Exclusivefocus Fall 2012

Transcription

Tablets Explained
Branded Retail EnvironmentLetters to NAPAA
Exclusivefocus
Fall 2012
An Official Publication of the National Association of Professional Allstate Agents, Inc.
Intriguing
Agent Stories
pages 14, 18, 20
Networking Ideas to
Help your Agency
page 34
Your Flood Book:
Keep it, Sell it,
or Roll it page 28
Great Expectations
vs. Grim Realities:
What Every New
Allstate Agent
Needs to Know
page 22
Agency Business
Objectives Program
Exposed! page 40
A Bright New Day
for Allstate Agents
A Revolutionary Strategy
to Minimize Price Objections
while Enhancing your
Community Status
Page 42
Magazine
for
Allstate
AgencyOwners
Ownersand
andAllstate
AllstatePersonal
PersonalFinancial
FinancialRepresentatives
Representatives
AA
AMagazine
Magazinefor
forAllstate
AllstateAgency
Agency
Owners
and
Allstate
Personal
Financial
Representatives
Time For A Change
PROS
CURRENT CONTRACT
CONS
COMMISSIONS
-- LOWER
REDUCED EQUITY
OF PRODUCT CHOICES
-- LACK
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QUOTAS
-- HIGHER
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-- UNAPPRECIATED
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-- UNCOMPETITIVE
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- LOSINGCUSTOMERS
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Exclusivefocus
fall 2012
An Official Publication of the National Association of
Professional Allstate Agents, Inc.
FEATURES
12
To BRE or not to BRE: That is the Question
By Lezlee Liljenberg
14
Gone, But Not Fading Away
16
17
By Gerry Flores
Give the Devil His Due
By Dave Thorpe
By Brian Spillman
18
I’m So Proud of You: A letter to a terminated agent
20
The Short-lived Career of a Promising New Agent
22
Great Expectations
28
Your Flood Book: Sell it, Keep it, or Transfer it… It’s Your Choice
40
Be Wary of the Wolf Disguised as the Agency
Business Objectives Program
New Agents; is Allstate Everything it was Cracked Up to Be?
46
50
26How to Turn Every Call Into a
Sales Call…Guaranteed!
By Bill Gough
30
The Five Critical Cs
of Acquisitions
By Rick Dennen
34
Networking To Grow
Your Agency
By Robyn Sharp
Allstate’s Future Course Is Anyone’s Guess
42
BUSINESS
Kindness is Contagious
How to Increase Sales and Boost your Reputation
Sad Times at Allstate
By Bryan Ahlquist
True Success without Allstate
By Bryan Ahlquist
A Magazine for Allstate Agency Owners and Allstate
Personal Financial Representatives
4 — Exclusivefocus
TECHNOLOGY
37
What’s all the Fuss
about Tablets?
By Scott Brodbeck
54
Has ALSTAR Support
Ever Told You to Contact Your Own IT Support? (Part 2)
By Dan Helton
HUMOUR
51
Name Changes… Oops,
I Mean “Moniker Alterations”
By Brian Spillman
DEPARTMENTS
6
8
53
60
62
President’s Letter
Letters to NAPAA
Membership Application
NAPAA Market Place
NAPAA Board of Directors
Fall 2012
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president’s letter
Trying to Make Cents out of Nonsense
In Solidarity
Bob Isacsen
President
NAPAA/OPEIU
Guild 17
My quarterly messages in Exclusivefocus are often dependent on what is happening to the agency
force as a result of Allstate’s actions. Oftentimes,
their actions make little sense because of the adverse affects they have on agents, customers and
the Allstate brand itself. To make matters worse,
the company rarely shares its true motivation for
the moves it makes, frustrating us even further.
Let’s begin with some unsettling issues that are
impeding our progress and for which the company
has not divulged its true motives.
• Variable compensation with a 9% base. The
company says that agents will make more money.
What they aren’t saying is that only a fraction of
the agents will achieve the top comp rate. In 2013,
agents will have to jump through four “hoops” to
get back to 10%. In the first year of two, it won’t
be too hard to make, but watch for a tightening
thereafter. The fact is the company doesn’t want
agents to make more than 9% because it will affect
profitability. What Allstate is not talking about
is its plan for 2015, when the 9% compensation
moratorium expires. Watch for your base compensation to drop to 8% or less.
• Uncompetitive markets and fewer Allstate
branded products. What the company will never
tell you is that they are making a fortune on their
Expanded Markets portfolio. Allstate has long
been suspected of skimming commissions off the
top and paying agents the paltry leftovers. Expanded Markets is a no-risk profit center for Allstate. It has no claim exposure, so its only expense
is the ultra-low comp it pays you to sell and service
the business. Watch for the company to further
limit its branded property products in favor of
more Expanded Market opportunities.
It is no secret that Allstate has not been competitive in most markets for some time. It used to be
that when agents complained about Allstate rates,
management would retort by saying, “We’re Allstate and we’re worth it,” as if they were L’Oreal.
But today, it has gotten so bad the managers don’t
even believe the company line, as more and more
of them take their business to Esurance. Will the
competitive climate improve? Perhaps, but only if
they plow the money they save from confiscating
your commissions into rate relief.
• What I fear is that instead of rate relief, Allstate will take those savings and use them to subsidize Esurance, which is experiencing significant
underwriting losses. According to some reports,
Esurance frittered away $1.22 for every dollar of
revenue it collected in the first six months of 2012.
Continuing to fund Esurance only hurts Allstate
agents because it takes resources away from the
Allstate brand.
• Connexus, the new commercial software
program for quoting commercial auto is a mess.
According to feedback from our members, it is
complicated and difficult to use, and what was
once heralded as cutting-edge technology, has become another source of aggravation for users. Like
most other company technology launches, agents
have become the guinea pigs for trial and error.
• The new Agency Business Objective program will be effective on January 1, 2013. Recently, agents were sent a new grid informing them
of their new quotas. For most of us, this was no
surprise, even though a small minority of agents
thought that quotas might actually disappear as
a trade-off for lower commissions. No such luck.
The fact is Allstate will never willingly abandon
quotas. Next year’s quotas are rather innocuous,
but they will become more burdensome in years
to come. If you don’t like them, you might want to
get started on a Plan B.
• Book values continue to plummet. Three
years ago, agents might have sold their books for
three to four times annual commissions. Today,
they are lucky if they get two times and many
don’t even bother to put their books up for sale
anymore; they take TPP instead. Selling a book
of business has become a nightmarish experience
for some. There is too much management interference and lenders make too many demands. Gone
are the days of counting on your book to finance a
comfortable retirement.
Now that we’ve covered some of the problem issues, let’s talk about some positives.
The Allstate brand is still among the bestknown and most respected brands. The ad campaigns are better than they were a few years ago
Continued on page 8.
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Exclusivefocus — 7
© Copyright 2012
letters to NAPAA
I’m really interested in seeing what
happens with Allstate and I’m amazed
the agents are putting up with all the
changes. On the independent agent side,
commissions are higher than I ever expected, i.e. Travelers is paying 22% on
home and 17% on auto. Every company I
represent pays at least 15% and the rates
are better. By year-end, our largest competitor here in my state will move into
the IA world and I’ll get an appointment
with them.
I can’t imagine what happened to
Allstate and its rates. They pay minimum commissions and still can’t match
the competition. Something’s amiss in
Northbrook.
ages from prior employers and are pouring the money into Dante’s Inferno. I
talk with a lot of these folks and they
all seem to agree that being an Allstate
agent is not the “cakewalk” they were
promised.
I think my “Sabotage” article turned
out well... Just out of curiosity, have you
received any feedback on it? Also, do you
have a digital version of the article? I
have a few out-of-state friends I would
like to send a copy to.
president’s letter
I believe very strongly that community
involvement is key to long-term success
in business. I am president this year of my
local Rotary Club and do volunteer work
for other community groups as well. I
believe in my heart that what is lacking
in our world is empathy, and with more
of it, we could solve many of the world’s
problems! I got an email from Dave from
The Kindness Revolution and I will certainly watch the video.
Editor’s response: Your community spirit
is why you were among the first wave of
agents we contacted about becoming involved with The Kindness Revolution.
Their founder, Ed Horrell, spoke at our national conference in June and we were sold
on the concept.
Also, I have a couple of questions and
I was wondering if you had any advice
for me. I sent in my resignation with an
effective date of 10/31/2012. Allstate is
sending me a notice about the annual
compliance requirement for AFS. Since
I am resigning, is this still something I
need to complete? I hate to spend the
money if I don’t have to.
I also got a notice from Allstate about
the FINRA Regulatory Continuing Education Program due by 12/5/2012. I will
no longer be with Allstate after 10/31, so
Continued from page 6.
and many of them mention the agent. However, I’m not too sure that Allstate really
wants customers who live on Ramen Noodle budgets.
We live in the Land of Opportunity. If Allstate isn’t right for you, other insurance
opportunities abound. Be wary of captive carriers because more and more of them
are following Allstate’s example. Your best chance of becoming a true independent
contractor is by becoming an independent agent, but even then you must be cautious.
NAPAA, your agent association, is in a strong position with a solid balance sheet
and has an excellent affiliation with the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU). This synergy will produce results and opportunities for our
members going forward.
Who knows, management could change its ways and finally appreciate the value of
the agency force, perhaps even stopping unjust terminations, eliminating quotas and restoring the 10% compensation rate. But if they do that, then pigs will surely learn to fly.
Whichever direction your career path leads, remember that NAPAA is there to
support you. Whether you plan to stay with Allstate or move on to the independent
world, NAPAA will have your back.
In Solidarity,
Readers: For more information about The
Kindness Revolution, please turn to page 42
to read one agency’s positive experience with
this unique marketing approach.
Bob Isacsen
President
NAPAA/OPEIU Guild 17
Always a cell phone call away: 201-744-8395
It appears to me that many of the middle-aged and older agents, who came to
work for Allstate after losing their jobs
during the recession are having second
thoughts about their new career path.
Many of them received severance pack8 — Exclusivefocus
Fall 2012
Fall 2012
would I still need to do this CE? Plus, I’m
not sure if I will have another job that will
require that license after I leave Allstate.
Editor’s response: I think the article
turned out well, too. Thanks for taking time
to share your story with our readers.
While we haven’t received any written
correspondence about your article, we have
received several calls about it, all of which
were positive. If we receive some letters or
e-mails, I’ll forward them to you. We also
requested an electronic copy of the article,
which I’ll forward to you upon receipt.
We’re uncertain about your questions regarding your AFS situation. I was never
6/63 licensed, so I am not familiar with the
requirements. As I recall, however, if you
terminate your affiliation, you have two
years to re-affiliate elsewhere. But to be safe,
you may want to call our trusted AFS representative, whose name and contact information I’ll send to you separately.
Jim, thank you for the time and advice
you’ve given me over the years. I appreciate your input. I plan to travel in the
next year to visit/join/see your operation.
I have always held NAPAA in high esteem for its high morals and standards.
You are a true champion of the working
class agents, whose honesty built this
company and made it profitable.
I’ve been appointed by Aflac as an independent agent and I love it. They go
out of their way to look after their agents
AND their customers. They are an excellent fit for my agency and I pick up
lots of referrals from them. When you
see the awards they’ve earned for customer service and most ethical company,
I cannot help but wonder what the hell
those jack-asses at Allstate are thinking
and why they can’t treat their agents and
customers the same way.
I really enjoy working with different
companies and even though some representatives arrive at my office while I’m
meeting other reps, they are always very
courteous and professional to each other.
Since I’m fairly new at this, there is
still a long road ahead for me. But if the
support I’ve received from the companies I’m appointed with is any indication
of things to come, I am more confident
than ever that we will achieve what we
have set out to do.
There is life after Allstate!
I look forward to hearing from the
folks from The Kindness Revolution. It
sounds interesting and very positive.
I will renew my membership. At first I
was undecided because of the upcoming
commission reduction, which is forcing
us to reduce overhead. But after reading an agent’s letter in the recent issue
of Exclusivefocus, I decided to renew. The
letter was about the decrease in revenue
during certain months in 2011 and 2012.
I was also trying to uncover the cause of
the decrease, but I didn’t have enough
time to do a full-scale comparison of
2012 paid renewals vs. the 2011 renewals. What I found is that it is very difficult
to compare prior years with the current
year because Allstate pays us when they
receive the customer’s payment, which
could be early one year and late the next.
It was just too difficult, so I gave up trying to figure it out. Besides, I was spending too much time investigating and not
enough time running my agency.
We need a better method to track what
we are getting paid for. I was alarmed that
one agent’s inquiry led to the conclusion
that agents do not get paid for Allstate
policy increases unless the agent did the
increase endorsement. That is shocking
and must be investigated. I appreciate all
you do to help the agents, who are the
backbone of Allstate. I am renewing.
After more than 30 years as an Allstate
agent, the company effectively confiscated my book and limited me to two buyers. One didn’t have any money, so I sold
to the other one. Then three days after
I signed the Purchase/Sale Agreement,
I received a 90-day termination notice.
