Thread regarding State Farm Insurance layoffs

I would not recommend an SF agency. You do know you are basically managing SF book once you sell a policy, correct? What I mean, since you would be a captive agencys your policies will be owned by SF so when you leave the company the policies go back to SF. You can't sell your book of business or give to someone else. Most independent agencies own their book so they can sell it when they retire and make some money for all their years of work. So, you pay all your overhead, etc. all the years for the "privilege" of managing a book of business. Also due to the contract the new agents are under, it is hard to make money. It also keeps you where you have to year after year reach the same level of sales or increase to get bonus money. The agency path is no longer the ticket to $ like the older agents enjoyed under the old contract. They could set back and enjoy life when they hit a comfortable level. You my friend will not have that option if you take on the new contract. I also know of many agents who borrowed a lot of money from 401's or from family just hoping to make it another year and in the end, bailed out. I've also seen marriages fail from the stress. I would be very cautious about the figures of cost and sales you are being told; most likely they are from many years ago showing great salary and you will more than likely never see the light at the end of the tunnel. If you have gone very far in the process, the recruiter will give you the names of the agents they know can help to sell you on the program. The company wants to get rid of the legacy agents (old contract) agents because they have less control over them and also because of the structure and higher amount of the premiums they get to keep. It is just not a good time to be with SF in any capacity at the present time. SF is only interested in money and metrics and everyday they show they don't care about employees. It is now a $101 billion company and no return of $ to the mutual policyholders or used to improve employee benefits. The 50% mentioned earlier about failures is pretty close on the mark. And get this. It is even higher that because if an agent got their contract and a couple of years later bailed because of debt or what ever, they were counted as a success. Talk to a number of agents. You might even see if you can find one who is part of the SF Agent union that SF does not want agents to be a part of. What ever you decide, I wish you the best of luck. Just know SF is not the good neighbor any longer.

I’m sure some agents are honest and hard working but I never met one. As a 35 year policy holder and a 30 year employee my experience is they are arrogant and have an I’m better than you attitude because I’m an agent. I guess there is a lot of animosity towards agents from claims people because thousands have been let go, many others forced into retirement early and on the other hand some fat cat agent retires at 80 years old with a dump truck full of money when he should have retired when he was 65 but why retire when all you do is sit back and collect the money.

I heard the failure rate on new TICA's is roughly 50%. Not sure I would bet 100k+ on a coin toss.

You have a convention that will cost over a 100 million dollars. Pretty sure you can talk to someone there.

"Please agents speak out!"----To whom, exactly? We no longer have get together meetings. We don't have underwriters or service people to talk to. We don't have managers, or AFE's, or even a location where there's somebody to talk to. We have "Sales Leaders", who make their money based on how many agents qualify for travel and bonuses. So those are the only agents who matter to anybody at SF anymore. The rest of us, who write smaller numbers of quality policies, work with customers, and have profitable loss ratios----we don't matter and don't even have anybody to speak to.

Don't

Agents are literally dying off and retiring off much faster than the replacement pool. If the company plays it right they will land on a natural number without forced removal of agents. Unlike what they do with salaried employees.

Please agents speak out! I see our loss of policies at an alarming rate. Heck I'm thinking of pricing around but I have many benefits for my long time partnership. They are adding agents at what appears to be a faster rate than claim reps who are jumping ship to handle other carriers claim load.

I have 3-4 agents in my area that can literally throw rocks at each other. Do you see this bleeding coming to ao an end? I wish our new agents the best but the market for agents doesn't appear a sure bet.

What might those numbers look like if there was no replacement agent/agents to replace the exiting agent? That was really my point. My experience was actual, and by the way I came from one of the companies you mentioned. Have a great day.

1ueu- your self-exaltation and pompousness have superseded the actual facts. As a previous corporate agency employee we always monitored and verified how many SF customers left the Company after an agent was terminated, retired or infrequently left voluntarily. In 30 years of tracking the highest individual number of an agent’s customers that left SF was 3.4%. Most were under 2%. The only exception were in coastal areas where we no longer accepted business. Your claim of potentially taking 60% or more might have been true as an independent but is beyond imagination at SF. I am sure you are doing well. It if you seriously believe your existing customers will follow you to Allstate, or Liberty or American Family you are in for a very rude awakening.

funny how folks who left are now trying to come back

f8

The Agent Model is changing; they (the agent) do not have the pull they used to have. The SF CEO is running numbers and wants to be like competitors. Tipsord himself said , “this isn’t the old SF”, things are changing”. Numbers, not customer service, is driving this company. Be wise in your decision, for agency is not like 20 years ago.

