Message Title: What is the reason for this site ?

Content : Why are you taking the time and energy to bash this company ? If they suck so bad, how can they be in business? I have 2 brothers that are independent agents and my father is a retired captive agent and what you say is the insurance business in general, but who ever said it would be easy, it seems the root problem is no one wants to sell life? Allstate screwed all their agents a couple of years ago, Farm Bureau has done it also but I don't see web sites dedicated to bashing them ? What is your motivation. Thanks

Author Type : 3 - Other (non agent, employee etc)

Author Email : hidden

Hi Bob,

We differ in opinion in that myself and many other agents have personally witness the Farmers Agent program change from what it used to be into a program that is structured for you to write a handful of accounts on your friends and family, invest thousands of your own money and then have to quit.

The Farmers Agent program is not currently structured properly and its nearly impossible to pass current requirements and waive subsidy loans.  Its designed so that you blow your money and quit or if you end up staying you have to work 3 more years in debt.  The reason this site really exists is I and many other former agents strongly feel the program is structured more like a Primerica style management of hire/fire as often as possible.  Farmers in texas canned 600+ agents last year, and State Farm 30.  That is a massive difference considering State Farm is the #1 insurer and writes way more insurance premium than farmers (which justifies them to have more agents)

Farmers Insurance is also vastly more difficult to sell than your 2 brothers’ Independent Insurance.  I know this personally because I equaled 2 years of Farmers production in 6 months.  Granted there was less of a learning curve but there is a huge difference between being captive and independent.

I realize that its hard to really tell if you are angry at the site or just sparking dialog.  It doesn’t appear that you have a direct tie to the company itself, perhaps you do.  Regardless..  If you are a Farmers Agent, the site is good for you because you can keep on your toes and know what is going on with other agents and how they feel.  It also trims down the agent force, Farmers Insurance has more agents per written premium dollar than every insurance company in existence.  As a Farmers Agent this site is good for you because it decreases your competition.  If youre not a Farmers Agent then the site really isn’t built for you because you wont understand what it is that we specifically have gone through.

If you want to refute the site, pick our primary contentions and attack our arguments instead of the cause as a whole as to why you shouldn’t be an agent, let us know where we are wrong.  Its irrelevant if other insurance companies’ have gripe sites and your example of Farm Bureau isn’t a good one because they are smaller than Farmers, they do have one that I located btw: http://scfbins.info/  .  We need to compare sizes of insurers to determine eligibility for a gripe site.  Farmers is #3 in written premium size in many states so we scale up, #2 allstate http://www.allstateinsurancesucks.com/ and more, #1 State Farm many of them  http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GZHZ_enUS225&q=state+farm+sucks .  You cant compare something that isn’t comparable.  There is a logical reason a much smaller insurance company wouldn’t have a gripe site, they simply aren’t big enough.  Some people when pissed off, move on with their life, others make sure everyone else knows.  Personally im of the latter type of person.  If I like something I tell everyone and if I hate it I tell twice as many people.  I hate Farmers Insurance for many reasons

Thanks for your feedback!

FOL Moderator