George Ruebenson and Ken Lewis: Rats Leaving the Sinking Bailout Ship

NORTHBROOK, Ill., Oct 26, 2009 George E. Ruebenson, president of Allstate Protection, is retiring at the end of the year, said Allstate Corp. A striking parallel can be found in the departure of Ken Lewis from Bank of America.

Ruebenson, who has been with Allstate since 1970, will begin his retirement Dec. 31, Allstate said in a statement. He was appointed president of Allstate Protection in 2007 to succeed Thomas J. Wilson, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Allstate.

A search for Ruebenson’s replacement is under way, the company said.

In 2000, Ruebenson was named vice president for the Property-Casualty Service Organization, the largest employee group in the company, then he became a member of the company’s senior management team as senior vice president.

The past several years has seen some shuffling among executives at the largest publicly traded personal lines insurer in the United States. Most recently, former vice chairman of American International Group Inc., Matthew Winter, was named president and CEO of Allstate Financial. Ruebenson had assumed the role as president of Allstate Financial when James E. Hohmann left the company. Don Civgin, former chief financial officer of OfficeMax Inc., was named CFO of Allstate last year.

Allstate Protection combines property/casualty offerings of Allstate, Encompass and Deerbrook Insurance, which are sold through Allstate and independent agents, respectively.

Running Clock Rant: “It Has Come To Our Attention”

July 23, 2009

It has come to our attention that some mortgage companies have recently mailed letters to Castle Key (formerly Allstate Floridian) property customers concerning the company’s recent downgrade by A.M. Best. We are in the process of contacting the two mortgage companies from which we have copies of customer notices to explain that Castle Key maintains a sound capital position and extensive reinsurance. Our emphasis in these discussions is that, despite the A.M. Best downgrade, Castle Key was recently reaffirmed with an A´ (A Prime), Unsurpassed financial rating from Demotech, Inc.  Demotech is an independent financial and actuarial services firm.  Many property insurance companies in Florida operate with only a Demotech Financial Stability Rating®.

One of the customer letters, from Midland Mortgage Company, indicated that they will accept a Demotech financial rating.  As stated above, we are having discussions with this company to advise them of our Demotech rating and will request that they discontinue sending customer notices.  We hope to resolve this issue with little customer disruption.  In the meantime, you or the customer may contact Midland and provide them a copy of Castle Key’s rating. The website www.demotech.com contains the ratings for Castle Key and other Florida property insurance companies.

The other letter, from Taylor, Bean, and Whitaker Mortgage Company, indicated that their company will accept policies written only by insurers who earned high ratings from A.M. Best.  We will contact them and request that they accept Castle Key policies based on the companies’ Demotech rating.  If they do not agree to accept Demotech for Castle Key, you may want to consider calling the customer and offering to place them with one of the available expanded market carriers.  If this transpires, we will provide you with an audit of policies listing this mortgage company that are associated with your agency.

Your agency can affirm to customers that the Castle Key companies are financially strong and stable companies.  At the end of 2008, the Castle Key group held $162 million in surplus and $233 million in cash and invested assets.  Our reinsurance program for 2009 was developed using methodologies supported by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR).

We will provide you with additional details as they develop.  If you receive any additional customer calls involving mortgage companies other than those mentioned above, please contact your Product Management Consultant and if possible, provide a faxed copy of the mortgage company letter.

Running Clock Rant: “Agency Relationship Survey”

Every year we get dozens of emails exhorting us to take the Agency Relationship Survey. Every year the participation drops a little more. Besides the fact that the survey interprets our frustration with the company as frustration with our managers (much the same way the ALI interprets customer frustration with the company as customer frustration with the Agency) – there is a more BASIC reason for the growing lack of participation.

This is what I hear on face to face, at conferences, at up-comm meetings, from agents: Although the company does occasionally address issues of processes, leadership and back office performance, they don’t actually want feedback on important issues of corporate decisions that go to the heart of agent/corporate relationships.  Corporate doesn’t really care what its’ 13,000 (?) agents think about decisions that truly affect our ability to do business or a lot of issues that NAPAA attempts to address would not be issues. The expense to the company of administering the NAB under pretense addressing agent issues would not be necessary. The model of management vs work-force would no longer exist.

As the saying goes “two heads are better than one”. There are 13,000 heads who want to succeed, who work from the ground up, who interface directly with “the street” and who have good ideas and something to say. A majority of agents know that there are better ways to do business, and only need to look to IA’s to see that model working. We would like Allstate’s blessing and backing, as well as their hands-off where they are straddling the line of employee vs contractor relationships

Many realize that nothing will change where change is truly needed.  Why waste time on the Agency Relationship Survey?

Running Clock Rant “Allstate Has A Privacy Department”

For those of you not aware of it, Allstate has a “Privacy Department.”  It is their job to be sure you agents are not sending out stuff to pesky sites like Runningclock from your Alstar.  There is a new initiative that is called AGENCY CONTENT MONITORING AND REMEDIATION PROCESS.  It will begin June 1 2009.  Oops by virtue of the fact I disclosed that I made an agent guilty of violating agency standards.  George Orwell would be grinning about now.

Will this department have anything to say about this blog? I’ll bet this could get very interesting for Michele Linca and Aaron Jay Goodrum.

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 “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?

Allstate Inside Information: HORRIBLE Business Opportunity

Take a look…people losing money right and left…

http://www.insurance-forums.net/forum/allstate-agency-opportunity-thread3634-2.html

Does Allstate Need a Bailout?

Could be! Someone sent this to us-a “bounced” check Allstate wrote them for a claim!

Allstate’s explanation? Bank computer error.

Rumor-someone who sued Allstate slapped a lien on Allstate’s accounts!