I agree with 2oxx. We have had a wonderful agent for 20 years now who combined with his staff is second to none. He called my kids in when they turned 16 and counseled them on what would happen if they were careless drivers. He and his staff used to handle our claims expertly but now tgey have to make us travel the labyrinth. Now it is not SF who do the most with a claim for the customer, its the body or glass repair shop that handle them and do most of the work. Our kids say the same thing and live in different states than we do with different agents. Its sad what our service has become.

Maybe if Agents were a central part of he claims process, customers would see their worth. But SF pretty well kicked them out of he claims process, limiting them to being salespeople. To the original poster, if you can find a company that understands how to see what customers value, go with it. SF keeps trying to make customers do business their way.

What happened. Did you get kicked off Fortnight at 3am because the others could not tolerate your winey a-- and decide to come stir it up here. Go back to your basement bedroom, your mommy will have your egos ready for you soon enough jag off.

Agents are going away Like the dinosaur and they know it, and it’s about time. Useless salesman that will soon be selling extended car warranties.

To SUPER AON looks likes you are one of the left over pieces of sh-- after the transition. All the good people left. We can use independent adjusters with no benefits or whining b---s---. Oh wait we are already using independent adjusters for fire claims and Service First shops for auto claims. If we don’t like them we move on to the next adjuster. So why do we need u, oh wait thats why they are unloading people. Talk about not getting an claim rep on the phone, policyholders have to navigate thru a phone tree that stucks so bad they get frustrated and just hang up. Time to kill Pension and make associates pay more for Health Benefits and then cut rates. Oh that’s what they already doing!!. You can keep the select-of gift and lunch chits, but they will still time you on bathroom breaks.

Most policyholders would disagree. I was a 17 year agent for a top 5 multi line carrier, company pulled out of the state I had my agency in. I had close to a 3 million book of business, rewrote close to 1.7 million of it over to State Farm, would have pulled more but I was not able to write the business I had in a bordering state due to State Farm restrictions on not writing in adjoining states at that time. A lot of the clients came to me even thought State Farm rates were higher, after having to deal with a call center they certainly saw the value in an agent. If you want to admit it or not the agent does add value an has tremendous ties to the vast majority of our clients, I could open an independent agency, Keep my existing phone number (I own it) and office and staff and within 24 month move 60-70 % of my book to my new agency , most agents could do the same. And guess what, we would all get a raise as the commission rates SF pays are well below industry average. What would the company look like then. I am not boasting, just stating fact, and yes we have non competes but they don’t last long.

I’ve always viewed agent as ZVA - Zero Value Add. They do a job that can largely be handled online now. Their mere existence adds significant costs to the policy, making the product non-competitive in terms of price. Yet they will be the first to trumpet their accomplishments, selling a commodity that is no different from what is being sold by other companies, for a much lower cost.

The vast majority of agents I dealt with were lazy, entitled prima donnas who thought they should be able to override claims decisions so they “wouldn’t lose business,” even if something wasn’t covered under the policy. They got really frustrated when the didn’t get their way, and acted out like small children.

In some cases, I think an independent broker can add value. For instances, when placing difficult business, complex commercial coverage, etc. However, this is not the bread and butter policy sold by SF. The vast majority of SF policies are simple homeowners forms.

Most people who can afford a house are capable of going online and finding a homeowners policy. Since it will cost much less than a SF policy for the same coverage, I don’t blame them for taking their business elsewhere.

Nothing changing or to worry about for three to five years higher first year comp half renewal comp. once policyholder center goes live customers will have a choice weather to keep an agent or not. AIPP exhausted SF off the hook for term pay. I’m not worried got 1 million in SEP and another 250k in deferred comp earning 7% Boo Yah

Not a bit worried, to quote Jack Nicholson in a few good men, they want us on that wall, they need us on that wall, who’s going to generate revenue without us? You? Why do you think the company continuously pays the agents an extra 2% on QRP commission earned or not? Why do They pay us double market rates on agents deferred comp? They need us, and they realize it’s a difficult job and want to keep us as happy as possible. Rest Assured If I’m ever working at in and out burger, it’s because I own the franchise.

Maybe u can get a job at In and out when the bomb hits

I just bought a bigger boat in anticipation of the increase in commission on the 15th and the 30th of every month, I have it on good authority they are actually going to increase the commission rate paid to the agents due to the awesome job we are all doing the last couple years under very difficult circumstances.

