Lawsuit Filed Against State Farm

[rousemark]

I wonder where this first time poster comes from to post in support of the company. Think this is a company man posing as an agent?

Very interesting .(doing my best Artie Johnson imitation).. Two agents.. both 35 years service .. two completely different stories...

 

[silverpfurby]

Anyone who believes that the new agents fail because they are failures themselves is either a company soldier or just blind. I was a successful agent and became financially independent through agency. But those days are mostly over under the current contractual regime. I will never claim that my success was not due to some luck of the draw, the where and the when. New agents are sold a bill of goods by recruiters, AFEs, and others, who stand to receive trips and bonuses for getting those new bodies. State Farm constantly evolves compensation schemes that are loaded with rewards for exercising conflicts of interest at every level of agency. One reason the CFP Board dumped State Farm as a supporter in the early 2000s. Check it out on the Web where that hsitory becomes clear.
The way to instant loss of credibility is to support the present workings of State Farm agency management at all levels.
ASU67 (Arizona State, 1967?) attacks not just any agent who may feel or who actually was deceived, but also attacks California as a liberal bastion at the evil root of the suit along with attacking an entire generation. In doing so he reveals the worn political mantra that claims capitalism to be without any shortcomings, the end justifies the means while essentially stating that his generation was better. 1967? Really?

 

[stella 12]

A lawsuit was filed against State Farm last Friday. This one is going to be big and expansive. Finally, something is being done about the fraud and deceit that State Farm uses to get people recruited and into their agency system. So many people have lost everything they owned. Kudos to the legal team on this one.

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]LAWSUITS FILED AGAINST STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]INSURANCE COMPANY[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Friday, July 13, 2012: State Farm Agent, Jack Tahanian filed a lawsuit today in Los Angeles County Superior Court against State Farm Mutual Insurance Company. The lawsuit accuses State Farm of fraud and deceit in the way the company presented its “new market” business model. In addition to the fraud claims, Tahanian’s lawsuit makes additional claims under California’s Unfair Competition Law.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]John Fisher, one of Tahanian’s attorneys says “There are an estimated 3000 “new market” or “scratch” agents suffering under the extremely adverse conditions created by State Farm’s scheme. This estimated number doesn’t reflect a larger number of agents whose contracts have been terminated by State Farm, or who had to completely walk away from their agency due to the detrimental impact of the State[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Farm agent contract.”[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]"The number of adversely affected agents we have been in contact with in the last several weeks is extraordinary. Hundreds of agents from all over the United States and Canada are in desperate financial trouble and are seeking relief from State Farm’s schemes. Many of these agents have suffered severe financial ruin, and have been forced to either seek protection by filing for bankruptcy protection, or are on the verge of doing so. The similarities in each of their stories of their treatment are strikingly similar. This program is a shocking failure and State Farm continues to promote it in a positive light, knowing full well they are dooming the vast majority of these men and women to financial ruin. It is truly a disgrace to the company’s long history of commitment to its agents. It’s also a disgrace to the legacy of a company that once represented the elite in insurance agency opportunities” said Fisher.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Fisher is working within a network of law firms who specialize in large scale, national litigation such as these cases. The key attorney in the case is Archie Lamb of Birmingham, Alabama. Lamb has spent numerous weeks meeting with agents all over the United States and Canada listening to their desperate circumstances.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Lamb’s national practice is focused on mass torts and class-actions. Lamb previously represented the California Medical Association and numerous other medical societies against the HMO industry. Lamb and Fisher are also collaborating on the State Farm case with The Sizemore Firm out of El Segundo and the Whatley Kallas Firm out of New York City.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]All agents are encouraged to contact this group with any and all questions regarding a potential claim at 1-205-324-4644. All calls and inquiries will be kept confidential.[/FONT][/quot
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I am so glad this is finally happening! My husband became a State Farm agent four years ago. After six months of research and writing business plans and visiting with agents he was accepted as a new agent. I should mention that the numbers in his business plan (specifically how many policies we should be able to write) were given to him by his supervisor (forget the acronym) and made it look like we would do very well. Before opening his agency he had to have his sight approved by SF and the interior of his office had to be designed by a SF designer. Ridiculous. $35,000 later in office furniture and we were in business. By the way, it was highly frowned upon to turn down any of the furniture. There was enough for at least six "team members" in a new agency. Again, ridiculous. Thankfully in the end my husband never signed the contract for the purchase of the furniture- an oversight on SFs part. Immediately my husband began writing policies, more policies than 50% of his AFO (30 agents). He was immediately told that if he doesn't do better his agency would close. He was told that if he didn't spend more on advertising his agency would close. His performance was consistent every month and every month he was threatened to be closed and told to spend more on advertising. He was encouraged to make a SF commercial for local television stations which was basically a SF commercial with his picture for three seconds at the end. It was all about SF and not at all about his agency. Everything had to be approved by SF and nothing could happen without that approval. He paid into group advertising and his name was never mentioned. Eleven months in and we were told his agency would not be renewed. It was devastating. My husband left a three-figure job for this "opportunity." We have two small children and a house to pay for. This "opportunity" devastated us financially and SF ran the show. We weren't even ALLOWED to run the agency the way in which we saw best and SF ran it into the ground. In the end they came to my husband's agency and made him sit there all day while they ripped out computers and dismantled their furniture. When they realized he did not sign the furniture contract they sent us a 1099 for the $35,000. We were offered $5,000 parting compensation (how insulting) if my husband promised not to pursue legal action in the future....hmmmmm. Hope his supervisor (wish I could remember the dumb acronym) had a great trip to Hawaii that year!! For all of you older SF guys, every experienced insurance professional knows that you don't open a scratch agency in this day and age. We were not from insurance backgrounds and went on what we were told which is that we would have a "gold mine". We are educated people and did our homework. The experience of 20 years ago is not the reality of today. SHAME on STATE FARM for running this scam, not just one time but thousands of times on innocent people trying to make better lives for their families. Is it really worth it State Farm for some free advertising paid for by the little people and for some furniture sales??? Is it really worth it?