It was signed by the local sales leader
who knew the sale would take place on
or before June 1, 2012. The letter was
to let me know that as of July 1, 2012, I
was history for failing to achieve my Expected Results. This tactic –delivering a
termination notice after a sale has been
arranged – is spiteful and underhanded.
Is the purpose to give sadistic managers
one last chance to gloat over someone’s
misfortune? Or perhaps the Region gets
kudos for the number of agent termination letters it sends out. Whatever the
purpose, it is offensive and in poor taste.
NAPAA has been, and continues
to be, a beacon of information for the
agency force. Allstate should be more
forthright, not only with new agents, but
tenured ones as well. Goals should not be
a moving target, determined at the whim
of corporate management. I absolutely
agree the Board of Directors needs to
hold not only Tom Wilson accountable,
but all senior leadership.
To me, their accountability should
encompass (no pun intended) not only
profits, but PIF. Tom Wilson has decimated long-term clients, those loyal customers from whom an agent could get
credible referrals.
I love the USAA commercial: “I got
mine when.” Allstate could learn a lesson here. If you don’t get the kids when
they come off the parents’ policy, you
don’t have much of a chance after they
reach 25 or 30, unless you are willing to
spend an arm and a leg on advertising.
But, that’s what Allstate expects.
It’s their business model. I didn’t agree
with it, so I left.
For information on how to
to submit a letter to the
editor, see page 59
for information.
Fall 2012
Fall 2012
feature
To BRE or not to BRE:
That is the Question
By Lezlee Liljenberg
R
ecently, I had a little dilemma over
the ongoing saga of the Branded
Retail Environment (BRE) and
the accompanying inspection program.
Every time I walk into my satellite office
and see those two chairs, side table and
silver letters, I am reminded of IKEA. As
far as I could see, the biggest difference
was the vast increase in price that I paid
for the Swedish décor through Allstate.
If only IKEA had been an option.
I really love to decorate, so my offices have always been in great taste; very
professional and what many would call
“homey.” For eight years, the comments
regarding my offices have always been
positive and people feel at home and
comfortable when they visit. Then along
came BRE, and I was forced to spend
ridiculous amounts of money to actually
make my offices look worse.
I am sure there are many agents out
there – probably too many to mention –
that have a mess of an office and perhaps
in those cases, something needed to be
done. After all, the Allstate brand is our
brand and shoddy offices look bad for
all of us. So Allstate made a decision to
make its offices consistent, in spite of the
fact that for some of us, the upgrade is
actually a downgrade. And adding insult
to injury, it cost us over $3,000 per office to lower our standards. I think not!
I could have outfitted, advised and decorated hundreds of agencies for a fraction
of the cost that agents have been forced
to pay.
What I keep wondering is if someone
is getting a kickback, a bonus, a commission – call it whatever you want – from
this “contract with the Devil?” Someone,
somewhere must be benefitting from selling our “décor souls” to the highest bidder.
My curiosity began to run wild, so for
grins, I went to IKEA and found a similar version of the BRE and priced it out.
Then I paid a visit to a favorite, local sign
guy and I priced the lettering, the beacon
and the vinyl. Here is what I found:
EKTORP TULLSTA ARMCHAIR
$149.00 EACH
LACK SIDE TABLE
$34.99 Each
Silver Lettering & Hands
My sign guy said he could probably
only do it for a little less than the prices
being offered through Allstate.
Vinyl & Beacons
The sign guy told me the signs were pretty much in line with what he would charge.
So, what it boils down to is this:
• The BRE package as a whole is
overpriced at $3,000.
• This is especially true for the furniture being sold by the company
furniture vendor.
• The sign company is reasonable
and is reducing their price due to
volume.
• It seems that someone is making a
“hefty” profit with the BRE package that is being forced upon the
agency force.
How is it that one person, without the
benefit of volume “buying power” can find
respectable BRE look-alike furniture for
$1,000 and a major corporation, with all
its bargaining power, can’t negotiate a better BRE package for less than triple the
cost? How? Because they are passing the
expense on to the agent, so why worry
about the cost? Price doesn’t matter when
you decide you will force it upon an unwilling audience and then mandate that
the changes be made or ELSE!
Again, let me reiterate – I am in
agreement with protecting the brand,
but if the company is going to spend all
of this money on inspections and whatnot, then allow some leeway for individuality. Offices that do not need “fixing”
– leave alone. Those that do need “fixing,” call me and I will set them up with
an affordable alternative. No kickbacks
required! Ef
Lezlee Liljenberg is an active Allstate agent
in Arlington, Texas and is a proud member
of NAPAA Board of Directors.
Fall 2012
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featured profile
Gone, But Not Fading Away
By Gerry Flores
I
never thought after being raised in
Mason City, Iowa that I would ever
sell insurance. In college, I studied biology and minored in chemistry as I was
planning to pursue a career in medicine.
On a beautiful fall day during my junior
year, I was hitchhiking from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa to Mason City,
when a Lifetime Cookware manager
pulled over and gave me a ride. Before I
knew it, I would be selling pots and pans
to single working girls. It was a great
part-time job for a young guy sporting
a fifties-style ducktail. Most guys would
kill for a job selling pots and pans to
single girls, but I never mixed business
with pleasure – not that I wasn’t tempted
from time to time. While most everyone
else my age was flipping burgers to make
a few bucks, I had a job that put serious
money in my pocket.
For a kid from Mason City, I thought my
academic record as an undergrad was acceptable and better than average. But when
graduation day rolled around, I learned that
my 3.0 GPA wouldn’t get me into medical
school. With my dreams dashed, I opted to
go to graduate school where I got a full ride,
including a salary for teaching. But I hated
it and left after one year.
I had several offers to sell pharmaceuticals, but there was a catch. My draft
status was 1A. Hence, I was ripe to become a combat corpsman in the Army.
Hello Vietnam! I remember the draft
board telling me that my notice would
be sent out the following Monday. That
Friday, I enlisted in the USAF. It was a
four-year stint that I don’t regret, but I
wouldn’t care to do it again.
Shortly after my discharge, I ran low
on funds and went to visit my best buddy
from my Air Force days. Sitting at the
bar in the local VFW club in Wilmar,
Minnesota, I was watching the bartender interact with the vets. I soon found
out he was a part-time insurance agent
who was trying to convert their military life insurance policies, which at the
time were issued under the Serviceman’s
Group Life Insurance (SGLI) program.
My friend said, “Gerry, that would be a
good opportunity for you.” Well, it made
sense. I was a vet and I could BS with the
best of them, so I thought I would give
the insurance business a try.
My cousin sold appliances at Sears
and told me that the Allstate agent there
made more money than the store manager. This got my attention. Next, I went
to an LSO – a company sales office housing several tenured agents – and all five
employee agents told me that Allstate
was the place to be, so I applied for a job.
I was promptly turned down because I
was single. The District Sales Manager
(DSM) appealed on my behalf and I
became an Allstate agent effective 8-011971. In those days, new hires received
a monthly stipend – called a “guarantee”
– for 3 years. My guarantee was $800 per
month. If I earned more in commissions
in any given month, the company would
pay commissions only. It was a good system because all I had to worry about was
finding ways to exceed the guarantee.
I worked at a booth in Sears with a
skillful old Irishman for 20 years. He
was my mentor. Management promised
that if I survived, they would assign his
accounts to me when he retired. I later
understood how the American Indians
felt about broken treaties. I never saw
any of those accounts; they all went to
a newbie and they let him sell them to
another newbie in June 2000.
For the next six years, I was a Neighborhood Office Agent (NOA). Then in
June 2000, the company dropped a bomb
on the agency force. Employee agents
like me would all be fired and rehired
as EAs. This would cost us dearly as we
lost all company benefits in exchange for
promises of independence, which turned
out to be just another example of broken treaties. I had mixed feelings about
becoming an EA, but with two children
entering college, I thought it was prudent for me to put my faith in God and
stay onboard. Thankfully, my wife found
a job with medical insurance.
By 2007, I knew it was time to see if
there was life outside Allstate. I had been
a NAPAA member for around 17 years.
Up to that point, I don’t think I called
NAPAA more than a few times. I just
paid my dues and kept both eyes open. I
started calling Jim Fish, who seemed to
be a good guy and he gave me some good
Fall 2012
ideas. At the time, I was pretty stressed
out because I was going through a second bout with cancer, making it hard to
stay focused and think clearly. While I
listened intently to Jim’s ideas, my mind
was cluttered with other thoughts, which
distracted me. In the end, I acted on
some of his ideas, but not all of them.
So anyway, April Fools’ Day came
along and after nearly 37 years, I was finished with Allstate. Being somewhat introspective about those 37 years, I often
wonder how in God’s name I ever did it.
NAPAA helped me with ideas to find a
buyer, but the buyer had no insurance experience and he bailed out in September
of that same year. Had I known the buyer was going to bail within six months,
I would have been much more prudent.
I had an attorney, but he was unfamiliar with some of the clauses in the Asset Purchase Agreement. If I had it to
do all over, I would have made sure the
attorney had some experience with buying and selling Allstate books of business
– it would have saved me a ton of grief.
To agents that are selling, don’t be penny
wise and dollar foolish.
General Douglas McArthur once gave
a speech to Congress in which he said, “I
still remember the refrain of one of the
most popular barrack ballads of that day
which proclaimed most proudly that “old
soldiers never die; they just fade away.”
So when I retired, Jim Fish called to ask
if I was willing to help NAPAA grow. I
said “yes.” I thought, “Aha, this old Allstate agent isn’t going to fade away, he’s
going to work for Jim and Nancy Fish at
NAPAA. Well, here it is 4½ years after
departing the Good Hands Company
and I am still preaching the gospel of
NAPAA.
One of the funniest things that happened to me while I was an agent –
which wasn’t so funny at the time – was
when my manager came to the booth to
give me and my booth buddy our annual
reviews. My partner wanted to go golfing
after his review, so he went first. In those
days, the reviews were done in the Sears
breakroom. While he was giving my partner his review, I noticed that he had left a
file folder behind with my name on it. I
figured it was something I was supposed
to look at before he met with me. But
Fall 2012
when I opened the folder, my eyes almost
popped out of their sockets! He had meticulously documented every instance –
including dates and times – where I had
uttered a bad word or had said anything
contrary to the company’s thinking. I
couldn’t believe it; it was like he was the
Allstate KGB. So, when he came back, I
told him I thought he had left the file for
me to review. His face turned cherry red.
In case you are wondering, he never gave
me my review; he was probably much too
disconcerted. I think he faked my signature and sent it in. Anyway, I never saw
much of him after that, which was fine
with me. Needless to say, I never trusted
Allstate management after that incident.
While working for NAPAA, I get a
chance to speak to many agents. We talk
about the good old days and the challenges facing today’s Allstate agents.
One of the agents I signed up told me
a story that occurred around 2000. The
agent had just bought his father’s book
of business when an agent friend of his
dad’s passed away. The son and his dad
went to the wake to pay their last respects. What the agent told me next
took my breath away. He said the deceased agent’s allegiance to the company
was well-known, and hanging above his
coffin was one of those lighted Allstate
signs that could be found in every Allstate booth in the country. I said, “You’ve
got to be kidding,” but he insisted it was
a true story. In the back of my mind, I
asked, “Pray tell my Lord and Savior,
how many agents would do that today?”
During this last four years, I have helped
numerous new NAPAA members increase
their AFS production. My last year with
Allstate was my best; I had $128,000 in
AFS production. I have always been willing to share my AFS sales secrets with
anyone who is willing to join NAPAA. I
can show you six different ways to make
money and keep Allstate happy. These are
out-of-the-box methods you can use on
your own book. Once you join, I’ll email
these techniques to you and your EFS will
love you for it. To learn more, give me a call
at 563-564-1800. Ef
Attention New Agency Owners
who either Bought an Agency or
were Assigned a Book of Business
Are you frustrated with your FSL for not providing you with
“Proven” methods to write more Life and Annuity Business
from your Book of Business?
Let me show you a proven plan to increase your sales
when you join NAPAA. With my plan, you’ll keep your FSL
off your back and make your EFS Happy – or you can do it
yourself and put the $$$ in your pocket.
For more information, please contact:
Gerry Flores
Napaa Benefits Representative
563-564-1800
feature
Give the Devil His Due
By Dave Thorpe
I
n my last article, we reviewed what
ultimately happened to certain Allstate agents who left the company and
went on to bigger and better things. In
recent years, we’ve seen large numbers of
agents leave the company and, of course,
we wish them the best. I’ve heard various numbers and my understanding is
that the agency force has been reduced
by something like 30 percent. For those
remaining agents, is this a good or bad
thing? Personally, I think it’s a great
thing and gives the remaining agents
new opportunities.
Everyone’s complaining about auto
rates. If you write an auto policy it’s usually because the client dislikes his present
carrier for service or claims, thinks Flo
has gotten too plump and complacent, is
disgusted with the shameless flag-waving of USAA and/or likes the less pompous Allstate mayhem commercials – but
these folks are too few and far between.
Back to the greatly reduced agency force:
less agents on every street corner means
more clients visiting your office to service
their accounts. So while changing vehicles
for a dispossessed client, what’s a good line?
