. Now if I write for both companies, but I write her with ABC's graded product anyway because I'm trying to win a trip with ABC, then that is a problem with me as an agent - not ABC as a company.

More clients will go modified with a carrier like Columbian. They have no real niches. Above average pricing. No benefits to write them..

Unless you're an agency builder. Their product's comp schedule pays higher if you have a down line.

This forum, before our recently departed, has always been anti agency building.

I think there is a middle ground. Where an upline offers competitive comp with room to grow, great support and a stellar lineup.

That 3 legged stool is missing a leg. Agent, client, carrier AND upline.

Some of these products cut short the agent's leg at the expense of the upline, ie SL, LH and Columbian.

I can push Americo and RNA on my guys with a clear conscience. They are by no means the lowest price, but there is enough value for the client, agent and carrier and enough spread to keep the upline happy and supportive of their agents.

Arguably you could say the same for SL and LH. I still think they favor the carrier and the upline WAY more than client or writing agent.

Columbian itself is nothing special except as a mediocre product that is good for the upline and carrier. I imagine in any field there are more millionaires that have focused on the guys at the top. Doesn't necessarily make it an admirable quality OR good for society in general.

And I'm no spring chicken either. I've seen almost as many Columbian clean sheets as Bankers or Lincoln's.

I think the negative descriptions are well deserved.

 

[goillini52]

That 3 legged stool is missing a leg. Agent, client, carrier AND upline.

Wouldn't that make it a 4 legged stool?

 

[rousemark]

There still has not been a real criticism of Columbian's product itself and how it is inferior to other FE products. If my go-to company is ABC, and I have client who is not tall enough for her weight, which would make her graded or modified with ABC, but I could get level with XYZ who does not use a height/weight chart, that does not make ABC's product inferior to XYZ.'s. Now if I write for both companies, but I write her with ABC's graded product anyway because I'm trying to win a trip with ABC, then that is a problem with me as an agent - not ABC as a company.

The main places companies compete is underwriting and premium. After, a WL contract is pretty much a WL contract.. If you have a company that has very lax underwriting AND the lowest premium, you have a company that may have a problem down the line. They aren't like the health insurance companies that can buy business with a low initial premium and the raise it in the next few years. Columbian's FE is overall a mid range plan when it comes to premium with reasonable underwriting. Age 65 NTU female is $41.85 for 10K. Male is $56.87.. What a lot of agents want to compare to is their MDO product which is really high.

If an independent agent has a dozen companies and none of them will accept a certain client at immediate benefit so the agent writes a graded plan even though there is a company somewhere out there that he does no have a contract with would take her standard, has he "shorted" that client?

 

[NSRH]

It's the same reason why people think this was of sl and lh. It's not always competitively priced and you may sign the customer with a graded/rop when they can get immediate with another company.

There are two type of mindsets. You're either thinking in terms of sales or in terms of building a business. If you are always pushing the cheapest plan and looking for niches you can make decent money but will be nothing more than an insurance agent.

If you're trying to build a business you partner with a company and put as much of your business with them as possible. That's why most millionaires in the insurance industry work with one company. Alan is no different.

You might be on to something

Most agents however are not interested in building a business.

Most IMOs have never ran another business.

 

[rousemark]

More clients will go modified with a carrier like Columbian. They have no real niches. Above average pricing. No benefits to write them..

Unless you're an agency builder. Their product's comp schedule pays higher if you have a down line.

This forum, before our recently departed, has always been anti agency building.

I think there is a middle ground. Where an upline offers competitive comp with room to grow, great support and a stellar lineup.

That 3 legged stool is missing a leg. Agent, client, carrier AND upline.

Some of these products cut short the agent's leg at the expense of the upline, ie SL, LH and Columbian.

I can push Americo and RNA on my guys with a clear conscience. They are by no means the lowest price, but there is enough value for the client, agent and carrier and enough spread to keep the upline happy and supportive of their agents.

Arguably you could say the same for SL and LH. I still think they favor the carrier and the upline WAY more than client or writing agent.

Columbian itself is nothing special except as a mediocre product that is good for the upline and carrier. I imagine in any field there are more millionaires that have focused on the guys at the top. Doesn't necessarily make it an admirable quality OR good for society in general.

And I'm no spring chicken either. I've seen almost as many Columbian clean sheets as Bankers or Lincoln's.

I think the negative descriptions are well deserved.

The street on Columbian for their FE is 110% for agents under direct contract.. You can get higher with production.. and not all that much. That doesn't seem much different than what other companies offer... Plus their renewals are generally higher. Not trying to argue the point, just wondering why that would make Columbian such a bad deal.

