The Hartford Agency Contract

ShanHikari

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Just curious if anyone knows a little more about this program called "The Monarch Contract"

I recently was contacted by a representative from the Hartford and they asked me to set up a meeting with them, I was hopeful that it was about some cases that I had with them being a lawsuit from a 412(i). Needless to say he wouldn't talk about on the phone and requested to meet. I agreed. During our meeting I found that it was nothing to do with the cases I had been working but rather that they wanted to offer my agency a "Monarch Contract."

This was the presentation
"We offer 105% on the first 12 months of any contract, including UL. Though term has to be over 1mil to get 105%"

He went on about products and such which I was already very familiar with since my clients had issues with them.

He stated that they had a new UL out that would be competitive against many carriers. In California the only UL out is the Bicentennial UL... It isn't all that special. A Genworth GenGuard UL beats the crap out of it. Their new UL is alright but its not released in CA.

So here's my question,
Does anyone have any experience with the Hartford? I'm already appointed now, but I don't feel that their a reliable company when they screwed some of my best clients on over 2mil cash.... Needless to say that after dealing with the ERISA attorney they agreed to surrender the policies at current face value. (Thank God, only took 3 years).

Before I start even presenting them as an option I would like to know if they are a reliable company over all. They boast 200 years in business etc billions in assets etc etc etc. But when push comes to shove are they really all that great?

Pros
Everything pays 105%
Well known in CA
Lots of advertising
Alright products in the coming soon? Maybe?

Cons
Bad previous experience
Poor current product
High priced
Slow underwriting unless very healthy

Any comments on dealings with the Hartford would be much appreciated.

Many thanks
 
I sold Hartford for several years, but never had a claim with them. As an agent, I found them good to deal with and super efficient. I found that the public perception of them is very high. The negatives were 1) It was almost impossible to get a term policy through. They have, (or had), a phone interview that, unlike the FE interviews, were done at a later date, so the agent had no control to assure that the client would go through it, (mostly not). Their underwriting on term was horrible. Tough to get a term ap through, long waits, lots of declines, and between the interviews and underwriting, it made no sense at all to write term with them.
2) The target rate on the UL was MUCH lower than other carriers. That simply meant that your commissions were lower no matter what the percentage was. (I don't know if it held true for all of their UL products or just the ones that we were working with.)
 
That's good to know about the term life for them, many thanks!

That leaves UL.

Glad to see that there is positive feedback on them. Were you captive with them or were you independent through a broker.
 
I worked through a broker. Technically, I was independent, but because of the arrangement that I had with the broker, I didn't sell other carriers. The broker bought the leads from the Hartford, and then supplied them to the agents. The agent/broker arrangements changed as the leads became more costly to the broker, and they eventually became prohibitive.
 
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