How about “My goodness Mr. Smith I see
you have three kids and no life insurance;
shame on the previous agent. He’s left the
company and I see the reason why. Look,
we just lost a client and paid off a $500,000
claim…” and so on. Oh, and don’t forget;
the client doesn’t get an insurance card until he listens to your spiel.
Of course you’re selling tons of life
insurance to your own clients, right? If
not, you need to stop whining about auto
rates and start selling policies that are
competitively priced, like those aforementioned life insurance policies. The
great thing about life insurance is that
few people shop for it. So even if your
rate isn’t the lowest, they’ll probably never know.
Do you have a mature book of business that you recently purchased? Or a
mature book you haven’t yet worked
thoroughly? Let’s say a longtime client
dies. The first step is to go to the funeral.
This is absolutely de rigueur. Then call
the widow to arrange for name changes,
auto usage changes, things that clients
need to do when a spouse passes. This is
what big time agents do. If the deceased
had life policies with other companies or
with Allstate, you need to explain to the
widow that although the death benefits
are usually non-taxable, she must invest
in tax qualified plans to keep the tax man
away. Also, since many clients are unprepared to handle a financial windfall,
they should be cautioned against loaning
or giving money to relatives. An annuity
is a great excuse for the widow to turn
down greedy opportunists. “I’m sorry
cousin Hilaria, all my money is tied up in
an annuity to help me in retirement and
put my kids through college.”
I have a close working relationship
with a very top producer. He recently
went to the funeral of a longtime client.
In the post mortem meeting, he converted the existing term policy of the widow
to a variable UL. As the deceased’s policy was in excess of $700,000, he’s now
working on an appropriate tax qualified
annuity. When all’s said and done, the
total commissions will exceed $25,000.
This agent isn’t doing a lot of whining about auto rates. One other point;
both the top producer and I have large
Fall 2012
UL policies and tax sheltered annuities
with Allstate. These are also tremendous
selling tools. There’s nothing like demonstrating to the client that you practice
what you preach.
Years back, I sold a $500,000 life policy
to a supposedly legal immigrant from Culiacan, Mexico. Personally, I’ve never been
overly cautious about checking citizenship or legal status; I’m an insurance agent
not an ICE agent. Several months after
the sale, his wife showed up with a Mexican death certificate. He had drowned in
a reservoir outside of Culiacan. Naturally,
I wanted a speedy death claim along with
a death proceeds check for the widow so I
could sell her a life policy and possibly an
annuity. Of course, I was also concerned
about the welfare of her and the kids. But
the claim dragged on and on and the wid-
ow cried unceasing tears. The claims people wanted recovery of the body. I tried
to explain to the claims person that a lot
of bodies aren’t recovered in Mexico and
even if the body was recovered, it might
be lacking its head. In addition, Mexican authorities never bother dragging a
lake for one more body. God knows how
many they’d pull up, not to mention the
expense.
Anyway, the wife kept bugging me and
I kept bugging the claims people. I decided to get one more heart-wrenching
statement from her in Spanish and fax
it to claims. I drove to her house, but
her street was blocked off, so I tried the
alley. As I parked adjacent to her back
yard, I noted a man barbecuing in the
yard. I recognized him. It was the either
the deceased or his identical twin. He
took one look at me, and after turning as
white as the ghost he appeared to be had
he drowned, he ran back into the house
and locked the door. I reported this attempted fraud to claims. And since he
thought we might pursue criminal action, he self-deported. But this little anecdote shouldn’t deter anyone from doing business with immigrants.
It was an interesting experience in my
career and something you don’t run into
with P&C. The moral of the story is that
sometimes the company knows what it’s
doing. Ef
Exclusivefocus readers have been very
good at posting me with their anecdotes
and I want to hear more. Readers can contact me through my website at www.davethorpe.net.
Allstate’s Future Course
Is Anyone’s Guess
by Brian Spillman
H
ere we go again. The company
has decided to make a complicated “grid” to use as a stick to encourage sales performance. It starts out
in 2013 with friendly numbers – you’ll
only need to write four autos a month to
stay on track. But that’s not the point, is
it? No. The point is to introduce this new
platform to the agency force. This way,
the agents will be used to it by the time
the company decides to jack up the numbers to unrealistic levels.
Having recently sold my agency, I
am thrilled that I don’t have to abide
by this crazy grid. It’s hard enough for
agencies to figure out what they will be
paid from month-to-month using the
new 12-month moving life application
count. And this isn’t even taking into account the numerous technical errors the
company will surely encounter while trying to pay thousands of agents different
commission levels each month. Can you
say “Nightmare?”
The key here is that the company is
Fall 2012
not going to let up on its all-too-familiar
“produce or get the hell out” message. It
is in stark contrast with the message that
Mr. Winters gave at the National Forum
in Vegas, where he declared, “There’s a
place for every agent at Allstate.” Apparently, he forgot to add, “as long as you
are producing new business.” There still
seems to be no place for agencies, who
for good business reasons of their own,
don’t want to grow.
Not too long ago, there were agencies
which were a bit like the local corner bakery. They were a place where customers
loved to stop and visit, where agency employees enjoyed their jobs and the agency
took good care of its customers. Allstate
still won in this scenario because these
agencies had good retention and loss ratios.
I’m not sure which books the company has
read about small businesses, but there are
some very good and compelling reasons for
a small business to limit growth!
It’s not that I don’t understand change
– it happens. But I don’t understand
change for bad business reasons. If you
want to grow as a company, the solution
is simple – just hire new agencies! Leave
the high-retention agencies alone. This
will help to grow the company faster. If,
on the other hand, new agencies can’t
make it, as the company claims, then
there’s a problem with the product, the
pricing, the method of distribution, and/
or the advertising.
Currently, the company’s answer to
what’s wrong with new agencies is that
they don’t have enough capital to stay in
business. But they still won’t if they are
paying off huge loans from buying large
existing agencies. They will be cashstrapped. I’m not sure if the company
thought of that, or cares. But it’s a fact.
It’s anybody’s guess what the endgame will look like at Allstate, but it will
certainly be very interesting to watch
from the sidelines. Sometimes spectators
have a better time at the game than the
players and coaches. I have season tickets
at the 50-yard line and I’m thrilled!
feature
I’m So Proud of You
A letter to a terminated agent
Dear 25-year ex-Allstater,
I am so proud of how you survived the
horrific experience of selling your business. It never should have been such a
brutal and abusive experience, but you
had a buyer, who with his attorney, were
determined to squeeze everything possible from you. In all likelihood, com18 — Exclusivefocus
pany managers conspired with them,
filling their heads with ideas about how
to extract more and more from you, as
if you hadn’t conceded enough already. I
say this because there is just no way your
buyer and his shyster lawyer could have
come up with so many ridiculous demands unless they were privy to inside
information.
How is it, for example, that the buyer
insisted that you should work for him for
free for months after the sale? I am also
curious how they found out you were on
a warning letter, making you even more
susceptible to their despicable lowball tactics, such as demanding your last month’s
commission. They claimed that without
it, the buyer would have insufficient “operating capital” – as if the lack of which
was somehow your fault. Then they informed you that the sale would include
all agency property and that all you would
be permitted to take were your personal
effects. They claimed that the Company
told them, “This is the way it is done.”
You thought you were all done with
the sale and began to remember it as a
horrible nightmare. You didn’t get the
price you deserved and you had to make
concession after concession because
you were under the gun. But you said,
“What’s done is done; time to move on.”
You thought you could begin to chill out
because you closed the deal, but then
part two of your never-ending nightmare
began. Incessant texts, calls and emails
from the buyer starting at 7:00 a.m. and
ending at 11:00 p.m. daily – for months
– making demands and whining about
this or that. Obviously, the evil twins still
wanted more than the pound of flesh
they already took from you. Good for
you that you decided early on to ignore
their calls and attempts to contact you
with their outrageous ultimatums and
unremitting exploitation of your good
nature. After all, the buyer’s sleazeball attorney ignored you and your attorney for
days at a time, forcing your attorney to
do most of the legal work, leaving you to
pay the lion’s share of the legal bills. Of
course, when he did speak to your attorney, he was as charming and affable as he
could be, but in reality, he was as hateful
Fall 2012
and disrespectful as they come.
And all the while, the stress was killing
you, and your health – which wasn’t the
best to begin with – took a turn for the
worse. And none of the players, including Allstate management, cared. Their
only concern was completing the deal,
regardless of the costs.
Now you are free and the worst is over.
You can wish him well with his business and move on. And please do move
on. Your creativity has been stifled for a
very long time and it’s time to get back
to doing the things you love, things that
will help you live. Once the bitterness
subsides, you will remember the things
that made you laugh. You will once again
breathe the fresh spring air and embrace
the healing power of nature. You’ll be
able to spend quality time with your
family. Then maybe, just maybe, you’ll
feel joy in your life once more.
Most of all, you must focus only on
getting your health back. You are dealing
with a serious health situation now. And,
no matter what the other side knew during the course of your sale, the pummeling continued.
Fall 2012
It was relentless and I am proud that
you somehow managed to get through it
all. It was so unprofessional, so unnecessary to ever do business this way.
You turned the other cheek many
times throughout this terrible ordeal, but
that is who you are. You are a giver, not a
taker, and you were treated unfairly, not
just by one person, but by several. Despite this, I know you still wish the buyer
well. He has partnered with a company
that mirrors his values and disrespects
people just as he does. Maybe one day,
he will come to regret the horrible things
he was advised to do, and did.
I am proud of how you survived, 25year agent; I don’t know how you did.
You were used, abused and bullied by
unscrupulous persons who cared only for
themselves. But you can hold your head
high because you never stooped to their
level – you have always acted with dignity and in good faith.
Thankfully, you had many friends and
loving people in your life to support you
during those trying times. They include
your agent friends who, like you, suffered
through difficulties at the hands of All-
state, yet they were always there to prop
you up before you fell.
I’m sorry that your elderly parents, no
matter how you tried to shelter them,
saw the horrors of how the company – to
which they paid higher than average premiums and to which they were extremely
loyal – treated their child.
Before I go, I want to wish you all the
happiness and sunshine that you deserve.
There is a lot of cruelty in this world
and you have certainly experienced your
share. And finally, thank you for sending
me the following note:
“Goodbye Allstate. You gave me a good
life and a lot of opportunities before everything changed. God help the rest of
the agents, especially those with long careers, who are unappreciated and at risk of
having their careers ended unceremoniously like mine. I hope they have the fortitude to endure the many problems that
lie ahead. God forbid they have to deal
with the evil forces that I did.”
Most sincerely,
A friend, whose life was near ruin and
then most probably saved...
feature
The Short-lived Career
of a Promising New Agent
Submitted Anonymously
I
was approached by Allstate during
October of 2011 after a friend, with
my permission, exchanged my name
for the $5,000 bounty that Allstate pays
for successful referral candidates who are
approved and become Allstate agents.
After successfully completing Allstate’s tests and meeting their financial
requirements, I was offered a position as
an independent contractor agent, subject
to me obtaining the necessary licensing
from the state. I attended the required
classes and obtained the necessary licenses in December. Then in January, I
started training at Allstate, which I assumed would teach me the fundamentals of operating an Allstate Insurance
agency. After nine weeks of intensive
training, I opened my agency on March
1, 2012, only to discover that I still did
not know much about insurance. I find
it odd that a company seeking to hire
people from outside the insurance industry doesn’t do a better job of preparing
its new agents for their first real-world
insurance experience.
Since one of Allstate’s requirements
was for me to hire two LSPs, one of my
first priorities was to find and hire suitable support staff. After conducting many
interviews, I was fortunate enough to hire
and appoint an experienced LSP, satisfying half of Allstate’s requirement. Needless to say, the company was not happy
that I had opened my agency with only
one LSP and there was daily pressure for
me to have another appointed. But having been a business owner for more than
20 years before coming to Allstate, I knew
just how important the correct staff would
be to my success. Consequently, I was not
prepared to settle for simply anyone – especially someone who did not meet my
standards – just to satisfy Allstate’s rigid
demands. I decided to continue looking
for a viable candidate we could train in
case I was unable to find another experienced producer. I wasn’t terribly concerned about it because I knew that many
agencies my size could operate successfully with only one LSP.
Then after two months of searching, I
finally found someone with the skill set
I wanted. I hired her and we paid for licensing classes. I am happy to report that
my instincts were correct; she was well
worth the wait. And at least for the time
being, the Allstate management monkey
was off my back.
Our first month was a disaster. It was
like we were chasing our tails as we tried
to write new business, learn Allstate’s
systems and procedures, and get through
training from the FSL and APS. Changes
in management didn’t help either. In the
five months between the time I started
talking with Allstate and the date we first
opened the doors to our agency, Allstate
had changed FSLs three times and by
June, we were on our 5th APS. This turnover in management began to make me
wonder what I had gotten myself into.
We were also promised the services of
an EFS and it was strongly recommended
that we refer all our life business to them.
That promise went unfulfilled and we
never got an EFS – but that did not let us
off the hook to meet the life requirements.
In fact, the pressure only increased.
