vp\’s in claims management need to take the first set of classes. During the past 3 years they have surpassed their goal of running off management personnel who knew what they were doing and replacing them with inexperienced people who are nothing but \”YES\’ men and blindly follow the poor example of upper management. The valued \”Farmers Family\” has slowly been eliminated from the employee standpoint and replaced with a fear of losing ones job if ANY independent thought is expressed. The Agency force is somehow hanging in there and doing the best they can with what they have left due to the somewhat independent nature of their relationship with the company.
Farmers, like many companies, is an organization in transition to greatness. Since Paul Hopkins took the reins, Farmers has begun it\’s transition to greatness!
If anyone can name another carrier that has dedicated this kind of time, effort and money to such an endeavor, post it\’s name!
Farmers is rapidly getting itself \”back where it belongs\” and most of us are extremely excited about the many initiatives we have undertaken. We also are grateful to Zurich for the funding and support we need to accomplish this transition.
For those employees or agents who are disgruntled, go elsewhere!
All of you need to get over Farmers. If you are currently an agent or employee, leave. Go elsewhere.
If you have already left Farmers get over it. No one\’s perfect. Farmers is obviously less perfect than most other companies but they are still around.
Get over whatever inspires such vitriol. Your life will be the better for it.
Spoken by a former Farmers agent who got hosed by FIG but moved on and is now doing much better!
I worked for a Farmers\’ agent many years ago. I always found the company to be fair with both their customers and agents. I know things change and perhaps there has been some problems with Farmers. As another Zurich employee I must say I am proud to be connected with this company and it subsidiaries. We try very hard to provide proper service. To place a company under one blanket as overcharging, hosing agents and having stupid customers is taking things a little far don\’t you think? Please remember there are a lot of employees that do care about their jobs and their customers.
If some of you spent as much energy working as you do *****ing about the company, maybe you wouldn\’t be the \”former agent/employee\” failure that you are.
As a former employee, I do not consider myself a \”failure\”. I was with the company for a long time but decided I wasn\’t going to ever get what I wanted so I left for a much better opportunity. I am now making a ton more money, in a better working atmosphere and am much happier. My career opportunities are now wide-open.
My advice to others is that if you\’re unhappy with FIG, find another opportunity and get over it.
As a captive agent with Farmers, you deal with the gospel according to Farmers. If you ever embark upon a shift in strategy and become an independent agent, there is certainly a difference in the way carrier representatives treat the relationship, particularly if you produce volume.
Farmers provides/provided an opportunity into the industry. If you are bold enough to ever entertain a change, you would certainly find a much better opportunity over the long term away from the captive system.
There is preferential treatment in any environment. I found that due to my disinterest in producing life insurance, I was not considered a \”Player\” in Farmers eyes. Since this is not the overiding variable in the brokerage community, I\’ve found that my high volume prodution is well received and I have significant value to carriers I utilize in a large volume manner. The bouus opportuinties are also excellent.
In the end, anybody can suceed or fail in each environment, but I tend to believe the greatest upside potential is with the independent opportunity. With the captive existance, in the end, my biggest issue was the insistance that I take direction from those that I had little to no respect for and in essence were of no value to me personally or professionally. Farmers considers this not being a team player or insubordinate.
Bingo-got one.
I knew it would not be long before a demonstration of current management attitude showed up- former employee failure? I think not……employee opinion results for the past few years have been miserable due to this very attitude.
Hey i’ll take a stab at your comment..If anyone can name another carrier that has dedicated this kind of time, effort and money to such an endeavor, post it\’s name!(The Hartford, NationWide-Allied, Safeco, Travelers, and many more). How funny your own agents can’t even write to Zurich but i can, that pretty much somes up the inside feeling of Zurich towards Farmers and their agents.
Appreciate some of your comments, General Joe, but \”disinterest\” in writing life sounds like malpractice. As an agent I feel it is my responsibility to offer this important coverage to all of my clients. Its an obligation, not an option.
