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Every once in a while, it seems as if it were best to avoid all insurance companies! Fortunately, not experiencing too many of those days.
Which Insurance Companies to Avoid
- Thread starter ChillyWilly72
- Start date
- 707
amen to that!
Geez, guess I am in for a negative experience. I was recruited by Bankers Life and Casualty. I passed my exam last Wed. and now I go in to their office for product training next Monday. What a negative way to start a new career. LTC and senior products are their specialty, so they say. I don't want to be known as a thug or lousy producer, so I guess I should try somewhere else.
What other companies should I look into?
Thanks....any comments or help on direction to go would be appreciated.
What other companies should I look into?
Thanks....any comments or help on direction to go would be appreciated.
- 3,352
Farmers in my area is very very reasonable for combined home and auto rates. I shopped around and you can't beat them. I really really tried to beat the pricing, you simply can't so they AREN'T as bad as some post - at least here. And I have a good driving record.
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I was a Farmers agent for 20 years. Believe me, stay away from Farmers. Their rate structure on their older (legacy) auto and home policies are terrible in EVERY state they do business in. Farmers is trying to be very competitive on their new business rate structure, but you can't save your customer and put them into the new rate structure or they will fire you. Farmers is banking on your relationship with your clients to overcome their exorbitant rates. Think about Farmers business plan: keep hiring new recruits with NO insurance knowledge, mold the new agent into thinking Farmers is a great company; tell the newbies not to listen to the older agents as they must be disgruntled with their own lot in life (couldn't possibly be from Farmers/Zurich terrible business plan to drive off older, loyal customers with insane rates); retire the Farmers Protector Plus homeowner policy which was a well written HO-3 policy and replace it with a "modified open peril" policy, (really nice sounding term instead of saying HO-2 policy). This was done to keep the new home insurance rate affordable, by offering less coverage, thereby insuring Zurich higher profits (too bad their untrained agents are switching customers from other companies which had offered them at least an HO-3 and possibly with an HO-15 rider (open peril contents coverage). What happens if the Farmers customer gets a claim denial as CNC (claim not covered), but the customer would have had coverage with their previous policy. Who is the customer going to sue??? The agents E&O policy - for not explaining to them the REAL differences in their policy. Its not always about price, but it always about coverage! Farmers washes their hands of the matter and moves on, while the agent washes out because of his lack of knowledge of other companies insurance contracts. Now we'll move on to run to daylight where for the next 5 years you will need to produce at least 40 apps per month P&C and 3-4 life apps as well with Farmers New World Life, which has very difficult underwriting guidelines and very expensive rates (double what you would find if you were a life broker). Try looking over your new contract (2009) it is the worst agent contract I have ever read. If your starting an agency I would try an independent route of SIAA, Smart choice or Insurance Noodle to get a book started without quotas.
My advice is to listen to the more experienced people in the forum. Don't get caught up too much on why they are steering you away from certain companies, believe me they are not trying to steer you away from them because they are awesome and want to write all the business for themselves.
Don't get involved with Farmers. Don't get involved with Smart Choice. Superior Access is a very fair deal, but you don't have direct access to the carrier sites, which means someone else has to process every quote and every endorsement. Which means it's a huge pain and takes forever to do anything, but they will not try to steal your business or screw you over and you can transfer at any time.
Find the owner of a local independent agency that has integrity. Sell cheap and tell the truth.
Don't get involved with Farmers. Don't get involved with Smart Choice. Superior Access is a very fair deal, but you don't have direct access to the carrier sites, which means someone else has to process every quote and every endorsement. Which means it's a huge pain and takes forever to do anything, but they will not try to steal your business or screw you over and you can transfer at any time.
Find the owner of a local independent agency that has integrity. Sell cheap and tell the truth.