In April and May we stepped up our
direct mailing campaign. Having 20 years
Fall 2012
experience in that field, I knew how to get
results with direct mail and it worked. We
had two very good months, qualifying us
for our tier 2 bonuses. In spite of our success with direct mail, Allstate insisted that I
continue to buy internet leads even though
I had found them to be a waste of time and
money. It’s not as if I hadn’t made genuine
efforts to get them to work, but after trying
five different internet lead companies for
three months with unsatisfactory results,
I decided it was time to stop spinning my
wheels and put my money into other marketing strategies. Of course, the company
wasn’t keen on my decision to abandon internet leads. Their adamant belief in internet leads led me to wonder just how much
marketing savvy they really had. Don’t get
me wrong; I believe they were only trying to help me grow my book, but I wasn’t
about to throw my marketing dollars away
to make them happy. Maybe internet leads
still work well for some agents, but to me
they are a thing of the past, at least in my
experience.
During the period leading up to the
launch of the new House and Home
product this past June, I discovered we had
prepared 500 quotes from which we wrote
nearly 90 policies. I was frustrated because
we were fairly competitive on auto, but
not so much on homeowners. Every time
we failed to close a sale and the customer
walked away empty-handed, I was disappointed. Of course I knew we couldn’t
win them all, but an 18% closing ratio was
unsatisfactory to me. Then I went to one
of the many seminars/product launches/
town hall meetings that I was expected
to attend and I was shocked to learn that
Allstate’s closing rate nationwide was 12%
and nobody seemed surprised. I thought,
“What’s wrong with this picture? They
are proclaiming that an 88% failure rate
is acceptable.”
It was also at one of these meetings
that we were informed about the new
House and Home policy. I was told that
it would be a “game-changer” and that
Allstate would be much more competitive than before. Bearing this in mind, I
soldiered on, anticipating great things to
come and when the launch day arrived,
I quickly re-quoted some of the homeowner policies I had priced-out under
the old policy a few days earlier in order
Fall 2012
to compare the savings. Imagine my surprise, shock and disappointment when I
discovered that at the very best, the premium increased by $400 while another
went up $800! Game-changer my a**.
Once again, I listened and believed to
what they said and, once again, I was disappointed… this would be a deal-killer.
I enjoy the insurance industry. I have
forged many lasting relationships over the
years and my commitment to customer
service – as well as my reputation as a
straight shooter – would suffer irreparable
damage if I put Allstate’s goals ahead of my
customers’ needs. So I started doing some
research into becoming an independent
broker where I could select from an array
of insurance carriers to meet my customers’
needs instead of having to look into every
nook and cranny to find someone who
might qualify for Allstate.
Becoming an independent agent is not
an easy task, but I would do it all over again
if needed. I informed Allstate about my
intention to go independent and then the
fun began. My FSL had no idea what to do
next and even though the situation became
very awkward from there on out, Allstate
insisted that I serve out my 90 days as per
our contract. It was a given that I would
not breach the non-compete and I accepted that as par for the course.
To this day, I have not been contacted by management to inquire about my
“surprising and sudden departure.” But
after two weeks or so, I was informed
by email that my 90-day notice period
would be extended by 30 days for reasons that made little sense to me. It was
then I contacted Jim Fish from NAPAA
to seek advice.
Jim responded to my plea for help very
quickly and then I received a follow-up call
from Nancy Fish. After speaking to them,
the dark clouds gathering on the horizon
were whisked away by a gust of refreshing
wind. I followed Jim and Nancy’s advice
about the options available to me and Allstate released me immediately. I have since
heard nothing more from Allstate, except
for the FedEx shipping label I received to
send my customer files to them.
At this point, I am waiting to receive
the infamous “cease and desist” letter
that seems to be standard operating procedure for them, regardless of whether
one is in breach of the non-compete or
not. But when that day arrives, I will be
prepared to handle that as well.
I have joined the local Independent Insurance Agent Association, which has
helped me set up E&O insurance, bonds,
and many other things that had never
crossed my mind. I joined an independent
agent cluster, enabling us to become appointed with top carriers that may not have
otherwise given us a second look. We also
have direct appointments with some carriers. I have been impressed with the independent agency system and how customers
react. I was surprised to see how much more
receptive potential customers were when I
was able to present them with choices.
I am under no illusion that it will be any
easier being an independent agent. However, not having the constraints of being
a captive agent has its rewards and we
are already seeing the benefits. Certainly
every carrier has its own set of rules and
requirements, but I am able to live with
that. I am looking forward to building my
agency around my customers.
Yes, my time at Allstate was brief, but
I could see the handwriting on the wall.
With Allstate, I was never going to be
an “independent contractor” in the truest sense of the meaning. Sure, I could
have kept plodding along, accepting
lower commissions and hoping for the
best, but I chose to move on before I
became so entrenched that it would be
impossible to leave. I also did not want
to look back a few years from now and
regret that I missed the opportunity to
make the change. For me, the time to act
was today, not five or ten years from now.
I would like to stop to make a point
here. It is common practice for independent agents to join one of the independent agent associations available to them.
These associations wield a lot of power
because of their strong membership base.
I think it fair to say that if NAPAA enjoyed the same level of support as the
independent agent associations, many
of the setbacks Allstate agents have suffered over the past decade may have been
averted. NAPAA helped me in my time
of need and someday, you may require
their help too. I urge you to join now.
Thank you Jim and Nancy for all your
help and words of encouragement. Ef
feature
Great Expectations
New Agents; is Allstate Everything it was Cracked Up to Be?
A
career as a professional insurance
agent can be extremely rewarding,
both in the sense of personal accomplishment and monetary results. Like
any start-up business, the early years can
be grueling, but once established, the rewards can be great.
As a licensed insurance agent, you will
have a great responsibility. Thousands
of consumers will place their security in
your hands. Using your knowledge and
expertise, you will recommend and tailor the insurance products in your “portfolio” to fit each individual’s or family’s
needs, taking into account their budget
constraints. And because of the trust
placed in you, your conduct must meet
the highest ethical and moral standards.
As you have likely already learned, being
an Allstate EA is much different than that
of other insurance agents, especially on the
independent agent side of the business.
Here, we discuss more specifically what being an Allstate Exclusive Agent
is all about.
Now, let’s get specific about the
realities of being an Allstate
Exclusive Agent...
First, you are a “captive agent,” meaning you can only sell policies through
carriers that are approved by Allstate.
You are described by Allstate as an
“independent contractor,” a label that
many, if not most, Allstate agents dispute. Since independent contractors are
not employees, you do not receive any
benefits, such as: health insurance, disability, Workers Comp, etc., and you do
not have any federal or state protections
applicable to employees, including any
type of workplace discrimination.
Your R3001 contract allows the Company to terminate its relationship with
you for any reason – or no reason – with
a 90-day notice (120 days in California).
Since you are a “captive” agent, you can
only sell Allstate products, state-mandated products ( JUA, Assigned Risk,
Fair Plan, etc.) and those products the
Company allows you to broker.
Part of being a captive independent
contractor Allstate EA means that certain
privileges that are usually enjoyed by other
independent contractor insurance agents do
not apply to you. Here are some of them:
• Your office location must be approved by the Company. If you wish to
move, you must obtain permission from
the Company.
• Your office hours and days of operation are set by the Company. Your office
must be open 44 hours per week.
• Your licensed staff is subject to
scrutiny and approval by the Company.
The Company may require additionally
that your staff be trained by the Company at your expense.
• Your phone numbers are, in effect,
owned by the Company. You are required
to allow the Allstate Call Center to answer your telephone after normal business
hours. In fact, the company controls your
telephone nearly 75% of the time; you
control it for 44 hours per week and the
Company controls it 124 hours per week.
• You have mandatory production
Fall 2012
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Fall 2012
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quotas that you must achieve or your
contract will be terminated. These quotas will likely continue for the life of your
relationship with the Company.
• You will be required to obtain securities licenses within 24 months of your
contract date. You will also have separate
financial services quotas to achieve each
year in order to maintain your affiliation
with AFS and your agency contract. If
you fail to obtain the required securities
licenses within the first 24 months of your
contract date, you will be terminated.
• Your commission and/or bonus may
be changed at any time with a short notice.
As you know, base commissions are being
reduced to 9% beginning in January, 2013.
• Certain other objectives, such as,
loss ratio, renewal ratio, growth and book
penetration must be achieved.
• You have a unilateral contract, meaning you have no input on contract changes.
• Policy premiums and underwriting
rules may be changed at any time. Even
total moratoriums on new business may
be imposed.
Mass non-renewal of policies can be
ordered by the Company.
Mandatory Reading
If you didn’t perform your due diligence before you agreed to become an
Allstate EA, it would be prudent for
you to do so now, before it is too late to
change your mind. It is essential that you
read the following material that controls
your business relationship with Allstate:
The R3001S (Sole Proprietor) or
R3001C (Corporation) contract. And
because the following documents –
which can be amended at any time by
Allstate – are expressly incorporated as
part of those contracts and contain the
“how, what and where” details that further control your “independent contractor” relationship, you must also read:
The Supplement (the 57th revision was
published June, 2012) (292 pages)
The Exclusive Agency Independent Contractor Manual (25th revision published
July, 2011) (59 pages)
Allstate Agency Standards (15th revision, July, 2011) (58 pages)
In addition, although not expressly incorporated into the contract, the Exclusive Agency Reference Guide is a must read
as well (150 pages).
This may seem like a lot of reading, but
it is imperative that you understand that
these manuals dictate your entire relationship with Allstate. As previously mentioned, your contract is unilateral; Allstate
can and does revise these “3 ring binder”
documents at will, with no input or approval from the agent. Any changes become part of your contract going forward.
“
Your contract
is unilateral; Allstate
can and does revise
these “3 ring binder”
documents at will,
with no input
or approval from
the agent.
“
Most new hires are unaware of the existence of these documents before signing the contract. The documents are
rarely handed out by Allstate recruiters,
unless requested. Such requests, however, may only be granted reluctantly – or
not at all – making it all but impossible
for prospective agents to perform proper
due diligence.
These documents are available in electronic format, and there is no reason that
potential EAs should not be able to examine them prior to executing the tenpage R3001 Agreement that incorporates
them to the entirety of the agreement.
Questions you probably should
have asked before becoming an
Allstate EA
• Is the Company in a “growth mode”
in your area?
• Has the Company restricted writing of any particular lines of insurance or
coverages, such as earthquake, wind, or
property (homeowners) coverage? If so,
what brokering opportunities are currently in place for you to assist clients
with a complete insurance package?
• How competitive are Allstate’s
rates? Are they higher, lower or about
the same as the main competition? Auto
and property insurance products generate 95% or more the income in an established agency so it is imperative that
the Company’s rates be competitive with
other carriers.
• What is the average number of
auto and property policies written by the
agents in your area?
• Can you furnish me with a cash
flow analysis that calculates the revenues
generated by these averages?
• What special requirements are
there for obtaining and maintaining securities licenses?
• What securities production quotas
are specifically required to maintain my
affiliation with AFS?
• What is the consequence of failure
to maintain the AFS affiliation?
• How often and what have been the
changes in the amount of the AFS production quotas?
• What are the current quotas for the
R3001 agent agreement? What happens
if I fail to achieve them?
• Can you provide me with a threeyear history of quotas? Note: they are
usually increased annually and are subject to change at any time with little notice.
How many Allstate agents are in my
market and will the Company add more
agents in the same area?
• What are the requirements for buying/selling a book of business?
• Will I be able to buy a book of business to grow my agency in the future, and
if so, can you provide me an assurance in
writing?
• What are the demographics of my
market and how does that information
relate to my potential for success at this
location?
Major Points
Termination of the Contract
The contract may be terminated by either party (you or the company) at any
time – for no reason or for any reason –
Fall 2012
with a 90-day notice.
In California, the company must provide a 120-day notice. The company
regularly terminates agent contracts for
failure to achieve quotas – also known as
Expected Results or Business Objectives
– for two or more consecutive years. In
many cases, if not most, extenuating circumstances, including illnesses or other
family crises, are not excused, resulting in
the agent’s termination.
Supplement, Manual
and Agency Standards
These may be revised at any time with
little or no notice. They are expressly incorporated into the Agreement, and the
changes made by the company become
part of your contract.
Commissions and Bonuses
Compensation may be changed with a
90-day notice.
Quotas (a.k.a. Expected Results or Business Objectives)
Quotas and other requirements, such
as, retention, loss ratio, growth, book
penetration, etc. are imposed, and are
regularly increased from year to year.
Termination Payment Provision (TPP)
TPP is a payment to an agent who
leaves the company and does not sell his/
her book of business to another party.
Presently, the payment is 1.5 times the
previous twelve months’ commissions. It
is currently paid out in 12 monthly payments, but for most agents, it will change
to a 24-month payout beginning in January, 2013.
Note that all policies written under one of the previous employee agent
agreements are excluded from the calculation. Therefore, if you purchase an
agency that was once owned by an employee, you may be purchasing policies
that will not be eligible for TPP.
R3001 contracts signed prior to
November, 1999, guarantee TPP to
the agent. The present contracts, the
R3001S or R3001C, do not mention a
termination payment. It is included in
the Supplement. This means the company can reduce or eliminate TPP at
any time.