It is not an obligation to offer life insurance, just as it is not an obligation to offer homeowners to a auto client, auto to a homeowners client, a home warranty to a home client, etc.
Get your facts straight. You must be a company plant or a DM
The arrogant attitude of FIG leaves such a bad taste it only gets worse as you discover that other carriers treat you humanely. When you are treated with such disrespect it does take time to forget. Actually, ex FIG employees and agents need a support group, from the abuse. unfortunately, get over it, sound just like it you don\’t like leave.
I just love it when outsiders from other insurance companies post comments anonymously and bash other companies. I have been with Farmers for 20 years and get better treatment than any other company could ever offer judging from how many of my friends and co-workers have switched to Farmers over the years. You can try and verbally bash Farmers but they were there for me when I needed them and handled things perfectly. If they are training their agents above and beyond what the District manager’s training then good for them. They are just making sure their agency owners know more than the other guy when they go up against him.
Way to go farmers. With all of the claims being ignored by other companies due to recent natural disasters I am sure there is a ton of business headed your way.
I worked for Farmers for a while. I saw a lot of dissatisfaction, back-stabbing, and bad behavior by those in authority. My last supervisor had no training whatsoever and was more interested in the young females than his work. He couldn’t string two word together to write a memo. I also saw Directors and VP’s focusing too much of younger women as well. It is not so amazing that no one complained. Our jobs would have been on the line.
I worked as a claims rep for Farmers. What a nightmare. Poor managers, company doesn’t want to pay their claims, hired too many employees and then looked hard for ways to fire people to solve their own discrepancies…..look else where for insurance and a career.
Farmers needs all the help the can get. Poor products, poor services, and poor rates.
vp\’s in claims management need to take the first set of classes. During the past 3 years they have surpassed their goal of running off management personnel who knew what they were doing and replacing them with inexperienced people who are nothing but \”YES\’ men and blindly follow the poor example of upper management. The valued \”Farmers Family\” has slowly been eliminated from the employee standpoint and replaced with a fear of losing ones job if ANY independent thought is expressed. The Agency force is somehow hanging in there and doing the best they can with what they have left due to the somewhat independent nature of their relationship with the company.
Here\’s the proposed 12 step sales gimmic-er, plan. They\’ll need losts of training:
1. How to sell overpriced insurance products to stupid customers
2. How to effectively deny claims
3. Employee intimidation saves profit dollars
4. District manager system and how it failed again and again
5. How to hoodwink the public and make them like it
6. Making claimants sue for claims settlements
7. Making policyholders sue for claims settlements
8. Making friends with Insurance Commissioners
9. Selling lots of that Life Insurance
10. Management bloatation and how Farmers survives with it
11. How to screw agents over by offering low commissions and high sales goals
12. Interpreting the agents contract in favor of Farmers
And what is Marty Feinstein\’s name doing on the campus? That\’s the real story.
Farmers, like many companies, is an organization in transition to greatness. Since Paul Hopkins took the reins, Farmers has begun it\’s transition to greatness!
If anyone can name another carrier that has dedicated this kind of time, effort and money to such an endeavor, post it\’s name!
Farmers is rapidly getting itself \”back where it belongs\” and most of us are extremely excited about the many initiatives we have undertaken. We also are grateful to Zurich for the funding and support we need to accomplish this transition.
For those employees or agents who are disgruntled, go elsewhere!
All of you need to get over Farmers. If you are currently an agent or employee, leave. Go elsewhere.
If you have already left Farmers get over it. No one\’s perfect. Farmers is obviously less perfect than most other companies but they are still around.
Get over whatever inspires such vitriol. Your life will be the better for it.
Spoken by a former Farmers agent who got hosed by FIG but moved on and is now doing much better!
I worked for a Farmers\’ agent many years ago. I always found the company to be fair with both their customers and agents. I know things change and perhaps there has been some problems with Farmers. As another Zurich employee I must say I am proud to be connected with this company and it subsidiaries. We try very hard to provide proper service. To place a company under one blanket as overcharging, hosing agents and having stupid customers is taking things a little far don\’t you think? Please remember there are a lot of employees that do care about their jobs and their customers.
