Thread regarding State Farm Insurance layoffs

Is underwriting a safe area from layoffs?

I currently work at State Farm in claims. It is pretty draining. Most of the customers are ok but some just endlessly talk to where I can't even ask them questions or explain things to them lol. I like State Farm. The pay and benefits are great. I just don't know if I can see myself staying in claims long term. Is underwriting a good area to work in? How safe is underwriting from A.I. eliminating jobs and layoffs? I know claims is very safe because customers want to talk to a person but I don't know if I can continue claims lol


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| 284 views | | 20 replies (last October 4) | Reply
Post ID: @OP+1m2xbcf4y

20 replies (most recent on top)

Hard to imagine underwriting could be safe. It’s data and math, with no customer facing role. It’s tailor made for an AI takeover.

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Post ID: @2d1+1m2xbcf4y

@259 and there is a reason you are being treated the way you are.

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Post ID: @25b+1m2xbcf4y

This is now an argue with someone who worked for state farm 4 years ago about HCL thread....fun. Shame this board use to be so useful.

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Post ID: @25a+1m2xbcf4y

@253 From the IT people who i work with in a different department. I know several people who survived the HCL sell off, in other roles, im sure there are some in claims too. I dont think they gave offers to people they didnt want to keep, which sounds like (you)

Buy yeah they sold you guys to HCL because the quality of the service was garbage. I know, i had to deal with IT a few times, and frankly no change in outcomes now that its someone making $5k a year to do what you did.

So lets make this about HCL if you want. There was a reason it happened. There was a reason you didnt have the option to stay, lets talk about it if you want.

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Post ID: @259+1m2xbcf4y

@24f where did you get the idea there was an offer to stay? No wonder you are in claims!

The offer was : go to HCL or be considered resigned.

After training the HCL replacements, we were told by HCL our jobs were eliminated. We could then apply anywhere we wanted to, but there were no "offers" to come back to SF.

I worked 2 hours a day for 2 years, from home, training my offshore replacements, for $140,000/year. I was ready to retire, so there was no way I was going to come back to SF.

And yes, ET was much better when internals were in charge. There isn't a single person I've talked to that feels things have improved under HCL.

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Post ID: @253+1m2xbcf4y

@20f This is why you are a bunch of losers. Rejected the offer to stay and learn something new, got sold off to an offshore company to compete with people making $5k a year. Sure id be miserable too i guess. The HCL people who stayed and learned a new role say hi though. IT is just as bad as it was before HCL so its a wash.

For a bit people felt bad for you all too.....but here you are, 4 years later, still mad about getting sold off and not being capable to learn a new role.

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Post ID: @24f+1m2xbcf4y

@1zp HCL reject here.

No, we will continue to post if we want. I could have moved into another role at SF after HCL, but I was ready to retire and didn't want to continue at what you people have turned this company into.

Not even for the $150k salary I was making in ET.

I still enjoy the pool every summer though, along with the pension, and of course all my free time allows me to read your posts about how bad things are.

Yeah, I'm a boomer, 8 bought my house for a buck fifty.

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Post ID: @20f+1m2xbcf4y

downvote all you want HCL rejects but your IT su-ked before HCL and you havent worked for SF for like 4 years, quit hounding our forums already. They legit offered you all roles, i work with several people that chose to stay with SF from IT, we kept the good ones the bad workers stayed with HCL.

BPOs are different, these are separate groups of workers, i know you cant understand this, and will haunt the SF forums for likely decades for some reason. Please let us SF employees have normal discussions without having it always go back to you getting sold off to HCL rather than staying with the company in another role. Same thing happened to CCC sales but you dont see those people here lurking and hijacking all the threads to be about our bad IT services 4 years ago.....please... this isnt about you anymore.

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Post ID: @1zp+1m2xbcf4y

@1q3 when the HCL "offer" was given to us, to either accept the offer to rebadge to HCL or state farm would consider it a resignation, I don't think most people would choose the latter option. Of course everyone choose to keep a job, and a buyout and potentially being able to claim unemployment rather than just get dropped.

But, I doubt any of us were hoping for this "option" to lose our pension.

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Post ID: @1v7+1m2xbcf4y

They didnt let people go, they offered to move them to other roles, or buy them out. So either people chose to take a payout and leave, or go to claims. I dont know anyone who just did nothing and left without a payout. Claims isnt that bad either, and can be used as a building block, but not for everyone and yeah SF claims is remarkably awful.