Fall 2012
Sale or Purchase of a Book of Business (BOB)
One of the most attractive provisions
of the contract is the ability to transfer
interest in the agreement, which includes
the ability to buy additional agencies, or
to sell your agency.
Eventually, every agent will want to realize the value of their business by selling
it. This may be for retirement or to utilize
the capital to establish another business.
Agency valuations can fluctuate greatly.
They can be affected by a number of
variables, but oftentimes it is Company
actions that lessen the value of agent’s
books of business. These might include
massive non-renewals of auto or property policies, or heightened restrictions
for approving buyers.
The Company has complete control
over who purchases a BOB and reserves
the right, in its exclusive judgment, to
approve or disapprove any transfer. The
requirements for buyer approvals have
changed many times over the years, and
although guidelines to qualify are published in the EA Manual, these are only
guidelines; approval will occur at the sole
discretion of regional management.
As of this writing, few, if any, Allstate
agents are being allowed to purchase a
book of business and virtually no one
can acquire a book and “merge” it into
their existing BOB. At times agents
Expand
Your Agency
•
•
•
•
or
are allowed to have two agencies in the
same location. But this means they have
two separate contracts and two sets of
Expected Results, requiring them to
reach these quotas for both agencies every year.
Many agents, wishing to sell their
BOB, have not been able to find approved buyers and have had to take TPP.
TPP is usually much less than the true
market value of an agent’s BOB. Also, it
is currently spread out over 12 months,
making it difficult to capitalize a new
business with the proceeds. Of course,
when the payout period changes to 24
months in January 2013, it will become
even more difficult.
If an “outside” buyer is approved, he
must then complete Company prescribed
training before the sale transaction is
complete. This process can take several
months, a process which also hinders the
BOB sale. Ef
DISCLAIMER: This article is for informational purposes only and should not be
construed as legal advice from NAPAA or its
attorneys, and NAPAA expressly disclaims
any such advice. Certain information contained in the article may not be pertinent
to your circumstances, and is not intended
to replace an independent evaluation with
your attorney.
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sales and marketing
How to Turn Every Call Into a Sales
Call…Guaranteed!
By Bill Gough
Read the next sentence and be really
honest.
How many times a day do you notice
yourself or your support staff speak to
customers without mentioning anything
about the missing lines of insurance in
the household – especially life insurance?
The answer to this question for many
agencies is probably between 90-98%.
For agencies with good processes in
place, the ratio hovers between 50-70%.
Even the very best agencies miss up to
50% of their customer contact opportunities. When you think about it, none
of these percentages are as good as they
should be. Successful agency owners are
always looking for ways to improve their
closing ratios and increase their household penetration, but finding and refining new processes is challenging. Therefore, sometimes it pays to use proven
processes developed by others.
Enter my good friend Bill Eggar, one
of the premier Allstate agency owners
in the country. Bill consistently writes
$300,000+ in life and financial sales every year, and he does it by himself. He
doesn’t have an Exclusive Financial Specialist (EFS) because he doesn’t need
one. In addition, his agency writes 2,000
cars per year and has written about 1,000
Emerging Business (EB) policies over
the past several years.
Bill started his agency from scratch in
2002 in the midst of the Texas mold debacle. Fearful of mold claims, the insurance industry spurned new homeowner
business, leaving him with an incomplete product portfolio. It wasn’t like
today, where Allstate agents can broker
through non-Allstate carriers approved
by the company.
Faced with the choice of his agency
dying or surviving, Bill studied the very
best agents and began to write life insurance to stay afloat. One trait he possessed
that others in his position didn’t have,
was a winning attitude and an iron-clad
will to succeed. He not only survived,
he thrived because of his attitude, work
ethic and by networking with other top
agents – all of which motivated him to
be the best he could be.
In 2005, Bill focused on how his support staff interacted with customers.
In particular, he paid close attention
to what his staff said to customers on
phone calls and in-person office visits.
He started keeping meticulous records
of how long a typical service call would
take and exactly what his staff was saying during those conversations. He
would stand undetected in the hallway
outside their offices so he could listen
in without them knowing he was there.
This gave him a true picture of what
was being said, yet it spared his staff the
increased anxiety that his presence in
the room may have caused.
What he discovered was that his staff
was taking too much time processing
routine endorsements and answering
billing questions. Plus, they were just doing an average job of seeking and asking
for new sales opportunities. As a result,
Bill began tweaking his customer service process workflows and developed
an easy-to-use fact-finder for his staff to
uncover more sales opportunities without being seen as a pushy salesperson.
In time, Bill refined his Green Sheet
Process into a simple three-step system that delivers great customer service
based on promises kept to his customers.
At the same time, the process uncovers
other insurance sales opportunities in the
household, including all-important life
insurance and retirement needs.
Certainly, Bill Eggar is one of a kind.
He was able to spot shortcomings in the
way his staff conducted business with
his clients and he developed a system to
overcome them. Developing your own
processes or borrowing great processes
from others is how good agents become
great agents. Obviously, it takes time, energy and stick-to-itiveness to accomplish
this yourself, so if the must-have system
you need is commercially available, you
should consider buying it to spare yourself the hundreds of hours of research
and development it will take to perfect a
system of your own.
I cannot stress to you the critical importance of creating processes that will
continue to work in your agency, producing consistent results, month after
month. We’re taught to work Right,
then Smart, then Hard. Success comes
from working smarter, not harder. Work
smarter today by putting the right systems and processes in place.
I don’t care how seasoned and how
good you are at selling life insurance or
cross-selling your book of business, EVERY agency owner can and should be
using a similar process. It is critically important to implement a process in your
agency that can get consistent, predictable results month after month, year after year. Ef
Bill Gough is President of BGI Marketing Systems. BGI is a company dedicated to
helping Allstate agents take their agencies
to the next level of growth while maximizing profits. For more information about Bill
Eggar’s Green Sheet Process, go to www.
GreenSheetSuccess.com.
Fall 2012
GO TO THE WEBSITE NOW
FIND OUT HOW THIS SIMPLE PROCESS WILL
CHANGE YOUR AFS WORRIES FOREVER!!!
Fall 2012
feature
Your Flood Book:
Sell it, Keep it, or Transfer it… It’s Your Choice
and buying agents and does not need to
be disclosed to Allstate management.
The book, in fact, can be split and sold
to two different agents simply by providing a list of the policy numbers included
in the partial transfer with the transfer
request. The transfer request form can
be found on the “Flood Connect Portal”
website. Just click on the “Agents” tab
and look for the form in the “Agency Information/Forms” section.
Once the transfer is processed, the
buying agent will have access to all of
the policies the next day. The buying
agent will receive commissions as the
policies renew following the effective
date of the transfer.
W
ith the distraction caused by
the double whammy of reduced commissions and less
than favorable Termination Payment
terms, more and more agents are deciding to head for greener pastures.
Many agents are not aware that they
can retain an ownership interest in their
flood book of business after leaving Allstate. Fortunately, there are several options available for them to retain or sell
their flood book.
When selling an agency, the most
obvious choice is to sell the flood policies to the buyer of the Allstate agency.
This process is simple, and only requires
a “Book of Business Transfer Form” be
sent to the Flood Service Center with
the buying agent’s information.
But for agents who have not been able
to obtain approval for a buyer and are
walking away with their TPP, there are
some other options available.
The flood book can be sold in part or
in its entirety to another Allstate agent,
even if he/she is not an approved buyer
for the rest of the agency. Transfer of
the flood book is processed by the Flood
Service Center by submitting a Book of
Business Transfer Form. The form must
be signed by the selling agent, but does
not require an approval from anyone else.
The sale of the book, including the
terms of the sale, is between the selling
“A terminated R3001 Agent
will be paid for Allstate
Flood Insurance business
in process at the time of
termination of the agent’s
R3001 Agreement. Unless
sold, the agent maintains
a commission interest in
agency bound Flood policies produced until the
first policy renewal after
the agent’s termination
date. Accordingly, all subsequent endorsement and
cancellation transactions
occurring after the termination date, but before the
next policy renewal, will
also be recorded in the terminated agent’s account.”
- Source:
R3001 Supplement
Fall 2012
Rolling Flood Policies
to a new Carrier
Agents departing Allstate with plans to
open an independent agency are able to
retain the flood policy renewals by “rolling” their book to a new flood carrier.
Agents should check with their new
flood carrier to determine the process
for the rollover of the book. Generally,
you will need to provide the new carrier
with your complete flood book of business – including copies of dec pages,
Elevation Certificates and so forth – as
soon as possible, and prior to your last
day with Allstate. Most major flood
carriers have an internal “Rollover” department that will assist agents with the
rollover process.
Important: The effective date of each
new policy must be the expiration date of
the Allstate flood policy.
Allstate Flood will be sending a letter to each of your flood customers, asking them to select a new Allstate agent
to service their policy. This letter may
include inaccurate information, such as
informing the customer that you are no
longer available to service their policy.
Your customers will receive two renewal
notices; one from Allstate and one from
the new carrier.
Your new flood carrier will send a notification to the client as well as their
mortgage company (if escrowed) 90 days
prior to the renewal. This time frame
is important as it allows the new flood
carrier’s premium notice to get to the
lender and the client before the Allstate
renewal bill.
It is imperative that you inform your
customers that you are available and able
to service their current policy, and that the
renewal will be written by the new carrier.
Make sure your letter includes a statement
about flood coverage and rates being the
same for all companies. Customers will be
confused by the Allstate communication,
so you may want to remind them more
than once.
After your termination date, you will
be inactive in the Allstate system. All
endorsements for a policy that has not
reached its expiration date must be submitted via fax or mail. You will no longer have a login or be able to access policy information at AllstateFlood.com.
In addition, Allstate will not provide
declarations or any other policy documents directly to you; they will require
the customer to make the request. Ef
Remember, it is crucial that you retrieve all pertinent policy information
prior to your termination date.
Pre-termination Checklist to Prepare
for the Rollover of your Flood Book:
• Run the Policies in Force Report
from Flood Connect
• Log on to www.AllstateFlood.com
• Click Agency Profile button
• Click the blue Reports tab
• Select Policies in Force
• Sort by Expiration Date
(on the right)
• Leave the Filter by area alone
• Click view for a PDF, or dowload
for an Excel version
• Declaration pages – Print or save
to a file on your computer.
• Request Elevation Certificates
and any other pertinent policy documents that you do not have on file
from the Flood Service Center prior
to your last day with Allstate.
• Contact Flood Service Center to notify them that you will be rolling the book
to a new carrier and to request instructions and paper endorsement forms.
• Select a new carrier for your flood
book and request instructions for
their rollover process.
The Harford Flood Insurance
PARTNER WITH
THE HARTFORD,
A Leader in Flood Insurance.
The Hartford is one of the largest providers of flood
insurance, offering a full-service solution, competitive
commissions and a dedicated local Sales Director.
Email us at flood@thehartford.com
or call 866-553-5663.
With The Hartford behind you, achieve what’s ahead of you.®
Policies are written subject to the National Flood Insurance Program.
Insurance is provided by the property and casualty insurance companies of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., Hartford, CT.
Fall 2012
CLIENT
AD#
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The Hartford
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© 2012 The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., Hartford, CT 06155. All Rights Reserved.
(HFG CO)
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Cheryl Sparks
Stephanie Browne
PUB
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Prepared by
buying and selling
The Five Critical Cs of Acquisitions
By Rick Dennen
and expose new issues that must be addressed. These problems can often drain
resources – both human and financial
– that were perfectly fine before. Sometimes an acquisition can even put your
existing business at great risk.
Here are the five Cs to remember
when considering an insurance agency
acquisition. An acquisition, no matter
how we might view it, is a merger. Keep
these factors in mind to avoid hidden issues that can lead to buyer’s remorse.
Culture
Q
uick romances don’t usually
make happy, lasting marriages.
It’s easy to be in love when a relationship functions on the surface. But
the romance quickly fades as the daily
grind exposes each person’s true character. That’s why divorce rates are extremely high for hasty unions.
The statistics regarding mergers and
acquisitions are similar, as many fail to
meet buyer expectations. How could that
be? I believe both sides forget about the
“merge” and focus on the “acquire” part.
They romanticize the entire deal, setting their sights on the financial results
because that’s usually the motivation for
buyers and sellers.
A key lesson I’ve learned after funding and servicing hundreds of agency acquisitions is how critical it is for agency
Culture clashes can hurt both employee
and customer relations. If one agency has
a quiet doctor’s office-type culture and the
other is akin to a bustling café, there’s going
to be friction. Disparities in management
styles, office environments, compensation
philosophies, personalities and other differences can be enough to cause employee
conflicts and deteriorate morale. Both can
negatively affect how customers perceive
the agency and how they are treated.
owners to acquire the right company
with the right people.
Even when agency owners start the
acquisition process with an open mind,
patience and the willingness to involve
experienced brokers, accountants, attorneys and other professionals, they
can drift towards transactions that aren’t
ideal because they overlook or rationalize
away crucial details. On paper, the financials and commission projections show
great promise. On the surface, the selling
agency’s principals are decent, solid business professionals with prudent management philosophies.
