Running Clock Rant “This Guy Was Able to Move To A Small Town And Take Over My Life”

I live in a small town and had worked 1985-1999 years as a support staff for my dad.  In 1999 I was hired as an agent with the promise I would be able to purchase my dads book, much of what I helped grow.   Last May he was forced to retire and sell due to critical health issues.

Because I was not the top 25th agent in the country and did not have a 6/63.  I did not qualify to purchase it.   So a MDL  referred a guy with no insurance back ground from a much larger city to purchase it.   The following October my father died.  I was over whelmed by the number of customers (including my own family) upset that they were just sold with out a choice.  When they called 1-800-Allstate they were told, that they could easily change their agent.  However, My name was on over 200 policies which I was not being compensated for.

This past February I left TC (after 20 years of service)   and I could not find a buyer who wanted the headaches.  So I took the TPP.   My phone number was immediately rolled to the new agent within a day.  The customers were being told who knows what.   When I received my policy it had Allstate as the agent with the other agents address.   The irony of it all is I just found out that the new agent was moving to my previous office location next month.

So this guy was able to move to a small town and take over my life and I could not do a stinking thing.  I was afraid to contact my book of business and explain all this, due to my do not compete.  I was told they would stop paying the TPP if I did anything against them.  I have been offered several jobs with other insurers, but afraid to work until my 1 year in February is up.  I am afraid of what kind of conspiracy this guy and the Company have against me.  Now that I look back over the last few months I am wondering if I should have defended my honor with a note or just let them hang themselves.  I am still trying to decide whether to go back with the insurance market.  I have an offer from Farmers, but the contract looks a lot like the Allstate, just a little gun shy

Running Clock Rant “Dead Agent Walking”

I’ve received a secondhand report from an agency owner attending the recently completed ’Leader’s Conference’ in Arizona last week.

The report was there were about 700+ agents in attendance and in typical working vacation fashion, the day was divided up beginning with a company hosted breakfast, followed by a full member meeting, followed by breakout sessions in specialty areas with topics such as growth, technology, retention, financial products, etc., continuing with another full group lunch, more specialty breakouts and then a group dinner.

Nothing new with that kind of report, however, what struck me when I received the information was the topic of ‘us vs. them’ as delivered by at least one or two of the Allstate executives.  Now it’s easy to concede that Allstate would feel most comfortable with this kind of gathering…700+ agency owners who have demonstrated success with all of the company goals to be labeled as ‘leaders’.  And clearly, Allstate would be entitled to conclude that its future success was dependent on nurturing the relationship between the corporation and these agents.  But apparently there was an overt mention that is paraphrased as at least one executive speaking to the group to the effect of ‘…you people are the winners, and those who are not here are the LOSERS…and we would be well served to be rid of them…’.

In addition, the report that I received mentioned that corporate speakers were very clear that they are looking for agency measurements to show at least $3-4 million in book size in order to remain viable within the Allstate system.  Anything smaller than that is clearly targeted for removal either by financial attrition or by direct severing action.

I know that posting such information here on Runningclock is usually akin to preaching to the converted, but once again, I’ll pass along my unsolicited advice that readers here would be well advised to catch the drift that is being so clearly communicated by Allstate’s leaders…that first there is an established pattern of wanting to cleanse the agency ranks of those who won’t go along with goals and processes, and that the vision of Allstate’s future lies with fewer, much larger agencies, not the smaller $1-3 million books run by the agent and a spouse or one, maybe two support staffers.

And keep in mind that with fewer and larger agencies, Allstate will not only streamline its operation, but will be able to shed that middle and lower management layer that now interacts with the smaller shops.  Those in that category who are correctly reading the tea leaves are probably doing their best to remain relevant by interacting with agents, offering ‘help’ in attaining goals and using the cattle prod methods to get agents to make goals regardless of market conditions.

So please know that if you’re a reader with a smallish book in a market that just won’t grow with the Allstate product line and you’re out of cash to put into your own annuity to boost your financial numbers, you’re a dead agent walking and time is short.

Running Clock Rant “Today’s Job Market”

“In today’s job market, we’re making greater use of technology to find the right people for available career opportunities,” said Stephen Scholl, assistant vice president of human resources. “Our virtual career fair makes it easy for candidates to submit their resumes for opportunities that match their qualifications, have a live chat with an Allstate recruiter, or set up a phone interview.”