We are all going to take a hit when the market takes a 40% hit in a couple of months. Of course right after we get back in security business. Great timing!

I’m have been restriucturing life style last 10 years ever since they kill the AFO system. When they said before nothing was going to change. Good luck

Agents better adjust there lifestyles now the change is coming it will be a lot different on the 15th and 30th.

I’m in my mid fifties. A decade in Operations and two decades in Agency. Agency requires a lot more work, and a much more flexible mindset. I dumped everything I had into it, plus another $150k, and came this close to losing everything after three years. Spent two years running a business when I didn’t even qualify for a credit card because of debt. Had to figure it out on my own because a bankruptcy would have cost my license. And I sure as **** couldn’t talk to SF management about it. You can succeed or fail, and it’s all on you. Can’t blame it on nepotism, or favoritism by a menial lower management employee, or any of the other garbage we see here. Agent contracts and compensation rules have always been changing, and agents have always had to figure out how to respond. There is no safe backstop in running an agency. No pension, no retirement plan, no going away benefits. So it’s absolutely ridiculous to hear whiny Ops employees complaining about losing benefits, time off, having a speculative pension freeze, etc. and then whining further about the easy free ride in Agency. If it’s so damn easy, why didn’t you all just become agents? Oh yeah—because you’d have to work hard, give up the free stuff, spend your own money on your brilliant business ideas, and be accountable for your own success or failure.

Lately Ive heard of more and more folks who cannot get their agents to call them back. If you really plan to help your cloents go for it. I think you can still maje a good living. If you get out in your community and find ways to guve back to it as so many SF agents have,

If you want to be an insurance agent I recommend going independent. Then you can offer a wider array of products instead of being tethered to State Farm. Before the egomaniacal CEO rose to prominence I might have recommended State Farm, but not now.

I am an agent, I was not given anything, I applied and went thru a very demanding selection process, invested over six figures on my own money in my agency and basically worked 70-80 hours per week for free for the first 3 years of my agency to make it successful. Do I make a great living now? Hell yes, that was my goal. As far as the internet replacing agents, maybe for a small percentage of folks,but most still prefer to interact with an agent. The internet was going to replace real estate agents and travel agents also, after nearly 20 years it simply has not happened. As for agents not paying your salary, man you are one ignorant sob, where exactly do you think the company’s premium dollars come from, our customer care center writing the occasional renters policy or adding a car for a client over the weekend, and more often than not doing it incorrectly? Exactly how long ago was it that you applied for agency and were declined for lacking competencies and the correct skill set. Crawl back to the mail room and get back to work.

Agents never paid my salary, they are just a bunch of golden spooners that inherited business from long time dedicated policy holders, the claims people kept the promise and all agents are salesman and if they weren’t selling insurance they woul be selling shoes or used cars. The internet has made you obsolete, so grab the money and run you arrogant pricks.

1Fly you are a piece of sh-- paid troll . You probably are behind your company supplied sh--ty laptop in some godforsaken Eastern European country who have only had a consistent supply of toilet paper since 1989, a plague ridden city in India or Nigeria writing pro SF posts that all know as complete b---s--- . Generation X and older know what this company used to be and it is gone due to a few baby boomers who listened to dumb a-- millennials from b---s--- consulting companies who know nothing about insurance or how to admit: investigate a f---ing claim . F--- off forever.

The Company is not in turmoil, just underperformers.

The biggest underperformers are the executives. Yes, the operations are in turmoil. It's a good thing State Farm is so wealthy and isn't publicly traded or the execs would have been hacked years ago.

The Company is not in turmoil, just underperformers.

I would be putting a bathroom timer on that 52 year nay sayer

Who does he thinks paid his salary over last 30 years what A blockhead

Look around your city. Sf agents everywhere. It’s a throw as much out there as you can and see what sticks approach.

Risky proposition with the company in such turmoil.

To the 52 year old should have gone into agency and really had to work. Now u aren’t going to make it to 55 for the Pension u id--t

Agency at SF should be okay for a while, but it’s long term future is cloudy.

Talk to Milennials and ask them if they need or want to interact with an agent. Most will say a resounding “no.”

I’m a five year agent I’m grossing 600k 7 team members two are aspirants. It’s a good deal to many operations employee scared to take the jump. Now with Pension and benefits changing they are crying. Nobody owes you anything no promises don’t u watch the online videos. Man they think thing are going to stay the same. Unbelievable! 95% of policies are automatically issued.

The average agent gross, not net, is over a half million. That is average, hardly dead....