My personal experience with Aflac

[Newby]

Re: New York Life or AFLAC ?

I'm trying to figure out if I should get a new HP color laser printer or a chalkboard with some colored chalk?

It's a real head scratcher!

 

[xrac]

Re: New York Life or AFLAC ?

I'm trying to figure out if I should get a new HP color laser printer or a chalkboard with some colored chalk?

It's a real head scratcher!

Great analogy!

 

[Guest]

Re: My personal experience with Aflac.

Wow! I have been experiencing the same thing with Colonial Life and I think Colonial is an awesome, reputable company!! It's just a hard gig--voluntary benefits--especially right now. People don't want to have more taken out of their paycheck and just as everyone else has mentioned--getting that one appointment is alot of work. I did a little medicare this past year and I think I may concentrate more on that and health ins.

I don't feel like such a loser now--after reading some of the post here.

 

[xrac]

Re: My personal experience with Aflac.

Thanks so much for this post on Aflac and all the subsequent posts. I started out with Aflac as well. Got my L&H license 3 years ago. A friend brought me into Aflac and is one of the top writers in my area. But I was not familiar with sales nor insurance and I tried to compete on her level. I felt like a failure but I was determined to stick with it. I wrote about 10K my first year and 13K the second. Nothing like the 50+ that she was writing but I also learned about the industry and started to get licensed with health insurance carriers realizing that so many people that I was talking to had no health insurance at all. I slowly built up my own business and kept learning more and more. I now have my own agency of one (LOL) and I sell life and long term care as well. Now when I talk to some of those agents that are still with Aflac they don't know half of what I do about insurance. They only have to learn one thing - Aflac's products. It has been very difficult financially. I took a second mortgage on my home and another one on my mom's home but I was determined. I learned one very important lesson --- after years of working in an office for someone else (I was a legal secretary for 25 yrs) there was no way I was going back to that work environment. I recently found this forum and several others. I am reading, learning and staying determined to make this work. I love the industry, helping people and being my own boss (for real). I still sell some Aflac but nothing that will pay my bills. I am just having a hard time now getting prospects. Over the last three years I have bought thousands of dollars worth of leads. I have added other prospecting tools like direct mailings, a newsletter and some seminars. I am still looking for a good lead source to buy from but each week it's a question of buy some leads or pay a bill. I am no where near making that 50K but I know I am where I need to be. Glad you are all here and especially glad that I have found this forum.

Your perserverance wil pay off. John Savage is considered to be one of the all time greats in the Life Insurance business and it took him nine (9) years to break through to success. We can all succeed if we will not quit.

 

[Guest]

Re: New York Life or AFLAC ?

I think voluntary benefits is just a tough deal in general. People don't want to spend more of their paycheck and the rampup period is a good 3 months. I am experiencing that with Colonial.

But you never know==maybe you'll hit that one 5,000+ group!

 

[insagentmike]

Re: Working for Aflac?

Aflac is the only company that I know of that will allow you to be an independent agent and sell other products. I love working for the Duck. I don't have to spend the money on the advertising. I just have to know my product and how to market it. Which as a business owner you should know how to do that because that is business 101. They teach you that stuff in first year college. If you just work for the duck then you aren't an independent agent with aflac. You are a captive agent and Aflac doesn't have any captive agents. I cut my teeth on AIG, Western Southern and Liberty National. I have found more integrity in the Aflac company than in any other company I have ever worked for in the insurance business.

 

[STIBROKER]

Re: Working for Aflac?

I love working for the Duck.

How long have you had your License....

 

[Winter_123]

Re: Working for Aflac?

Aflac is the only company that I know of that will allow you to be an independent agent and sell other products. I love working for the Duck. I don't have to spend the money on the advertising. I just have to know my product and how to market it. Which as a business owner you should know how to do that because that is business 101. They teach you that stuff in first year college. If you just work for the duck then you aren't an independent agent with aflac. You are a captive agent and Aflac doesn't have any captive agents. I cut my teeth on AIG, Western Southern and Liberty National. I have found more integrity in the Aflac company than in any other company I have ever worked for in the insurance business.

Go for it. For some people Walmart is the highest and best job they have had and if that is true for them then that is true for them.

Winter

 

[MichaelJM]

Re: Working for Aflac?

Aflac, it looks like everyone is at the table for this one. So, I too will roll up my sleeves and put on the gloves. I got my start in Insurance through Aflac. I sold for them for 5 years, and had both positive and negative experiences.

Let's talk about Aflac as a product, market, and organization.

First, Aflac has a second to none supplimental program. My brokerage firm uses Aflac in all of our cases. It is a great way to increase revenues without increasing our headache. The product they use is very comprehensive covering anything from travel expenses to breast augmentations after cancer varying from product to product. They offer a ton of services to companies free of charge or low cost that are usually offered by third parties who charge too much. Because Aflac does not necissarily cost an employer anything its a terrific way to provide another benefit to many companies.

As a market, Aflac tends to explode and implode. What I mean by that is that through mass recruiting they tend to fly through agents like a chinaman on a math exam. They open 3 or 4 accounts before quitting and pursuing other careers. Due to this Aflac constantly experiences the frustration of service issues. Its fine to open tons of accounts up, but when someone leaves and no one services they create a negative feeling in the market place. Furthermore these agents go out and door to door mass market everyone from 3 person mom and pops to 10,000+ companies. What this does is poison not only their market, but mainline brokers as well. Aflac, also advertizes to their agents a low market saturation percentage, but truth be told 75% of the good companies (10-50 lives) are either already Aflac clients or perminantly dissenfranchised with Aflac. So starting out for them takes a lot of work dedication, and outside the box thinking. Lets just say Aflac is not for the weak of heart or spirit.

As an organization they are like a pack of snakes and vultures waiting for the perfect opportunity to rip each other off. I have been a part of several state organizations both as upper and lower management as well as a standard agent. I have yet to meet more than 1 or 2 people per state organization with management skills, and a gratious lacking in self absorbed behavior. You do not get promoted with in Aflac unless you have big numbers, and lets face it!! That's a catch 22 because not everyone who can produce can manage, but you dont want non producers as managers either. I have been robbed, ripped off, wrongfully accused, and swarmed with corporate politics by this company. After 5 years I achieved president's club twice, and hit my bonus every quarter as a manager. I decided to leave Aflac when a broker friend of mine asked to start up an agency with me, and I gladly accepted. I now handle all lines of insurance from Health supplimental to P&C. In two years we grew our agency from just us with 50 commercial clients to 10 producers 3 CSRs 2 locations and 618 commercial clients. I never could have gotten where I was without first being a part of Aflac. In my opinion its the best worst experience you will ever have.

 

[lablover]

Re: Aflac rep also wants to sell pet insurance

Also worth looking at:

Pets Best Pet Insurance

Trupanion Pet Insurance (new company)

Embrace Pet Insurance

Also, a good informational site with consumer related information is:

The Best Pet Insurance

Good luck with your new business venture.