The real story may be slightly or extremely far from appearances. While
the hidden details, once they surface,
may not be enough to render the deal
worthless, they may result in lower profit
Contracts
Depending upon agreements made
during negotiations, you may have to
take on carrier, employee, lease agreement and other contracts that were secured by the selling agency. Hidden
loopholes or overlooked details can result
in extra demands or expenses that your
agency is unprepared and ill-equipped to
handle. They can change the dynamics
of your agency and render healthy aspects unhealthy and vulnerable.
Carriers
Selling agents are often motivated by
rumored or confirmed carrier changes
that are anticipated in the near or distant
future. Let’s face it, through tightly-knit
networks and contacts, people learn big
Fall 2012
news about carriers or discern changes
long before official company announcements are made. Agency sellers may be
fairly certain of new requirements that
will be enforced, system or policy changes
planned, significant product modifications or other major shifts that may negatively impact the agency’s ability to grow
and maintain its existing customer base.
Customers
The value of an acquisition rests
squarely on the ability to continue the
selling agency’s commission stream; the
ability to retain its customers. Some customers have little, if any, contact with
their agents and, therefore, they have
little loyalty to them. Others are so connected with their agents they would
never consider switching. In either scenario, there’s a real risk of losing customers after an acquisition. There must be a
strong knowledge of the selling agency’s
customers and what their disposition is
likely to be once the agency is dissolved
or merged into another.
Join “ALL Agents Page”
on Facebook
All New Group for Allstate Agents
and Former Allstate Agents Only
See page 35 for how to join!
Competition
Just as agents can be motivated to sell
based on real or predicted carrier changes,
they also can be prompted to enter the
market because of impending competition.
It’s critical to know what competing carriers are planning for your market. Is there
a national or regional strategy to expand
through new start-up agencies? Are they
infusing more capital into existing agencies or into advertising to increase business? And what about competing agencies?
What information do you have about their
future moves? Agencies can be shocked
and derailed by competitive forces if they
are unaware of plans that may have been
in the works long before an acquisition. Ef
Rick Dennen is president and
CEO of Oak Street Funding,
which provides commissionbased lending for insurance
agents that need capital to
buy, build or sell their agency.
Dennen is a licensed agent
for Life, Accident & Health products and a
licensed Certified Public Accountant in the
State of Indiana. He can be reached at rick.
dennen@oakstreetfunding.com.
Fall 2012
WRIGHT BEAMER, Attorneys
SERVING NAPAA AND THE AGENTS OF ALLSTATE SINCE 2000
DIRK A. BEAMER, ATTORNEY
EXPERT CONSULTING FOR AGENTS AND THEIR ATTORNEYS ON:



ALLSTATE CORPORATE SECURITY INVESTIGATIONS
BUYING & SELLING BOOKS
ALLSTATE EA AGREEMENTS
PH: 248.477.6300
WRIGHTBEAMER.COM
DBEAMER@WRIGHTBEAMER.COM
Ready to acquire or sell?
Know why acquisitions fail to meet the
expectations of most buyers and sellers.
The majority of acquisitions fail to achieve the desired
increase in value, economies of scale, spike in profitability,
Resources to Sell,
Grow or Acquire
1
Sell your agency:
oakstreeetfunding.com/Sell
2
Position your agency
to grow and sell:
oakstreeetfunding.com/Grow
3
Take your agency to
the next level with
acquisitions:
oakstreeetfunding.com/Acquire
and other expectations.
Agency owners are predicted to acquire and sell agencies at
record levels in 2012. What do you need to know to select the
right agency or accept the right offer and how should you
prepare for the acquisition process?
To help you reach a successful acquisition outcome, whether
you are purchasing or selling, read Oak Street Funding’s
complimentary white paper on insurance agency acquisitions.
And when you need funds to invest in growth or help aligning
your agency sale with the right buyer, we can help.
Now more than ever, agencies must find a lender that
understands their needs and market conditions. Oak Street
Funding knows the insurance agency business and its unique
Contact us today at
1-877-879-6771
intangible assets.
* The materials in these papers are for informational purposes only. They are not offered as and do not constitute
an offer for a loan, professional or legal advice or legal opinion and should not be used as a substitute for obtaining
professional or legal advice. The use of these materials, including sending an email, voice mail or any other
communication to Oak Street, does not create a relationship of any kind between you and Oak Street.
TAKING YOU
WHERE BANKS
WON’T.
Rates as low as
7.5% Fixed
*
for a limited time
Competition is tough. Your agency
needs an advantage. With a lowrate loan from Oak Street Funding,
we’ll help you pull ahead of the
competition. What could you do with
the money you’re saving on your loan?
You decide. It’s your money.
• ACQUIRE AN AGENCY
• HIRE A PRODUCER
• INVEST IN YOUR BUSINESS
W
O
N
T
AC
ans
le lo
Eligib close by
must 1, 2012
3
Dec.
Oak Street Funding can help you grow your business or acquire an agency with minimal out-ofpocket cost by leveraging the power of its commission stream. Whether you need $10,000 or
$10,000,000, we’ll customize a loan for your needs.
When banks won’t help, Oak Street Funding will. Call us now to take advantage of our loan sale or
visit us online for a free quote at oakstreetfunding.com/quote.
1-877-879-6771 | oakstreetfunding.com/Quote
* Must qualify for Oak Street Funding underwriting criteria. Certain restrictions apply. Loan amounts available from $10,000-$10,000,000. Available terms up to 10 years. A minimum new money
advance of $125,000 is required for refinance of existing Oak Street loans. Loan must close and fund by December 31, 2012. Potential borrowers are responsible for completing their own
due diligence on acquisitions. California residents: Loans made pursuant to a Department of Corporations California Finance Lenders License.
sales and marketing
Networking To Grow Your Agency
By Robyn Sharp
huge boost in new customers after attending a group like BNI on a regular
basis. It does require a time commitment, but you should be able to directly
calculate how much return you see after
a few months of membership. The key is
consistency! See if there is a group available in your area or consider starting your
own chapter.
Other Networking Groups
N
etworking is an important part
of building your agency and getting more clients. When people
know who you are, they will likely choose
you over other agents in your area when
they need a quote.
Many agents aren’t sure where to go or
even what kind of networking will benefit them the most and if you try to do
too much all at once, it can be a timeconsuming and expensive process. If you
want to get your name out there, here is a
list of six great places to get started. It is
important to remember that as an agency
owner, you shouldn’t spread yourself too
thin, because your time is limited. If you’d
like to pursue multiple networking opportunities, you might want to assign key
staff personnel to represent your agency
in groups where you want a presence, but
don’t have enough time to do it yourself.
Weekly Breakfast
Networking Group
These groups are a great place to begin
if you’re looking for referrals. They meet
early in the morning to make it more
convenient for business owners to attend. The most well-known networking
association is Business Network International (BNI) (www.bni.com). There is an
annual fee to belong to a group but you
can visit at least once for free.
Members are required to attend these
weekly meetings, get to know one another’s businesses, and share referrals.
One benefit is that no two people can
be in the same industry, so there won’t
be another insurance agent. You benefit
by meeting, not just from the people directly in the group, but from the Rolodex
of all the other members!
Many referral-based businesses see a
There are other non-breakfast networking groups, some of which are dedicated to a specific cause. One that comes
to mind, and is the subject of a feature
article in this issue of Exclusivefocus, is an
organization called The Kindness Revolution™. This non-for-profit organization is relatively new, but appears to be
on verge of becoming a substantial player
in the networking arena. Like BNI, each
local group is made up of businesses that
want to promote kindness in their communities through a variety of events that
show a true commitment to kindness.
For insurance agents, one suggestion is
a “Don’t text and drive” campaign, which
is designed for local high school students.
Thanks to the efforts of NAPAA, Allstate agencies are able to get in on the
ground floor of this exciting networking
concept. Also like BNI, there is an annual fee, but when one considers the costs
of other marketing efforts and the ROE
realized, this seems like an easy decision.
For more information, go to page 42 of
this magazine to read the feature article
about The Kindness Revolution™.
Chambers Of Commerce
You are most likely already a member
of the local Chamber of Commerce, but
are you attending their events?
Typically, each Chamber offers at least
one big networking event each month,
Fall 2012
like a Business After Hours get-together. These events are usually pretty large
and very casual. Attendees range from
business owners to staff, and even include some retirees. Depending on the
size of your city, there might be many
more options than just this one event.
Check out the monthly calendar and see
what is available.
Chamber events are helpful because
you see a lot of the same people each
month. You really get to know one another quickly. Many times, the people
who attend Chamber of Commerce
events are also well-involved in the community and have a large network. Since
events are monthly instead of weekly,
it’s important to commit to attending
at least one event every single month
no matter what. Skipping will leave too
much time and it will be harder to get to
know anyone.
Special Interest
or Alumni Groups
One of the beauties of marketing an insurance agency is that basically everyone
needs what you sell. Everyone in attendance needs auto insurance and home or
renters insurance. You don’t have to run
around looking for a small narrow niche
of people at a networking event. Your target customer is everywhere you go.
This is nice because it means that your
networking doesn’t have to be limited to
business events. You can get your name
out anywhere and get more quotes.
Look at special interest groups that
you are involved in and commit to attending those events on a regular basis. The options are endless! You could
be involved in your church, your kid’s
soccer team, be on the board of a local
shelter, join a Rotary club, or join a running club. You could get involved in your
alumni association or volunteer at the
kid’s school.
Anywhere you put in time and meet
new people is going to benefit you as
you grow your agency. Your main goal
is to become better-known in the community. Then when people have a rate
increase or a bad claims experience and
go out looking for new insurance, they’ll
already have you in mind.
If you’re concerned about not having
Fall 2012
time to “network” then this is a good solution too. You are basically multi-tasking! You get to do the stuff you already
enjoy and have the opportunity to grow
your agency at the same time.
Networking With Other
Allstate Agents
Odds are that in the past you’ve joined
organizations locally that involve only
insurance agents. While occasionally
helpful, you’re unlikely to see a lot of new
clients coming from these groups because they all sell insurance, right? Plus,
many are agents for other companies and
you can’t share ideas or strategies because
you market to the same local client base.
Your time is limited and valuable so
these probably aren’t the best places to
spend hours each month when they don’t
give a lot of return.
But there is another option...
NAPAA has created an easy online
option for networking with Allstate
agents all around the country and you
don’t even have to leave your desk!
NAPAA now has a private Facebook
group available for current and former
Allstate agents only, and you don’t have
to be a NAPAA member to participate.
The goal of this group is to bring agents
together in a private setting to discuss
issues they may be experiencing, share
marketing ideas, and provide support
from people in similar situations.
Facebook is an excellent place for networking in this way because it’s very user-
friendly and easy to access. Once becoming a member of the group, you can easily
post a question, comment on others, make
a poll, or share information right from
your computer or mobile phone.
While NAPAA has offered an online
forum in the past, they decided that this
would be a more user-friendly option
and allow you to easily keep up and interact and network with other agents.
I am helping to facilitate and coordinate NAPAA’s Facebook effort. By working together, we can help as many agents
as possible!
Please go to Facebook and search at the
top for the ALL Agents Page. Since this
is a private group and membership must
be approved, you will need to request to
join. Once approved, we will add you as a
member the next day.
Networking is an important part of
being an agency owner. You need to have
strong name recognition in the community and be well-connected amongst other local business owners. Take advantage
of these opportunities and make time for
them on your calendar each week. You’ll
see more phone calls coming in, more
referrals, and faster growth. Then join
us on the ALL Agents Page and let us
know what is working for you! Ef
Robyn Sharp is a former agency owner and
insurance marketing expert. Visit www.
agencyupdates.com to receive a copy of her
free report “59 Ways to Attract All the Insurance Clients You Need.”
Join the discussion today!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/304988616263352/
Click JOIN
once you’re a member,
the link will be under Groups
on your Facebook page
Fall 2012
technology
What’s all the Fuss about Tablets?
By Scott Brodbeck
O
ne of the questions I’m asked
on a regular basis is, “Do I need
a tablet?” My answer is usually, “You may not need one, but once
you understand the convenience, you’ll
probably want one.” Tablets used to be
nothing more than oversized cell phones
– without the ability to make phone calls
– but as the technology has become more
popular and the user base continues to
grow, many people are replacing their
laptops with tablets.
The first thing to understand is that
for the most part, whatever you can do
on the Internet with your laptop you can
probably do with a tablet. As more webbased, or cloud-based, services pop up,
we move get ourselves further and further away from standalone software that
is installed on individual PCs. It has even
been rumored that the next iteration of
Microsoft Office will be cloud-based.
The convenience of carrying an iPad
Fall 2012
or an Android-based tablet rather than a
bulky laptop to an in-home life appointment not only makes you look cool, but
it also is just easier. Many companies are
developing “apps” – programs that take
their cloud-based service and optimize
the interface for your tablet – so that
you’re not trying to fill out a web-based
form using a web browser.
Not all tablets are created the same, so
there are some decisions that you have
to make before you buy. In this article,
I will try to cover the biggest and most
important differences along with some
pros and cons to help in your decisionmaking process.
iPad or Android?