Sorry as much as i think SF is on the wrong track, this is far better than just getting rid of people, and people close to retirement get roughly what they would be paid to work an extra year, which is a great deal, that i pray will exist when i retire.

For all the bad this company does, it does well in this regard. They did give people options.

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Post ID: @1q3+1m2xbcf4y

@jz I am one of the employees let go. Underwriting. Do NOT go there unless you want to be unceremoniously jettisoned with NO NOTICE.

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Post ID: @15f+1m2xbcf4y

It’s true. I was in one of the contact centers when BPOs were introduced. In the FAQ section for managers, one of the predetermined answers to a question was…”No, BPOs will never replace employees. Only augment the employees who currently work for The Farm.”

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Post ID: @120+1m2xbcf4y

Remember, its entry level for now, but after a couple years of BPOs getting experience, they WILL start using them in specialist and professional roles. Imagine how happy our executives would be to fire americans making 65-100k a year and replace them with an indian making 15k a year. Remember no concerns for quality outside of gaslighting it matters. Keep in mind, they promised us BPOs would not be used to replace us, and then changed their mind only a few months later.

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Post ID: @104+1m2xbcf4y

I agree with the post below mine. I would never consider going to underwriting after their entry level positions got offshored (BPO's) and the American employees got severanced from the company. Only a matter of time until either AI replaces most of underwriting or they continue offshoring. I assume the future of underwriting will be a shell of what it is now. I'm thinking major downsizing within the next few years

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Post ID: @nh+1m2xbcf4y

Underwriting is NOT a safe haven for claims. The old, traditional UW role, where you process stuff, is on the way out, to be replaced. PLCC UW still exists, but its a poor transition from claims, as you now deal with ridiculous agents and staff, who know how to reach your boss, and the general vibe that they are miles above you in role (you have to cave in a lot to make them happy or they just reach out to your manager then manager gives them everything)

Right now they just got done offering buyouts to people looking to leave, on the phone side at least, with a lot of service (the associate version of UW) more or less getting gutted and kicked to claims, while BPOs fill in (terribly).

Future of UW is a LOT less UW's in general, as the modernized system reduces a lot of volume, and removes the need for the production processors that were working the dream job (no phones)

Also they are not really hiring like they use to, with i think one open round right now, but unlikely many hiring opportunities moving forward.

Also, its just so crazy how bad claims has gotten over the last 15 years, with ZERO indication they plan to improve it at all in any tangible way. The reputation damage among insurance professionals and customers is not going to be easy to undo. How is this even acceptable to purposely understaff for so long? I remember when i left claims it was like they wouldn't lift a finger to make anyone happy and would just encourage quitting.

I dunno, SF needs to sell their insurance company off to someone interested in insurance and then they can pursue their tech/finance company dreams.

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Post ID: @jz+1m2xbcf4y

Hi, underwriting here. No, underwriting is over, especially for remote workers. Many have taken the severance even though they weren't ready to go. Everyone knows if you're over 50 that you won't get chosen for projects, LDAs, or posted positions anywhere in the company. SF is going for a certain "look" now and two very specific boxes need checked. Ageism is real and we're seeing it happen right in front of us. Don't believe anyone who tells you that underwriting is safe. AI and Mod are eviscerating it and right quick. We honestly don't know if we'll have a job every six months. It's like being in an abusive relationship.

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Post ID: @fw+1m2xbcf4y

ET exec said we should start to worry

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Post ID: @fs+1m2xbcf4y

@ax Even if you can manage to get out of Claims there are times they end up sending you back into the line of fire whenever they think a department is not productive enough to keep or that it's overstaffed. It's the front lines of the insurance business, adjusters are always dropping like flies, and it is ALWAYS understaffed.

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Post ID: @az+1m2xbcf4y

I've heard from my TM that claims is safer from layoffs than underwriting. They can't keep people in claims, so kind of makes sense. But I've also heard downsizing is possible in the future, so who knows. Leadership says one thing, does another, and changes direction like underwear.

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Post ID: @ax+1m2xbcf4y

We are currently undergoing Mod so we have a lot of questions with very few answers about our future. If you look at the job postings, you will see very little if any underwriting positions. Right now, the emphasis is on getting the new platform up and running within the next 1.5 years so I expect to see more shifting and changes before things start to settle down.

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Post ID: @ag+1m2xbcf4y

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