 

[xrac]

Stella 12, thanks for the post. How did you find this forum and this thread since this is a first post.

 

[Stephen]

Anyone notice that the OP with 6 posts is from Alabama, the same state as the lawyer running the tort case? Better call Saul!

 

[Newby]

A lawsuit was filed against State Farm last Friday. This one is going to be big and expansive. Finally, something is being done about the fraud and deceit that State Farm uses to get people recruited and into their agency system. So many people have lost everything they owned. Kudos to the legal team on this one.

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]LAWSUITS FILED AGAINST STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]INSURANCE COMPANY[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Friday, July 13, 2012: State Farm Agent, Jack Tahanian filed a lawsuit today in Los Angeles County Superior Court against State Farm Mutual Insurance Company. The lawsuit accuses State Farm of fraud and deceit in the way the company presented its “new market” business model. In addition to the fraud claims, Tahanian’s lawsuit makes additional claims under California’s Unfair Competition Law.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]John Fisher, one of Tahanian’s attorneys says “There are an estimated 3000 “new market” or “scratch” agents suffering under the extremely adverse conditions created by State Farm’s scheme. This estimated number doesn’t reflect a larger number of agents whose contracts have been terminated by State Farm, or who had to completely walk away from their agency due to the detrimental impact of the State[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Farm agent contract.”[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]"The number of adversely affected agents we have been in contact with in the last several weeks is extraordinary. Hundreds of agents from all over the United States and Canada are in desperate financial trouble and are seeking relief from State Farm’s schemes. Many of these agents have suffered severe financial ruin, and have been forced to either seek protection by filing for bankruptcy protection, or are on the verge of doing so. The similarities in each of their stories of their treatment are strikingly similar. This program is a shocking failure and State Farm continues to promote it in a positive light, knowing full well they are dooming the vast majority of these men and women to financial ruin. It is truly a disgrace to the company’s long history of commitment to its agents. It’s also a disgrace to the legacy of a company that once represented the elite in insurance agency opportunities” said Fisher.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Fisher is working within a network of law firms who specialize in large scale, national litigation such as these cases. The key attorney in the case is Archie Lamb of Birmingham, Alabama. Lamb has spent numerous weeks meeting with agents all over the United States and Canada listening to their desperate circumstances.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Lamb’s national practice is focused on mass torts and class-actions. Lamb previously represented the California Medical Association and numerous other medical societies against the HMO industry. Lamb and Fisher are also collaborating on the State Farm case with The Sizemore Firm out of El Segundo and the Whatley Kallas Firm out of New York City.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]All agents are encouraged to contact this group with any and all questions regarding a potential claim at 1-205-324-4644. All calls and inquiries will be kept confidential.[/FONT][/quot
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I am so glad this is finally happening! My husband became a State Farm agent four years ago. After six months of research and writing business plans and visiting with agents he was accepted as a new agent. I should mention that the numbers in his business plan (specifically how many policies we should be able to write) were given to him by his supervisor (forget the acronym) and made it look like we would do very well. Before opening his agency he had to have his sight approved by SF and the interior of his office had to be designed by a SF designer. Ridiculous. $35,000 later in office furniture and we were in business. By the way, it was highly frowned upon to turn down any of the furniture. There was enough for at least six "team members" in a new agency. Again, ridiculous. Thankfully in the end my husband never signed the contract for the purchase of the furniture- an oversight on SFs part. Immediately my husband began writing policies, more policies than 50% of his AFO (30 agents). He was immediately told that if he doesn't do better his agency would close. He was told that if he didn't spend more on advertising his agency would close. His performance was consistent every month and every month he was threatened to be closed and told to spend more on advertising. He was encouraged to make a SF commercial for local television stations which was basically a SF commercial with his picture for three seconds at the end. It was all about SF and not at all about his agency. Everything had to be approved by SF and nothing could happen without that approval. He paid into group advertising and his name was never mentioned. Eleven months in and we were told his agency would not be renewed. It was devastating. My husband left a three-figure job for this "opportunity." We have two small children and a house to pay for. This "opportunity" devastated us financially and SF ran the show. We weren't even ALLOWED to run the agency the way in which we saw best and SF ran it into the ground. In the end they came to my husband's agency and made him sit there all day while they ripped out computers and dismantled their furniture. When they realized he did not sign the furniture contract they sent us a 1099 for the $35,000. We were offered $5,000 parting compensation (how insulting) if my husband promised not to pursue legal action in the future....hmmmmm. Hope his supervisor (wish I could remember the dumb acronym) had a great trip to Hawaii that year!! For all of you older SF guys, every experienced insurance professional knows that you don't open a scratch agency in this day and age. We were not from insurance backgrounds and went on what we were told which is that we would have a "gold mine". We are educated people and did our homework. The experience of 20 years ago is not the reality of today. SHAME on STATE FARM for running this scam, not just one time but thousands of times on innocent people trying to make better lives for their families. Is it really worth it State Farm for some free advertising paid for by the little people and for some furniture sales??? Is it really worth it?

