Thread regarding State Farm Insurance layoffs

Hear me now! HUBS are not safe! People have moved here or been here since the start and getting the boot. I know this for fact.

Great thread!

I think claim managers, section managers, and directors were all impacted. Reduced by 20% without much notice from what I heard. It wasn’t today and it wasn’t location-based.

What is second or third line leader? Section manager? Higher?

Location of todays firing?

They just fired 20% of 2nd and 3rd line leaders in claims with no advance notice at all. So when your 1st or 2nd line leaders tell you they don't what's going on it's true. The only ones who know the plans are Tippy and hisbuseless 12th floor minions.

I wouldn't be so quick to assume that there is any recognizable logic behind the fire-sale going on now other than a race to a bottom-line number on a balance sheet. In other words, our personal observations about whatever problems might exist in this or that business area likely have nothing to do with this.

I say this because of what happened with CDE. If the decision makers, both on the business and the systems side, had any idea what they were doing, that multi-billion dollar debacle would never have happened. Many of the same people are still running the show. So to me, it's clear the entire company is rudderless and pushing blindly to cut expenses.

They are cutting their heads off in the process, but they won't miss them.

I agree- it is the entire company that has problems. The company no longer has values. Here is my take on areas:

1. Claims: stress city. Older adjusters (i have friends in both fire and auto) that are working their tails off just to stay above the claims coming in. They can't handle the volume and new folks are pretty worthless. Morale is low as they are tired of punching a clock and having their entire day timed, including potty breaks. Who wants to work under these conditions?

2. Underwriting: turn over has hurt all departments and new folks really can't handle things. Plus, you add in the constant time management, time off policy i.e. they can't get the time off promised unless well in advance it creates a terrible work life issue. The company is blowing smoke every time they send something about it. And yes, Guidewire being piloted in Illinois will end a lot of underwriting positions and service positions. This is what is intended- fewer people, fewer expenses. The system will be real time making policy changes and issuing policies out of the agent office. This will be auto first than fire.

3. Agency: TICA agency contract benefits one party- SF not the agent taking the plunge into "owning" their own agency. Which by the way, they don't. They basically rent office space to manage SF's business. When they leave they have nothing, Independent agents own their book of business and can sell it when they leave. They actually own a business. Agent sales are all about numbers. To reach their numbers they have to "fudge" on everything to try and reach numbers. They are damned if they do and damned if they don't. Sales leaders recruit new agents and give them glorified numbers of production and commission. SL's receive bonus based on their agent production so there you have it- a conflict in interest to produce and to maintain profit.

I could go on and on about the agency side but you have to work close to agency to understand how bad it is in the agency force. Agency executive and the slim up at corporate has turned it into an area where every agent questions anything the company does.

1. Ad Services: I've got old friends in this area. My advice is to start updating your resume and find another company.

2. Bank: surprised they haven't sold this money pit. I suspect this is down the road.

3. IT: a kingdom that needs changes. Anytime a company like SF is behind the industry in all aspects of our system, it speaks volumes about lack of direction and lack of leadership. I'm sorry some good people will be out of work, but the buildup of that area was unreal for what was produced. Basically, they produced no $ for the organization.

4. Strategic resources: who knows?

5. LD: hope they learned how to do a good resume.

6. Compliance: maybe they should see if our executive team is in compliance to everything including a moral compass.

As far as recommending a SF career? I would never recommend. In fact, i recently had a niece graduate from college who thought about a career in insurance and i told her not to go the SF route. This hurts as a 20 year employee but no good future or at least an unknown future.

Can anybody remember the last time SF Mutual paid dividends? Don't think the bonus structure to take money out of earnings and count as an expense wasn't to decrease earnings and in the long run, give less $ back to the policyholders.

Anyway, good luck to all the folks at SF.

I totally agree with the last opinion about Underwriting. Here is my thing SF Underwriting. They bought a policy administration system, have people right now going to work on it for the next year. If you Google policy administration system. It basically automates the entire application and servicing of a policy. Bye bye app teams and production teams and probably call center folks too.

Secondly I don't think it will be long for we hear more. I have a gut feeling end of year in systems department is going to look like an empty high-school hallway after last bell rings before summer break. SF for shame for shame.

it is the entire company. All Claim, Agency, General Departments have/had/or going to have (in some cases a second or third) a transition. U/W has gone through changes too with all the office closures, but more will come with the modernization work. Everyone, except for the 12th floor (which should is strange since they are the ones that put us in this mess).

My office was the last to migrate in 2016. The whole time, management would tell us “we don’t know.” b---s---. All the we don’t knowing screwed a lot of people that were waiting to post for jobs. Don’t trust anything they tell you. Always be looking for something better.... State Farm claims is one of the biggest armpits in the industry.

I completely agree with you, but all they’ve (Leadership) said is “we don’t know anything, but WE are being transparent” more to come by the end of the first quarter. Meanwhile, we are all anixious and wonder if today is “the day we learn our fate.” All we can do now is show up, do our work and wait. I use to think my job won’t be impacted, but not anymore. Nothing surprises me! My heart is heavy for everyone.