Agent Equity- I've appreciate your posts over the last month or so, but I need to politely disagree with you on this one. Farmers is NOT a good starting foundation. They are a potential financial disaster waiting to happen for a new agent. The reason that so many Farmers agents are going IA is becau...

The captive agents that I talk to have had very little problem recapturing their old book of business when switching to IA. Most of them were Farmers agents and they like to transfer policies to newer agents that don't always know what they are doing, so maybe that makes a bit of a difference. I kno...

I agree with Mica.Cooper, there will ALWAYS be a place for the auto agent. In certain areas the online purchases may make up a larger percentage than other areas, but the GOOD personal lines agent is in no danger of disappearing. The size of the agency is immaterial to its ability to compete and sur...

Claimsguy- By your name I will assume that you know what you're talking about. But, man, that seems incredible to me. I know CA has some different laws but..... That REALLY mandates that agents in CA be extremely careful in shop referrals. BTW- Doug Johnson is dead on. If you have a specialty vehicl...

Something FIG agents should consider- Recently I was talking to a FIG agent that is involved in an E&O claim. The claim is bogus but still needs to be defended. The insured threatened to sue because the policy didn't cover his loss. Agent called the claims adjuster and was told, let them sue, th...

Mica, I agree that it is an unfortunate situation that the agent referred you to the shop, I'm just not sure there is any liability in doing so. It sucks, to be sure, but negligent ???? Probably not. Couldn't agree more about being careful on making recommendations. If someone wants a recommendation...

Forum Reader is exactly right, but the origianl question states that the father is a registered owner. If the father is only a co-BORROWER and not a co-OWNER, then the exposure is GREATLY reduced. I say greatly instead of completely, because you never know what an, ahem...."agressive" lawy...

Haven't been on this site for a while. Todd if your still out there and want to talk, let me know. Steley- I agree 100% with you. SIAA is doing things right, but Volstrike is also 100% correct. SIAA is only as good as your local MA. If it is not a good fit, you may be better off looking elsewhere. S...

It is no secret that I am not a fan of Farmers, however, I do consider myself a fair minded individual. This is NOT Farmers fault and shouldn't reflect poorly on them. They settled the claim, paid the appropriate sum to repair the vehicle, and acted in good faith. Had this been one of their COD shop...

Simi, He absolutely has exposure. He does NOT have coverage on his personal auto policy, since owned vehicles must be listed on his policy. There may be a gray area if the daughter resides in the house,maybe, a BIG maybe. Best way to handle this is to add the father as "additional insured"...

Mariner, Bill has offered sound advice. It will be difficult, but not impossible to get appointments as a new agent. Non-standard auto carriers will be your best bet initially. Another option is to join an Independent Agency as a sub producer. You will take a commission split, but not have the respo...

Bennett, NOTHING has changed. Even though many of the posts are old, there are as accurate now as they were then. Be VERY careful. The fact that you refer to their subsidy program as "base pay" is evidence that you either do not understand their compensation plan or , more likely, that you...

D's ins store- Question- how can a prospective agent do due diligence in investigating the opportunity and the pros and cons of making a career move when those agents that come onto chat rooms and offer their warnings are chastised as holding grudges and being petty and shallow? Kevin - good advice,...

Todd, Each MA has the ability to tweak the contract and there is not a nationalized contract where they are all identical. Therefore, I can't be 100% of the reading of your contract, but I can explain mine. First the 25% is only on the GROWTH of the agency and is one of the reason that having the &q...

I honeslty believe their is a valid reason why this topic wont die..It's because Farmers continues its practice of misleading reserve agents, terminating tenured agents that have decided to "ride their success" and the ever increasing lawsuits against those that do leave. I was 17 years wi...