When Apple first introduced the iPad,
many users had their first experience in
the “Apple Ecosystem.” Many PC users
who said that they would never use a Mac
quickly found themselves using some-
thing that sure looked “Mac-like.” Apple
spends a lot of time and money to make
sure the user experience is simple, elegant
and without bugs. In order to do this, they
exert a lot of control over the third party
apps that are available. If you want to buy
something through an app, you end up
buying through Apple rather than the
company that created the app. There is
an upside to this; Apple is the only company who has your personal information,
including your credit card number. Apple
takes 30% of whatever fees are paid for the
apps it sells, as well as for anything that’s
sold by the app. Interestingly, Apple won’t
permit the app creator to offer a better
price outside of the app. What this means
for you is that companies can’t charge
higher prices for something you buy using an app. Without going into too many
technical details, Apple also controls how
the app can behave when it’s running on
an iPad. This makes the user experience
more fluid and reduces the chances of
apps running in the background, which
could otherwise tie up system resources,
causing the foreground application to
come to an abrupt end.
Android is the Apple alternative. It
was originally developed by Google as
an operating system for cell phones, but
has since moved over to the tablet world.
Many manufacturers including Asus,
Samsung and Toshiba manufacture
Android tablets. Unlike Apple, Google
takes a much less controlling role in app
development and has remained committed to its “open source” philosophy by
willingly sharing the code for its operating system with developers.
Android refers to the operating system
developed by Google which was originally designed to work on cell phones. As
tablets were developed, they were viewed
by the Android operating system as just
cell phones with bigger screens. Over the
course of time, there have been newer
versions of the Android operating system
released, but many tablet manufacturers
don’t upgrade their existing base of tablets to the most recent operating system.
Each version of the operating system has
a name, with “Jellybean” being the most
recent. Other names that you’ll come
across are “Gingerbread,” “Ice Cream
Sandwich,” “Froyo” and “Honeycomb.”
One of the downsides of Android-based
tablets is that an app that runs on one
tablet may not run on another. One of
the reasons for this is that it was written to run under a specific version of
the operating system and there’s never
a guarantee that it will run on a different version. Don’t misunderstand; many
apps will run trouble-free, but if there is a
problem, operating system incompatibility is usually at the root of the problem.
The number of available apps continually changes, but at this time there are
many more “apps” available for the iPad
– which are downloaded from the Apple
App Store – than there are for Androidbased tablets, which are downloaded
from the Google Play Store. Since there
are hundreds of thousands of apps available for both platforms, it is really not a
big deal; you can generally find whatever
you’re looking for. However, if you have
a specific app that you must run and it’s
only available on one platform, then you
will want to purchase a tablet with that
runs it, because you can’t run an iPad app
on an Android device, and vice versa.
Size Matters
Tablets are available in either a 10inch or a 7-inch form-factor. As of this
writing, the iPad is only available in the
larger size, but it is rumored that Apple
will soon release a ‘mini’ version. The
10-inch version makes using the virtual
onscreen keyboard much simpler and
viewing a webpage requires less “pinching.” Pinching is the technique used to
increase and decrease the size of the text
within a browser window and is accomplished by using you thumb and forefinger and literally pinching the image on
the screen. So why then do people buy
a 7-inch tablet if they have to constantly
pinch the image? Portability and the
fact that a 7-inch is lighter are the usual
reasons. Seven inch tablets have become
very popular as e-readers to read electronic versions of your favorite books,
but both form-factors can easily be used
as e-readers by loading the appropriate app. The most popular e-readers are
Amazon Kindle and Barnes and Noble’s
Nook – apps for them are available for
both iPads and Androids.
My recommendation to people is to always go to the electronics store and look
at both versions; touch both versions and
look at the apps that you plan to use the
most, because you will likely prefer one
size tablet over the other.
Wi-Fi Only or 3G/4G?
If you plan to use your tablet where WiFi is readily available you can save money by purchasing a Wi-Fi only version.
These tablets require a wireless router and
internet service independent of the tablet.
If you want to use the tablet on the road,
you will probably want to get a version
that works on your cellular carrier’s service. 3G/4G enabled devices also work
on Wi-Fi so you only need to use the cellular capabilities when you are outside the
range of a wireless router. It is important
to note that when you buy a cellular-enabled tablet, you are locked into the carrier that it was designed to work with. In
other words, can’t buy an AT&T-enabled
tablet and make it work on Verizon’s service. Most tablet manufacturers offer several versions of their devices so that you
can purchase the version that works with
the service of your choice.
As more and more tablets are developed to work with cellular carriers’ 4G
capabilities – which is significantly faster than traditional 3G service – people
will gravitate to 4G networks because of
the speed in which data can be served
from the Internet. But increased speed
is a double-edged sword – the faster you
can receive data (or stream movies) the
more data you are likely to use. The days
of unlimited data are long gone with the
traditional cellular services. Verizon and
AT&T just revamped their entire menu
of services and the recurring theme
seems to be the “share everything” model. In this model, you purchase a block
of data once per month – usually sold by
the gigabyte – and you share it amongst
all of the devices on your account, including your cell phones. Adding a tablet will most likely increase the amount
of data that you’re going to use, so it is
important that you purchase the right
cellular package, otherwise you might
end up with overage charges at the end
of the month. It is generally cheaper to
buy more than you’ll use than it is to
buy less and go over.
Not all 3G/4G tablets require that you
enable the cellular service at the time of
purchase. That means that you can turn
the service on when you need it; some even
offer a pay-as-you-go plan on a month-tomonth basis with no fixed contract. This is
very convenient if you only need cellular
service once in a while (say when you go
on vacation). However, cellular-enabled
tablets can run $100 to $200 more than
their Wi-Fi-only equivalents, so knowing
what you’ll need and how often you’ll need
it will help you make the right choice between the two technologies.
Replacing your Laptop
Tablets are the mainstay for many people
who used to take their laptop with them
when they left the office. For data consumption – browsing the Internet, reading
and replying to email and watching the occasional movie – tablets can easily replace
your laptop. For data creation –typing long
or complex documents, spreadsheets or
designing Power Point presentations – a
tablet can do the job, but it will take you
more time than it would using your laptop.
Many external keyboards are now available for both iPads and Android tablets, so
even the lines between consumption and
creation are starting to blur. And in a few
years, who knows where technology will
have led us.
Do you need a tablet? Maybe. Should
you try a tablet? Absolutely! Ef
Scott Brodbeck is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and a Master Certified Novell Engineer who is also a former EA and
IA. Currently he develops technical marketing tools and provides marketing consulting
services specializing in the profitable growth
of insurance agencies. He can be reached via
email at scott@scottbrodbeck.com or by
phone at 724-622-2904.
Fall 2012
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2012
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© Copyright 2011
feature
Be Wary of the Wolf Disguised as the
Agency Business Objectives Program
A
s part of the company’s transition
to variable compensation, Allstate
will roll out a new quota schematic in January that will identify underperforming agency owners who will then be
“considered for termination.”
The Agency Business Objectives program replaces the Resources for Growth
(RFG) “grids” that were introduced in
2006. The measure of performance under RFG was the Agency Performance
Profile. Touted as “a new measurement
system designed for use across a wide
range of agency programs,” RFG was
initially thought to be a replacement for
the previous bonus structure. Agents soon
learned that RFG not only determined
the amount of their bonus; it was also the
yardstick by which thousands of agents
would be terminated for their so-called
“failure to meet business objectives.”
Each year – from 2006 through 2011 –
the RFG was adjusted, altered, and otherwise tweaked by the company. Thousands of agents failed to achieve the goals
handed down by Allstate and company
managers were then charged with handpicking select agents for termination.
Early on, it became apparent that the
oldest, most tenured agents were the first
to be considered for termination. Financial production and overall growth were
the only two factors of the five that really mattered. Later, overall growth goals
were replaced with auto growth goals and
a new category called the Agency Loyalty
Index (ALI) was introduced. ALI scores
were calculated using customer survey
responses and unfavorable scores would
soon become a stand-alone reason for terminating agent contracts at will.
Over the course of the five RFG years,
thousands of agents operated their agencies under the constant threat of termina-
tion. Letter after letter was sent to agents
warning them that “failure to achieve the
objectives could jeopardize your agency’s
continued relationship with Allstate.”
The company proceeded to rid itself
of an estimated 5,000 of its long-term,
most experienced agents. Agencies that
were built by a lifetime of sweat equity
and financial sacrifice were confiscated
by an unappreciative company with
a mere 90-day termination notice. In
most cases, these steadfast warriors were
cut loose without as much as a word of
thanks for their many years of dedicated
service. Instead, their books of business
were redistributed to new buyers, company call centers and other agents.
Looking back, some have theorized
that the events of the last twelve years –
beginning with the termination of employee agent contracts in 2000 through
the culling of the company’s most tenured agents over the past five years –
were all part of a grand scheme, which is
becoming more apparent every day.
In May, 2011, the company floated a
plan that would rock the already fractious
agency force by introducing the concept
of variable compensation, which would
reduce base commissions from 10% to
8%. Details were sketchy and inconsistent, as evidenced by the parade of often
conflicting communications that were
sent out to the field. Indeed, the company
appeared to be thrown off balance by the
backlash from NAPAA and the agency
force. Disenchanted with the prospect of
establishing agency business plans based
Questioning the Wisdom of Allstate Leadership
A continuous decline in the number of Allstate agents, accompanied by higher percentages of inexperienced agents and staff seems
to be a recipe for disaster. This intentional process is eliminating high
retention profit centers.
Rewarding exceptional profitability, retention and growth has been
supplanted with Woople, office appearance and one licensed staff.
Agent morale is at an all time low, as evidenced by Allstate’s own
Agency Relationship Survey. Yet instead of working to improve the
situation, the CEO and other top management continue to deny that
there are problems.
The company continues to implement disruptive changes, distracting the agency force with uncertainty over reduced revenues and
ever-changing guidelines that could lead to the confiscation of their
agencies.
Standard auto PIF has declined by nearly 1.25 million policies from
the all-time high of 18,271,000 in Q2 2007. Homeowner policy count
declined by 1.58 million during the same period.
Allstate is losing market share, not only to internet rivals GEICO
and Progressive, but to the nation’s largest personal lines insurer,
State Farm, which continues to successfully operate and thrive with
an agent-based distribution model.
Fall 2012
on 20% less revenue, NAPAA and the
agents pushed back hard. Finally, many
agents threw their hands up and vowed
they were giving up, declaring they could
no longer afford to run an agency with
20% less revenues and still contend with
ever-shifting quotas. That fall, an estimated 1,000 agents voluntarily resigned
from Allstate.
Pushed into a corner by the unplanned
surge of agent defections, poor morale
and NAPAA’s affiliation with OPEIU,
the company backed down and offered
a temporary reprieve for 2013 and 2014,
agreeing to move the planned base compensation rate from 8% to 9%. Without admitting it had pushed too far, the
company said the change was made to
“ease the transition to the variable component and better allow you to plan for
your business over the next several years
and determine your long term strategy.”
While the letter did not specifically provide the level of commissions for 2015
and beyond, the implication was that this
two-year reprieve was designed to “ease
the transition” to an 8% base compensation rate in 2015.
With the introduction of the variable
compensation model, the company declared the sunset of RFG in 2012.
Since December of 2011, additional
changes have been quietly announced.
Agency Success Factors (ASF) quickly
became known as the new standard to
“earn back” the 10% reduction in revenue. The Allstate Customer Experience
Survey (ACES) replaced the Agency
Loyalty Index (ALI). Payment of TPP
would soon be extended from 12 months
to 24 months. And more recently, the
company acquired the eAgent agency
management system from eBridge.
Until now, the four components of the
new Agency Success Factors were touted
as simple components to recapture the
10% loss in revenue. Upon further examination, however, agents are learning
that the structure of the new ASF requirements mean that compensation can
fluctuate from month to month, moving
back and forth between 10% and 9%,
possibly several times a year. Indeed, the
new ASF is so complicated, the company
decided to implement grace periods for
two of the four components.
Fall 2012
With the announcement of the Agency Business Objectives program, agents
have suddenly learned that failure to
achieve all four of the Agency Success
Factors will be one of the objectives of
the new “Expected Performance” measurement – which will ultimately be used
as a basis to terminate agent contracts.
Sound familiar?
RFG was introduced as the replacement for the Agency Achievement Bonus, but by the end of its five-year existence, it is being remembered by most as
the company’s principal agent termination tool.
What does the future hold for the
Agency Success Factors? Will they
continue to be the relatively simple requirements needed to earn back commissions that they are today? Will the
four components be altered, tweaked and
manipulated, enabling the company to
drop commissions whenever it wants to
decrease its expense ratio? What is the
plan for agency terminations? Will the
termination process become as subjective
as it was with RFG, wherein thousands
of agents were terminated?