Is Scholl, the same guy from the NW region? I remember being asked to sit in on an agent’s panel. Seems, an agent had been ‘capturing accounts’ and when he was approached to come to the RO, did so as a faithful trooper. There he learned the client, and the former agent had been contacted and the ‘trooper’ said…”Perhaps, I did it. I’m not sure there were others in the office NSO that could have done it.” Well, on the panel Allstate had their top producer and two seasoned agents (I was one). A TSM got up and ‘editorialize’ the trooper’s statement…I stopped the TSM midstream and said “Lets stop the editorializing, an agent’s career is on the line.” Later the head of HR (Scholl?) said “I was going to say something.”   I turned and said “You, didn’t.”

The only error the agent had was in trusting the company to treat him fairly. You see, he had made two managers upset and they wanted him out….later he hired an attorney on contingency…and the company flooded him with ‘pieces of communication’ and literally drowned him… Had the agent, who had the money..given a reputable law firm $10K up front and asked them to come with him, the company would have backed down.

Today, the Allstate agent operates under an R3001….merely a piece of paper that states…we can give you 90 days notice, and a TPP..The company, well the company has become a very convenient place for officers to make incredible money…and not be held accountable.

Wake up folks….Canada is coming….

Running Clock “RIP Dick Larkin”

When I read your communication yesterday morning about the tragic loss of Dick Larkin and his lovely wife, Myra, I broke down in tears.

I was a 20 year agent until I threw in the towel in 2004.  What had been the great company I was so proud to represent changed like day to night and was cemented with the Reorganization For The Future.

For years I sought, serviced and retained my customer base and my business brought me handsome earnings rewarded from hard and dedicated work by making customer service my top priority. My motto was always sell to the need and the rewards will follow.

I met customers at times convenient for them from late evenings to early mornings, weekends, even holidays.  I well remember writing a commercial auto for a existing customer by meeting him in my office on a Christmas Eve.  He’d been a loyal customer for a long number of years with multiple lines.  I felt I owed the effort to him and was not insulted when he apologetically asked me to help during a holiday.  Customers like this paid my earnings.

When we were all summoned to the mandatory meeting in the fall of 1999 and presented with our options, I could not believe the insulting choices we were given.  I would have left with the restructure had they offered me a decent package.  Instead, I was given only the choice to stay or take my highest earning year offered paid over 24 months.  I was insulted and felt like I was forced into slavery.

When July 1, 2000 arrived I’d made up my mind to go in with a positive attitude; after all, I thought, the company needed to restructure to accommodate the change in business trends.  Well, it continued to go down hill from there.  More work forced on the agency, more pressure for production, demands for availability, bank deposits, more company related bills, on and on.

When I got one of those “visits” from my immediate and upper manager about my financial production with upper management being rude and demeaning while my immediate manager (a genuinely nice person) just sat there knowing what was happening was wrong, I went berserk. I demanded that they leave after I told the upper manager exactly what was on my mind.

It was within a year or so that I woke up one morning and knew that I couldn’t take it anymore.   What I did not know until I’d sold and gone to my physician for a routine annual exam a month later was that my health was affected.  I was diagnosed with an overactive thyroid and the doctor to this day is amazed that I was actually still walking around when I went in for the exam that day. The answer to that was that I’d begun taking a natural remedy known for its healing properties.

According to the tests he did and subsequent testing by an endocrinologist, I should have been very ill and bed ridden.  All I knew was that I’d lost a lot of weight (about 30 pounds) I assumed because of the stress I’d been under.  When I told the doctor that no one in my family had a history of thyroid problems, he asked me “Have you been under extreme stress recently?”  Allstate’s practices had made me literally sick.

When I left I never looked back.  Today, I read the Clock and see the same smoke and mirrors going on and I feel the pain of all the things that are still happening to agents across the country.  But when I read about Dick and Myra,  I was overwhelmed with grief and all the tears that poured out were for everything that has been perpetuated by the company.

