Exclusivefocus Spring 2013 - National Association of Professional ...

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In Search of Greener Pastures…
Allstate vs. State Farm vs. Independent Agent
Submitted anonymously
My story starts back at the beginning
of 2004. I was at a
job for 15 years and was looking
to make a change. A friend of mine
was an Allstate agent and recommended
me to be an agent for them. That’s when
things changed. Allstate came after me
really hard. They romanticized the opportunity
by telling me how great it was
and how much money I could make as an
Allstate agent. I had no reason to doubt
what they were telling me was true, so
I jumped in headfirst without knowing
anything about the insurance business.
After eight years I’d had enough. The
never-ending parade of inept managers,
each one more incompetent that the
last, and the despicable actions of some
of my agent peers was simply too much
to tolerate. There were Allstate agents
who called other agent offices to steal
staff, broke company rules and/or violated
state laws while the company looked
the other way and even rewarded them.
The company didn’t care what they did
as long as they were writing lots of new
business. That was the overriding factor
that drove me over the edge in my decision
to leave.
They would put these agents up on a
pedestal and shower them with accolades,
nice trips and rewards for their nefarious
behavior. The next thing you’d hear was
that they were being investigated by the
department of insurance or having E&O
claims filed against them. Conduct of
this kind is reprehensible and I just could
not be part of it any longer, especially
feeling as I did that management was
effectively condoning such behavior by
feigning ignorance of its existence.
In January of 2012, I sold my $1.5
million book of business to a young kid
who had worked for another agent who
had failed. I was going to take the money
that I had left over from the sale – which
wasn’t much after paying off all the debt
I’d run up as an “independent contractor”
Allstate agent – to stay at home with my
new little baby girl. My plan was to stay
at home with her for two years and then
when she was old enough to go to preschool,
I would go back to work.
Shortly after I sold my book, State
Farm came a-callin’. They wanted me
to take over a book of business in the
Cleveland area. They offered me $90,000
a year while I was in training and then
would hand me a $2.2 million book of
business. While it was a great offer, I was
torn because of my desire to stay home
with my baby daughter. The practical
side of me said to accept the offer, but
my emotions told me to follow my heart.
Besides, there were other considerations,
like the non-compete I had with the
buyer of my agency. But the location of
the State Farm agency was far enough
20 — Exclusivefocus Spring 2013