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Where do I begin? FIG Agent 7/86-8/97, in the East Bay Area, CA. DM died two years in, after keeping on going back to work after multiple heart attacks. New DM was an asshole. Hotshot Agent who schmoozed a lot of contractors and wrote some big commercial (Truck Ins. Exch.) business. Immediately hired a hot, married female Agt and had an affair with her (he was married, too). Hired a bunch of yahoos.
Oh, I forgot to mention old Agency was split into two Agencies, with half of us unlucky enough to be inherited by him when he took over for our deceased DM, who had hired us. Anyway, he retained the late DM’s secretary, who was a bitch. Her son-in-law was an FIG Agent. She finagled it so that, when I and my office partner inherited a book of business from a retiring Agent, all of the business in a three-city area in and around her son-in-law’s office was given to him by the new DM!
Long story short, I survived, broke 1,100 PIF, grossing $90K+ my last two years. Of course, after estimated quarterly taxes and overhead, I was lucky to net $30K each of those years. After the ’94 Northridge ‘quake, I brokered out some Fire business that I was lucky enough to get an appointment to write with one of the few CA Property carriers that was still writing during the Fire moratorium in CA (which lasted from June, ’94 until December, ’96). Well this is what caused my downfall, I guess, because I was called on the carpet for it in Spring of ’97. I was loyal to my sub-producers, so I quit on a Friday, but tried to undo it the next Monday. No dice. Ninety days later, I got the first installment of my $72K Contract Value, $24K (which they charged me the highest possible tax rate on).
My family and I had to sell our home in the Bay Area and move to the Sacramento area. For five years, I brokered out while looking for something more permanent. I found a good, captive, multiline carrier in ’02, and have been with them ever since. I celebrate my five year anniversary with them on April Fool’s Day! (Manager is a jerk, though!).
R.K.
P.S.: Did I mention that my asshole Farmers DM was also an alcoholic? Oh, his biggest Agent got my book of business when I left. My problem was I cared too much.
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