I did not know Dick personally but knew that he was a champion of agent rights and fairness.  I couldn’t hold back all the emotions: for the tragic and senseless loss of Dick and Myra Larkin, for the agents who are yet enduring the company tatics, for the agents whose lives were cut short because of illnesses and stress brought upon them, for the demise of what we once knew as a great and honorable company.

My sincere condolence to the family and loved ones of Dick and Myra Larkin and to those who knew and/or shared a close bond with them.  I will keep them all in my continued prayers.

Running Clock Rant “Cessation of Some Agencies”

Another Running Clock Rant – More “jobs in jeopardy” due to Allstate’s poor management and greed?

“Friday I listened to the quarterly report..I do realize they are speaking to a group of investors..but I couldn’t get over the double speak…First of all, as they spoke of cessation of some agencies…this is a polite way of saying…we’re firing some agencies…there was no big support of the agency program,,outside of the fact that it is one of three distribution points,,,,nowhere did Mr Wilson indicate the % that comes from the agency force.

In addition, they are still trying to ‘crack the code’ on the loyalty index. However, it is tied to profit sharing, agency expectation etc…but they haven’t cracked the code yet…How about, treat your agents fairly…what dumb smuck will sign up with this outfit AND YET they are advertising in Texas and Florida.

All in all it was a numbers game, with Progressive losing some,,Geico gaining some and we’re at 11% penetration…with 25 mIllion policyholders..

Meanwhile, I listened to an agent who hadn’t made his numbers in 2 yrs and after 25 yrs is resigning the fact that he will be asked to leave next year…hope he can find a buyer…my response…NO ONE in the unit qualifies for a purchase…he said “oh, s,,t! that’s right..” The statement…”Asked to leave next year…and the C.L.I OR A.L.I. just doesn’t seem to fit those words..

If an agency is below 60% loss ratio…who gives a rat’s patoot….what they do….they are making money. I just heard of an manager going into the sales force and then after two years scrabbled to get back as a manager…The old saying “Them that do,,,sell. Them that don’t…go into management.” It holds true here as well….”

She Bangs!

Michele Linca runs an Allstate office in Jupiter, FL.

The county court database has some interesting material on her!

First, she has quite a driving record. Would you buy auto insurance from someone with a driving record like this? She bangs into parked cars? She bangs into moving cars?

Also, she’s been married to a couple of Romanians. Nicolae Linca and Mircea Sandulescu. They seem to be related.

After leaving Linca, even though she kept his name, she seems to have taken up with radiologist, Aaron Jay Goodrum. That did not end well either. It seems the court ordered him to undergo a “psychosexual evaluation” and it was probably paid for with bailout funds!

What a bunch these Allstate agents are!

In Good Hands?

Running Clock Rant

An excellent source of information on Allstate, a national disgrace:Folks……………….I have been writing and repeating for years that it is my opinion that large insurance companies are using catastrophes in states like FL, TX and CA to justify the need for a national catastrophe fund.  This IN MY OPINION has been nothing but smoke and mirrors to cover their own negligence in not purchasing reinsurance for the appropriate exposures and risks but it also IN MY OPINION is an end run to try and circumvent McCarran Ferguson 1947.  McCarran Ferguson specifically gives regulation of insurance companies responsibility and rate regulation to the states in which those companies sell.

Large insurance companies have used cute little measures like credit scoring algorithms to empower themselves with a cryptic method of adjusting rates without having to go hat in hand to individual insurance commissioners and request rate changes.

What I am going to post below is very much in line with what I have been saying for years now and if one wants to take it a bit further might even explain why a large insurance company would want to declare war and break contracts with its sales force.  If you intend to operate as an insurance agent………….this should be of interest to you and if you don’t fight this tooth and nail it will become law in some form just like credit underwriting did in many states.  There is too much money and power behind it and the assault has been going on relentlessly for over 10 years now.

If one waits long enough ……………………..questions are eventually answered and I believe this one has finally answered one I have had on my lips and fingertips for 10 years.  WHY?

Interesting that if the poster is correct, this began in Illinois.  I will post the original letter, my exchange and the answer of this poster minus the part requested be withheld.

On further review of the poster’s letter, I am posting it all.  His/her opinion does not in any way identify him/herself and opinion is what Runningclock is about.

Ron