l<strong>is</strong>t <strong>of</strong> things and hand me a letter. The first paragraph <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> letter cons<strong>is</strong>ted <strong>of</strong> two brief sentences thanking me for my service to Allstate, and <strong>the</strong> rest was filled with reminders about <strong>the</strong> non-compete clause and o<strong>the</strong>r contractual obligations pertaining to agents <strong>who</strong> leave <strong>the</strong> company. It was very generic and devoid <strong>of</strong> personal feelings and emotion despite <strong>the</strong> fact that I had known most <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> managers for many years and never had any <strong>is</strong>sues with <strong>the</strong>m. You would think that after nearly 40 years <strong>of</strong> service, <strong>the</strong>y could have shown a little more appreciation. Oh well, I guess that <strong>is</strong> what we have come to at Allstate. I truly appreciate all that you and Jim and <strong>the</strong> rest <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> staff at NAPAA have done for us and I intend to keep my membership current. If you want to speak with me in more detail about my experience, please don’t hesitate to call. Lately, I feel certain my agency <strong>is</strong> being sabotaged by my FSL and I have asked my TSL for a meeting. My manager held a conference call a few weeks ago and implored us to take <strong>the</strong> opinion survey and that we were expected to answer <strong>the</strong> questions honestly. However, we were also told that management can find out <strong>who</strong> responds negatively. Is th<strong>is</strong> survey confidential or not Nobody takes it anymore because <strong>the</strong>y’re afraid <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> consequences. Ever since I’ve been an agent, I have never had so many problems and management scare tactics being thrown my way. Editor’s response: The survey <strong>is</strong> supposed to be anonymous. Whe<strong>the</strong>r it <strong>is</strong> or not <strong>is</strong> questionable. Even so, it would surpr<strong>is</strong>e me if FSLs are privy to an individual agent’s results. It sound as if your FSL <strong>is</strong> trying to coerce you into responding positively to <strong>the</strong> survey questions or believes it will be easy to figure out <strong>who</strong> said what by using <strong>the</strong> process <strong>of</strong> elimination and, <strong>of</strong> course, intimidation. Would I qualify for <strong>the</strong> d<strong>is</strong>counted E&O insurance thru NAPAA’s new affiliation through <strong>the</strong> Guild Editor’s response: Yes, but it’s not an E&O insurance policy. It’s a benefit that pays a portion <strong>of</strong> your E&O deductible if you have an E&O claim. My Dad started with Allstate in 1960. Like o<strong>the</strong>r agents at that time, he worked out <strong>of</strong> a “booth” in a Sears store. I remember putting brochures on parked vehicles on Friday nights as he built h<strong>is</strong> business. By 1990 he had 2,000 policies in force. He stayed until 2000, when <strong>the</strong> company converted <strong>the</strong> employee agents to “independent contractor” status. By <strong>the</strong>n he was in h<strong>is</strong> 70s and hadn’t spent much time in <strong>the</strong> <strong>of</strong>fice during <strong>the</strong> preceding ten years, so he figured it was time to sell. Around <strong>the</strong> same time, I lost my 20-year job and bought h<strong>is</strong> agency. By <strong>the</strong> time I took over h<strong>is</strong> agency in 2000, h<strong>is</strong> book had dropped to 1,100 policies. I have to say I was very fortunate to get <strong>the</strong> business. Allstate was competitive and I was up to 1,800 policies by 2006. It came at a very good time as my daughters were entering college. I have no beef with Allstate about how I was compensated during my tenure with <strong>the</strong>m. In reality <strong>the</strong>y were a godsend to me and my family after losing my job. The last five years, however, have not been fun. Cons<strong>is</strong>tent rate increases every six months have taken a heavy toll on our competitive position, causing customers to complain and finally flee to o<strong>the</strong>r carriers. Seeing <strong>the</strong> handwriting on <strong>the</strong> wall and unable to achieve my Expected Results for <strong>the</strong> last couple years, I decided to put my book up for sale. Fortunately, I was able to sell in th<strong>is</strong> awful environment. When I sold, my book had shriveled to 1,620 policies. I was going backwards and could not see how things would change any time soon. My buyer merged my book into h<strong>is</strong>. I just wonder why <strong>the</strong>y think merging my agency with an agency in ano<strong>the</strong>r small town will improve customer service and sales. I am very saddened that <strong>the</strong> agency that bore my family name for 51 years <strong>is</strong> now gone. Losing all <strong>the</strong>se longtime Allstate agents makes no sense to me. Thanks again for what you do and for letting me vent. No more woople! I was recently at an event where I ran into a writer from a national publication. One <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir main advert<strong>is</strong>ers <strong>is</strong> Allstate. I suggested to <strong>the</strong> writer that an article about <strong>the</strong> success/failure rate <strong>of</strong> Allstate new hires would be <strong>of</strong> great interest to <strong>the</strong>ir readers. I pitched <strong>the</strong> idea <strong>of</strong> an exposé-type story, adding that some franch<strong>is</strong>es are scams and are not truthful when recruiting prospective franch<strong>is</strong>ees. I also mentioned that many lose <strong>the</strong>ir life savings trying to start <strong>the</strong>se businesses. I believe <strong>the</strong>re <strong>is</strong> some interest in writing an article about th<strong>is</strong> subject. Would you be willing to ass<strong>is</strong>t Editor’s response: We would be happy to speak with <strong>the</strong> writer. However, my sense <strong>is</strong> that th<strong>is</strong> publication’s bread <strong>is</strong> being buttered by paid advert<strong>is</strong>ers like Allstate. Would <strong>the</strong>y want to r<strong>is</strong>k losing a revenue source like Allstate by exposing <strong>the</strong>ir underhanded practices If <strong>the</strong> writer <strong>is</strong> seriously committed to writing an exposé, I’m sure we would be able to provide supporting docs and information. It would be best if we speak to <strong>the</strong> writer oneon-one to provide as many details as possible. I was an agent with Allstate from 2007- 2010. I terminated my contract with Allstate after I relocated my <strong>of</strong>fice and <strong>the</strong>y “lost” my book <strong>of</strong> business. After a year, <strong>the</strong>y have only recovered about half <strong>of</strong> my book. The remaining policies were never assigned to me even though I had <strong>the</strong> files to prove I had <strong>the</strong> clients prior to <strong>the</strong> move. I have spoken to some law firms but was told my case just wasn’t enough money to take on Allstate. I am writing you today hoping you may have heard <strong>of</strong> similar problems from o<strong>the</strong>r agents. If so, I would appreciate your help in passing my contact information along to <strong>the</strong>m or providing me with <strong>the</strong>ir attorneys’ names. I did find one o<strong>the</strong>r agent <strong>who</strong> had <strong>the</strong> same <strong>is</strong>sue, but he was not willing to help because was afraid he would lose h<strong>is</strong> contract. Again, if you know <strong>of</strong> anyone in a similar situation, please let me know or pass my info to <strong>the</strong>m. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me. Continued on page 58. 14 — Exclusivefocus Winter 2011/2012
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