Stella that is a terrible story and if State Farm is really setting families up for failure they need to suffer in court.

But I have to ask...what is a three figure job? That doesn't make sense. To me that would mean he made between $100-$999 per year. I don't think that would help your case much.

 

[midwestbroker]

Interesting to see how things will turn out.

I could see where SF promised the world and did not deliver. I am sure the people recruiting were under pressure, not that it is a viable excuse.

I mean, what agent hasn't called a FMO in their time and was promised the world. Difference here I see is that SF had them buying crap, signing lots of legal stuff, etc. Yea, I know the agent should have read anything they signed, but we all know how that turns out (look at the mortgage world).

I called my American Family agent to chat about the P&C world. He said 7 years ago when he went through, it was a whole different world. Now, he is not sure if he could have made it. He did say that SF and Farmers were still more of the turn and burn agencies out there.

Better call Saul comment...love it!

 

[ArkAgent]

SF's AA05 contract is the biggest piece of crap I've ever seen. So incredibly thankful I chose to not continue down that route and go with a different captive company. It's been amazing here.

 

[togatown]

I wonder where this first time poster comes from to post in support of the company. Think this is a company man posing as an agent?

There are two very different worlds in SF agency. One is old contract Pre-2004 and the other post 2004 and beyond.
Those prior made major coin and bleed company red in loyalty, while many after bleed serious red ink, so neither has sympathy for the other. Once the company forces all to sign a uniform contract, then we'll see them all scream together.

 

[GaInsProf]

And Like A Good Neighbor, State Farm Is There ....Yeah, I know several SF Agents who cuss a mean streak when talking about the company. Have always carried a passionate disdain for them since we had to sue them when one of their policyholders ran a stop sign while high on drugs, totaled my son's car, put him in the hospital and when the courts sided with us, appealed, expecting us to capitulate. Fortunate my attorney was willing to play along and we wound up winning twice the original settlement via jury trial- not in California, but Georgia.

I am personally glad they are suing them in the land of lawsuit enrichenment- California..and hope they toss them under the bus. So many insurance companies are chewing agents up left and right, so in this case I have to side with the plaintiffs and wish them luck. Surferdudes on the jury- give them the death sentence lol. With neighbors like State Farm, you need a tall fence.