You take two pieces of bread and jamming it together and you still have no meat….Farmers was a disaster after the AIG PL purchase. I guess you can keep losing policyholders, but using capital from the commercial size to try and buy your wayback into the market for PL’s . Companies like Farmers and Allstate are getting crushed by Progressive and Geico and trying to “cover their sins” with these acquisitions….not going to work. The CEO’s are just buying their time to reap short term bonus objectives at the expense of long term value….
At least Allstate is making a half attempt at lowering auto rates. They’re within a percentage point of the top homeowner carrier in Texas… whether that’s smart or not is another topic. Farmers just bought an actuarial team that they couldn’t manage to create on their own, plain and simple.
When Farmers was wholly-owned in the 1980’s they were a trusted partner, when sold to BATs and again to Zurich the company lost their value of integrity. That is further evident with their partnered companies as well. Much will be lost when consumers lose the MetLife contract and integrity we’ve come to appreciate with MetLife
;If they were smart, they’d just rebrand it as “Zurich Insurance”. I wrote a ton of their small business product when it existed, and I still write a ton of their builders risk product. When Zurich feels like having a good product, they have a good product. When they don’t feel like it, they stick another brand name on it and deny the claims. Which is mostly how Farmers operates. Met to Zurich, I’ll sell it all day. Met to Farmers/Foreleast, forget it.
Farmers bought Century 21 also. Laid off all the employees, then gave no access to Farmers agents to sale 21st product. Farmers customers where also switched from Farmers to 21st. With no commission. Farmers does get you back where you belong. And that’s back to the company you where with before you switched. Once a top 5 company. Now a pretender at 15 or so. Agents quitting by the hundreds,
The new agent contract make it so agents are basically employees, since Farmers upper idiots are control freaks. Best days are gone, Farmers is nothing more than the next Blockbusters.
Zurich burned through Farmers as a cash cow, destroyed its infrastructure, moved all its service people away from local areas, and turned them all into robots. Meanwhile screwing the district managers and agents and removing the good natured culture the company thrived on ( once known as the sleeping giant ranked 3rd in p and c in the nation without much national advertising) . Watching zurich’s inplants chase their tails trying to replicate what turned out to be the all state failures and the state farm cult mentality, putting the latest frat boy butt kisser in the top position for a year or two until the next one comes along. Met/Economy is a well run company with good customer service and real people you can talk to in underwriting. I am wondering how long it will take for Zurich to destroy them. Good luck snoopy, you gonna need it brah!
You take two pieces of bread and jamming it together and you still have no meat….Farmers was a disaster after the AIG PL purchase. I guess you can keep losing policyholders, but using capital from the commercial size to try and buy your wayback into the market for PL’s . Companies like Farmers and Allstate are getting crushed by Progressive and Geico and trying to “cover their sins” with these acquisitions….not going to work. The CEO’s are just buying their time to reap short term bonus objectives at the expense of long term value….
At least Allstate is making a half attempt at lowering auto rates. They’re within a percentage point of the top homeowner carrier in Texas… whether that’s smart or not is another topic. Farmers just bought an actuarial team that they couldn’t manage to create on their own, plain and simple.
Pretty much ever since FIG got taken over by that tobacco concern it was never the same
When they paid the claims in cash during the bank shutdowns they were one of the most trusted names out there
When Farmers was wholly-owned in the 1980’s they were a trusted partner, when sold to BATs and again to Zurich the company lost their value of integrity. That is further evident with their partnered companies as well. Much will be lost when consumers lose the MetLife contract and integrity we’ve come to appreciate with MetLife
If history is a guide, Zurich’s clever marketing department will rebrand the Met business to their internationally renowned “Bristol West” moniker.
;If they were smart, they’d just rebrand it as “Zurich Insurance”. I wrote a ton of their small business product when it existed, and I still write a ton of their builders risk product. When Zurich feels like having a good product, they have a good product. When they don’t feel like it, they stick another brand name on it and deny the claims. Which is mostly how Farmers operates. Met to Zurich, I’ll sell it all day. Met to Farmers/Foreleast, forget it.
Farmers bought Century 21 also. Laid off all the employees, then gave no access to Farmers agents to sale 21st product. Farmers customers where also switched from Farmers to 21st. With no commission. Farmers does get you back where you belong. And that’s back to the company you where with before you switched. Once a top 5 company. Now a pretender at 15 or so. Agents quitting by the hundreds,
The new agent contract make it so agents are basically employees, since Farmers upper idiots are control freaks. Best days are gone, Farmers is nothing more than the next Blockbusters.
Zurich burned through Farmers as a cash cow, destroyed its infrastructure, moved all its service people away from local areas, and turned them all into robots. Meanwhile screwing the district managers and agents and removing the good natured culture the company thrived on ( once known as the sleeping giant ranked 3rd in p and c in the nation without much national advertising) . Watching zurich’s inplants chase their tails trying to replicate what turned out to be the all state failures and the state farm cult mentality, putting the latest frat boy butt kisser in the top position for a year or two until the next one comes along. Met/Economy is a well run company with good customer service and real people you can talk to in underwriting. I am wondering how long it will take for Zurich to destroy them. Good luck snoopy, you gonna need it brah!