As for clean sheeting, there is not a single company that doesn't have agents that do that.. Back a few years ago, back before the POS and script-checks a couple of the worst agents in this area were selling almost exclusively for Royal Neighbors... That doesn't make them a bad company.

 

[rousemark]

Talk about misrepresentation, this guy claims Senior Life has an A+ AM BEST rating..

Senior Life Insurance Company | Burial Insurance Pro

Not only that, he says a BBB A+ "rating is based on it's (SL) proven stability, secured future, and it's constant sustainable financial position" .

 

[Thedude]

More clients will go modified with a carrier like Columbian. They have no real niches. Above average pricing. No benefits to write them..

Unless you're an agency builder. Their product's comp schedule pays higher if you have a down line.

This forum, before our recently departed, has always been anti agency building.

I think there is a middle ground. Where an upline offers competitive comp with room to grow, great support and a stellar lineup.

That 3 legged stool is missing a leg. Agent, client, carrier AND upline.

Some of these products cut short the agent's leg at the expense of the upline, ie SL, LH and Columbian.

I can push Americo and RNA on my guys with a clear conscience. They are by no means the lowest price, but there is enough value for the client, agent and carrier and enough spread to keep the upline happy and supportive of their agents.

Arguably you could say the same for SL and LH. I still think they favor the carrier and the upline WAY more than client or writing agent.

Columbian itself is nothing special except as a mediocre product that is good for the upline and carrier. I imagine in any field there are more millionaires that have focused on the guys at the top. Doesn't necessarily make it an admirable quality OR good for society in general.

And I'm no spring chicken either. I've seen almost as many Columbian clean sheets as Bankers or Lincoln's.

I think the negative descriptions are well deserved.

You don't know what you are talking about.

I run into more americo clean sheets than I do anything else...i think it's more so the uplines aren't training well and also influence and say oh yes that's okay.

I've been in this business longer than you and it's not a company thing it's an upline thing.

 

[Thedude]

The street on Columbian for their FE is 110% for agents under direct contract.. You can get higher with production.. and not all that much. That doesn't seem much different than what other companies offer... Plus their renewals are generally higher. Not trying to argue the point, just wondering why that would make Columbian such a bad deal.

As for clean sheeting, there is not a single company that doesn't have agents that do that.. Back a few years ago, back before the POS and script-checks a couple of the worst agents in this area were selling almost exclusively for Royal Neighbors... That doesn't make them a bad company.

Yea honestly the efes guys are pimps just like everyone else

 

[DayTimer]

More clients will go modified with a carrier like Columbian. They have no real niches. Above average pricing. No benefits to write them.

According to Columbian, 82% of their FE apps get issued at their best Classic Elite level.

Some of these products cut short the agent's leg at the expense of the upline, ie SL, LH and Columbian.

Here I think the issue is not with SL, LH, or Columbian, but with various agencies, both captive and independent, who distribute their products. I know for a fact that Columbian's agent comp is as strong, and in some cases stronger than someone might get with the IMO's typically represented here on the forum with carriers of whom you are more approving. This is not meant as a criticism of you or those IMO's - just stating a fact.

Columbian itself is nothing special except as a mediocre product that is good for the upline and carrier... And ... I've seen almost as many Columbian clean sheets as Bankers or Lincoln's.

I think the negative descriptions are well deserved.

Again, Columbian's agent comp is, in my opinion, very strong, and frankly none of the carriers I write with my current IMO have renewals approaching those paid by Columbian. And clean sheeting is, again, an agent behavior, perhaps an agency level issue in some cases, but it is not a carrier corruption issue.

And I certainly do appreciate your response, but again we are left with more rather vague and unsubstantiated criticisms that Columbian "is itself nothing special" and offers a "mediocre product." And to thus conclude that "the negative descriptions are well deserved" is, in my opinion, a conclusion not justified by the facts thus far presented.

 

[DayTimer]

I've been in this business longer than you and it's not a company thing it's an upline thing.

That is what it seems to me, agent and agency behaviors are being attributed to companies. It probably becomes more noticeable when a company has a higher percentage of captive agencies or otherwise dedicated agencies such as SLI, LH, and CFG. Alan Town's agents no doubt write Columbian as their go-to carrier. But they also write other carriers as well. I heard Alan Town, on a training webinar, say that Columbian does not take neuropathy, but "we have a carrier who does take neuropathy level day one coverage. So we are good there." That is a public webinar or training call and it is on Youtube.