If some of you spent as much energy working as you do *****ing about the company, maybe you wouldn\’t be the \”former agent/employee\” failure that you are.
As a former employee, I do not consider myself a \”failure\”. I was with the company for a long time but decided I wasn\’t going to ever get what I wanted so I left for a much better opportunity. I am now making a ton more money, in a better working atmosphere and am much happier. My career opportunities are now wide-open.
My advice to others is that if you\’re unhappy with FIG, find another opportunity and get over it.
As a captive agent with Farmers, you deal with the gospel according to Farmers. If you ever embark upon a shift in strategy and become an independent agent, there is certainly a difference in the way carrier representatives treat the relationship, particularly if you produce volume.
Farmers provides/provided an opportunity into the industry. If you are bold enough to ever entertain a change, you would certainly find a much better opportunity over the long term away from the captive system.
There is preferential treatment in any environment. I found that due to my disinterest in producing life insurance, I was not considered a \”Player\” in Farmers eyes. Since this is not the overiding variable in the brokerage community, I\’ve found that my high volume prodution is well received and I have significant value to carriers I utilize in a large volume manner. The bouus opportuinties are also excellent.
In the end, anybody can suceed or fail in each environment, but I tend to believe the greatest upside potential is with the independent opportunity. With the captive existance, in the end, my biggest issue was the insistance that I take direction from those that I had little to no respect for and in essence were of no value to me personally or professionally. Farmers considers this not being a team player or insubordinate.
Good luck and good health to everybody
Bingo-got one.
I knew it would not be long before a demonstration of current management attitude showed up- former employee failure? I think not……employee opinion results for the past few years have been miserable due to this very attitude.
Hey i’ll take a stab at your comment..If anyone can name another carrier that has dedicated this kind of time, effort and money to such an endeavor, post it\’s name!(The Hartford, NationWide-Allied, Safeco, Travelers, and many more). How funny your own agents can’t even write to Zurich but i can, that pretty much somes up the inside feeling of Zurich towards Farmers and their agents.
Appreciate some of your comments, General Joe, but \”disinterest\” in writing life sounds like malpractice. As an agent I feel it is my responsibility to offer this important coverage to all of my clients. Its an obligation, not an option.
J Writer,
It is not an obligation to offer life insurance, just as it is not an obligation to offer homeowners to a auto client, auto to a homeowners client, a home warranty to a home client, etc.
Get your facts straight. You must be a company plant or a DM
The arrogant attitude of FIG leaves such a bad taste it only gets worse as you discover that other carriers treat you humanely. When you are treated with such disrespect it does take time to forget. Actually, ex FIG employees and agents need a support group, from the abuse. unfortunately, get over it, sound just like it you don\’t like leave.
I just love it when outsiders from other insurance companies post comments anonymously and bash other companies. I have been with Farmers for 20 years and get better treatment than any other company could ever offer judging from how many of my friends and co-workers have switched to Farmers over the years. You can try and verbally bash Farmers but they were there for me when I needed them and handled things perfectly. If they are training their agents above and beyond what the District manager’s training then good for them. They are just making sure their agency owners know more than the other guy when they go up against him.
Way to go farmers. With all of the claims being ignored by other companies due to recent natural disasters I am sure there is a ton of business headed your way.
I worked for Farmers for a while. I saw a lot of dissatisfaction, back-stabbing, and bad behavior by those in authority. My last supervisor had no training whatsoever and was more interested in the young females than his work. He couldn’t string two word together to write a memo. I also saw Directors and VP’s focusing too much of younger women as well. It is not so amazing that no one complained. Our jobs would have been on the line.
I worked as a claims rep for Farmers. What a nightmare. Poor managers, company doesn’t want to pay their claims, hired too many employees and then looked hard for ways to fire people to solve their own discrepancies…..look else where for insurance and a career.