I am new to this forum, but I came on because of absolutely TERRIBLE business practice that one IMO has and that is Rosenthal Financial Services LLC, Mark Rosenthal. How ironic is it that he posted something on this forum. He maybe knowledgeable on insurance and companies, but if you are looking for an IMO, avoid him like the plague. I was with him along time ago and wrote a lot of business for him. I left and had a debit balance that is paying for itself in renewals and premiums. I started to get harrasing letters and cards from his company. On the OUTSIDE of the letter they would say things like "DO you really what to see what happens next" and talking about debit and reporting to the insurance commissioner, and then sending out postcards, instead of letters and on them saying" Have you responded to the Demand Letter from the Company Attorney about your unsecured debt"? They are saying "let me remind you that we will do everything we can to prevent you from staying licensed if you fail to respond" They are the most unprofessional "Thug" organization I have ever seen. Trying to embarrass a person by saying these things on the outside of envelopes an letters and on postcards so everyone can see. Just ask him about this extremely unprofessional manner. I don't even owe them. AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!!!!!
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Perhaps you should try doing everything you can day in and day out to help agents get started with companies and providing support to have them walk away owing $10,000 that then rolls to YOU to pay.
Now, realize, that the agent has received a direct deposit on money that he did not earn. He has already spent the money with no thought of repaying it if the business went bad. The business went bad and the agent walks away with the money as if it is theirs to keep.
Now, though, you're angry with the company that has given you THEIR money that you have spent already and they want their money back. You did not earn that money. If future renewals pay down the debit, good for you, but it's not the IMO's responsibility to front you that loan that you've already spent. It's theft when you appropriate the property of another to your own use. When you do so under the guise of an insurance license, it does not make it any more justified.
The fact is that when you contracted, you obliged yourself contractually to repay any outstanding debt. It's folks like yourself that walk away and have absolutely no interest in being "professional", as you so eloquently referred to it.
Professionalism is repaying your business debts, either by getting off your butt and writing more good business to cover it, or writing a check. To have a company such as the Rosenthal family business, pay for your debts and have to chase you down for what you owe is the furthest thing from professional.
I'm sure if you ask, Mark will gladly post your debt on here for the world to see. Since you opened the door, maybe he now will. Bad move on your part.
What IMO could expect to stay in business by spending their time providing support and company access to merely walk away meekly when they get stuck for your debt that you spent and won't repay? Any IMO that just let it go would be a fool and would not be in business long.
Why don't you man up, call the insurance carrier and make a payment arrangement. Offer to pay $20 a month or something. Your "renewals and premium" will not make up for the capital debt that has already rolled up. If it hadn't, you would not be on the RFS radar screen.
Now, realize, that the agent has received a direct deposit on money that he did not earn. He has already spent the money with no thought of repaying it if the business went bad. The business went bad and the agent walks away with the money as if it is theirs to keep.
Now, though, you're angry with the company that has given you THEIR money that you have spent already and they want their money back. You did not earn that money. If future renewals pay down the debit, good for you, but it's not the IMO's responsibility to front you that loan that you've already spent. It's theft when you appropriate the property of another to your own use. When you do so under the guise of an insurance license, it does not make it any more justified.
The fact is that when you contracted, you obliged yourself contractually to repay any outstanding debt. It's folks like yourself that walk away and have absolutely no interest in being "professional", as you so eloquently referred to it.
Professionalism is repaying your business debts, either by getting off your butt and writing more good business to cover it, or writing a check. To have a company such as the Rosenthal family business, pay for your debts and have to chase you down for what you owe is the furthest thing from professional.
I'm sure if you ask, Mark will gladly post your debt on here for the world to see. Since you opened the door, maybe he now will. Bad move on your part.
What IMO could expect to stay in business by spending their time providing support and company access to merely walk away meekly when they get stuck for your debt that you spent and won't repay? Any IMO that just let it go would be a fool and would not be in business long.
Why don't you man up, call the insurance carrier and make a payment arrangement. Offer to pay $20 a month or something. Your "renewals and premium" will not make up for the capital debt that has already rolled up. If it hadn't, you would not be on the RFS radar screen.
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