Just exactly what is in store for the future of the Allstate agent? Based on past
history, the outlook is bleak at best. Ef
Resources for Growth (RFG)
Agency Performance Profile
Agency Business Objectives (ABO)
Agency Success Factors
Profitability
Good Hands Certification – Woople
Retention (later combined with
Auto growth into one
measurement)
Office Assessment – (reinspection of
agent offices that were company
approved before they opened)
Growth (later combined with
Retention into one measurement)
Minimum 1 Staff (LSP) per office
(three month grace period,
twice each calendar year)
AF Production goal
(Minimum $20,000 production)
AF Proprietary Life Policies Sold (12
or 18 policies on 12 mm scale) (one
month grace period, twice each
calendar year)
Emerging Business Production
(category added in 2008)
Agency Loyalty Index (ALI)
Allstate Customer Experience
Survey (ACES)
cover story
Kindness is Contagious
How to Increase Sales and Boost your Reputation
D
uring my career as a professional
Allstate agent, I’ve tried just about
every conceivable method of marketing imaginable. I admit that some of
those ideas were stinkers, but I let somebody talk me into trying them anyway. I
have tried internet leads, magazine ads,
TV and radio, school and athletic sponsorships, trade shows, Chamber of Commerce functions, direct mail, etc. I even
hired a firm that specialized in “restroom”
advertising; they strategically placed my
poster-style ads in the stalls and at eye
level above the urinals in restrooms all
across town. And they were noticed. I’m
not certain how much business they generated, but we got a lot of humorous calls
from customers and competing agents!
What I have learned is that most legitimate forms of marketing will produce
results, but some produce better results
than others. I have also learned that
repetition matters. The more people see
your name, the more likely they are to do
business with you.
But getting your name out there
comes at a hefty price. And with lower
commission rates on the way, agents will
have to find ways to stretch their advertising dollars farther than ever before. I
plan to shun those costly – and typically
disappointing – marketing schemes that
are often enthusiastically proposed by
management. I also plan to pare back on
internet leads and other forms of marketing in favor of the hands-on, community-based marketing approach I am
currently using with great success.
Like most agents, I have fallen for
some sure-to-fail marketing programs in
my career. As a result, I am much wiser
and far less gullible than I was in my
early years. These days I am more skeptical, which makes it harder for someone
to put one over on me. Interestingly
enough, when I was first introduced to
The Kindness Revolution™, I didn’t experience any feelings of doubt or skepticism. Instead, I found myself wanting to
learn more about it. And when I learned
more about it, I wanted to share it with
other Allstate agents, which why I am
writing this article.
In recent times, Allstate agents have
few advantages over the competition.
We are not competitive in most markets,
yet we are still required to achieve our
“business objectives” or we stand to lose
our livelihoods. I became angry because
there weren’t enough tools in my toolbox
to overcome the price differential between my rate and the competition’s. But
partnering with The Kindness Revolution™ (TKR) is changing all of that for
our agency.
Before I tell you more about our experiences with The Kindness Revolution™, let me provide you with some
background about this remarkable nonprofit organization.
Named after a popular book of the
same name, The Kindness Revolution™
is a movement that seeks to raise the
awareness of wholesome values – such
as kindness – among business leaders, in schools and local communities
and amongst consumers. As we began
to look more closely at The Kindness
Revolution™, it became clear that nobody is opposed or offended by the values it espouses. Examples of the values it
stands for include its anti-bullying and
anti-texting while driving campaigns.
Needless to say, these are values that any
responsible person would support.
Fall 2012
This shared commonality among business and community leaders is a key attraction of The Kindness Revolution™.
These leaders want people in their communities to know that they cherish positive values. It’s no secret that consumers
want to do business with like-minded
businesses, especially those that are located within their own communities.
This is where The Kindness Revolution™ excels. The idea is to bring groups
of local leaders together to promote the
principles of kindness to their clients and
the public. These tightly-knit groups
share referrals with each other as well
as host joint events in conjunction with
The Kindness Revolution™.
As you read this article, I can envision
a puzzled look coming over your face as
you wonder, “Why share this idea with
other Allstate agents?” My answer is:
“Why not?” Participation in The Kindness Revolution™ is done on a local basis. If I am participating in my community, why should I mind if other agents
do the same thing in theirs? Besides, I
don’t want State Farm agents or Farmers
agents to be the first to know about it – I
want Allstate agents to be “first on the
block” for a change.
After seeing the potential of TKR
and what it could do for Allstate agents
across the country, we approached
NAPAA about spreading the word to
the agency force. They agreed with the
understanding that it would be offered to
NAPAA members first. The roll-out to
the members began in August and will
continue until early October, around the
time this magazine is distributed to the
full agency force.
NAPAA acted quickly because it
wanted Allstate agents to be the first
to be able to seize upon The Kindness
Revolution™ opportunity. There is no
doubt that other agent groups and/or insurance companies will follow suit. But if
Allstate agents respond enthusiastically,
as we think they will, they will be the
first to establish a presence in their communities, driving more business to their
agencies. Of course, there are multiple
Allstate agencies in most markets, so it
will be important for interested agents to
act quickly.
I’m confident that many of you have
Fall 2012
been involved in other networking
groups which have brought you some
degree of success. I’ve experienced the
following negatives in such groups:
• No exclusivity. Oftentimes, there
are other competitive insurance agents in
the group. This is especially difficult for
a new agent trying to overcome the ‘good
old boys’ in the group. If you form your
own group with TKR, you decide which
business owners should be invited into
the group.
• Whether you are the only insurance
agent in the group or one of several, you
are always viewed as peddling insurance.
And as we know, many folks shy away
from us because of the business we’re in.
With TKR this doesn’t happen; you are
involved because of the principles you
believe in, making your occupation secondary.
We were ecstatic to meet Ed Horrell,
the founder of The Kindness Revolution™. His input was invaluable and
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the story is that kindness begets its own
rewards. Not only are we seeing more
and more sales as a result, but the positive
messaging of the campaign has invigorated everyone in the agency, creating more
camaraderie and giving us inspiration and
peace of mind knowing that we are giving
something back to our community.
“
The other
thing we’ve noticed
is that price has become
less of an issue. It seems
people will pay more
if they like you
and the cause
you represent.
“
helped us in our decision to participate.
Early in the process, we were introduced
to the Community Champion program.
This gave us the opportunity to:
• Meet and join together with likeminded business owners from other industries, who support the initiatives of
The Kindness Revolution™.
• Benefit from referrals from likeminded business owners in our group.
• Work with schools in our community to promote anti-bullying, sportsmanship, anti-texting while driving, and
the “It’s Cool to be Kind” campaigns.
• Become the local voice of kindness
in our community.
• Network with consumers and consumer groups who have similar goals, resulting in more leads for our agency.
• Determine for ourselves how much
time we want to devote to the program.
TKR is very flexible, leaving the level of
participation up to us. In our case, we
opted to be an active participant. Our
motto and battle cry is: “The more you
put into it, the more you’ll get out of it!”
• Last, it gives us a warm fuzzy feeling to know the causes we’re supporting
will help to create a more civil society for
everyone.
We have had great success with The
Kindness Revolution™. Thank goodness we had the vision to sign up under
the Community Champions program.
It has been an awesome experience, not
only because it brought more sales opportunities to our agency, but because
it has motivated everyone in the agency
to become more involved. The interesting part of all of this is that new sales are
simply a by-product of the process. The
overriding reason we initially decided to
get involved was to generate more sales,
but as we watched the process unfold, it
became clear that the increase in sales
was due to the good things we were doing and people wanted to reward us by
buying from us. The other thing we’ve
noticed is that price has become less of
an issue. It seems people will pay more if
they like you and the cause you represent.
As we know, loyalty to the agent runs
deep in the insurance business, so it is
gratifying when people tell us that they
are buying their insurance from us because
they like what we’re doing. The moral of
Additionally, we are able to accurately
measure our results. We know how many
leads and referrals we receive and can
calculate the commissions we’ve earned.
And since we’ve joined together with
other business owners, not all the leads
we receive are for home, auto and EB.
We also get commercial leads, workplace
leads and life insurance leads. In fact, we
recently closed a million dollar life sale as
a result of one of our “mini-events.”
We were pleased when NAPAA became an ardent supporter of The Kindness Revolution™. At our suggestion,
they booked Ed Horrell as a guest speaker at their national conference this past
June. Now NAPAA is onboard and is
leading the way to introduce The Kindness Revolution™ to Allstate agents.
NAPAA understands that the key to success is for Allstate agents to be the first in
their communities to become Community Champions. They also know that
success in any business is largely dependent on business owners being able to
recognize winning strategies and be the
first to capitalize on them. This is why
they are leading the charge to acquaint
Allstate agents with The Kindness Revolution™ ahead of the competition. Let’s
face it; Allstate agents need an edge dur-
ing these times of sagging agent morale
and uncompetitive rates.
After reading Ed Horrell’s book, I had
a paradigm shift in the way I looked at
society. Our everyday world is fraught
with man’s inhumanity to man and too
little kindness. We see this in all parts of
society from politics to religion. What I
have decided to do in our agency is to
seek out clients from our book of business who exemplify the kindness lifestyle
and reward them with recognition. The
Kindness Revolution™ provides a way
to recognize everyday folks who do good
things for the benefit of all. As an example, I have a client who is a teacher and an
investor with rental properties. Last year,
she started working with highly regarded
charities that help place homeless people
in her vacant rentals. Now she’s started a
program encouraging other investors to
help. The school administrators where
she teaches are thrilled with the idea that
one of their teachers is being recognized
for her generosity and devotion to a worthy cause. She and her school will always
remember our agency, The Kindness
Revolution™ and, of course Allstate.
There is so much more to tell you about
The Kindness Revolution™ and I wish I
had the space to say more. I’ll conclude
by saying that TKR gives us great ideas,
support, examples of printed materials
and giveaways, social media assistance,
press releases, posters, and much more as
we market and network in our community. The process is simple, straight forward, and effective. I can safely say that it
is like nothing else I have ever seen.
Find out how you can become part of
The Kindness Revolution™ by calling
TKR founder Ed Horrell at 901-7573768 or by sending an email to Allstate@
TheKindnessRevolution.net. For priority service, be sure to mention you are
a current or former Allstate agent.
Thank you for allowing me to share my
experiences with you. If you decide to join
The Kindness Revolution™, I hope you’ll
consider writing a letter or article for publication in a future issue of Exclusivefocus
magazine so other Allstate agents can benefit from your successes. Ef
Editor’s note: For additional information,
visit www.TheKindnessRevolution.net.
Fall 2012
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Welcomes its new partnership with NAPAA
Our goal is to start a Revolution of Kindness in every community.
To do that, we need a local face to be our Community Champion.
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Watch your sales skyrocket when you become the first and only agent
in your community to represent the movement that will make
people smile every time they think of you!
™
Simple, Powerful, Affordable and Effective
For one Allstate agency’s experience, read the accompanying article titled “Kindness is Contagious”
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Fall 2012
feature
Sad Times at Allstate
By Bryan Ahlquist
A
“Great Sadness” has settled over
the Allstate agency force. It has
no specific identity, nor is there
a discernible moment in time in which it
first appeared. Its presence may not even
be apparent to those infected by it and
for now, there seems to be no cure.
To those on the outside looking in,
Allstate appears to be like many other
companies struggling with the economic
downturn. The loss of market share, an
unprecedented decline in PIF and the
loss of thousands of tenured Allstate
agents can readily be blamed on the economic maelstrom that has engulfed our
economy over the past four years. For
many, the plausibility of this excuse has
led them to believe that perception is reality, despite the fact that most carriers in
Allstate’s peer group are not faring nearly
as poorly.
But those positioned at the epicen-
ter of the company’s business processes
know a different reality. They are keenly
aware that it is management’s misguided
decisions that are responsible for the
company’s problems. And for the agents,
the fact that management is not only
aware of the problem, but is actually the
cause of it, makes their plight even more
troubling.
Much has changed since the salad
days when Allstate agents sold policies
from booths inside Sears stores. Then,
agents not only worked for a company
built by agents, but for a company whose
management respected them. Customers were eager to affiliate with sales professionals who represented an industry
leader and their only real competition
was limited to a few select companies.
Today, insurance agents struggle to compete in a new environment where they
not only face fierce competition from
traditional players, but from unconventional sources. Taking their cue from
Progressive, companies like Allstate and
Farmers have bought into the premise
that it is okay to “eat their young” by
buying established direct marketers Esurance and 21st Century, both of which
compete with their agents. Not only do
agents lose new prospects to them, they
are losing renewal business as well. Surely customers who see commercials stating that Esurance is an Allstate company
are curious to see if the rates are lower.
After all, most are happy with Allstate
and their agent, so why not see if they
can save any money? In all likelihood,
however, they don’t realize that saving
a few dollars means losing their family
insurance agent.
Of course, this cannibalistic betrayal is
but one of many issues causing the melancholy mood of the agency force. The
stature of the agent is rapidly diminishing, thanks to the unilateral nature of the
agent contract. More and more, agents
perceive their role has shifted to one of
“disposable tool,” rather than the indispensible cornerstone they once were.
Promised one thing
delivered another
In 2000, when Allstate “transitioned”
(fired then re-hired) its agent sales force
from employee to ‘independent contractor,’ most agents made the move from
Neighborhood Office Agent (NOA) to
Exclusive Agent (EA) with only minor adjustments. The NOA program,
which was launched in the mid 80’s, was
the precursor of the EA contract. NOA
agents were still employees, but they
were allowed certain entrepreneurial and
financial freedoms, but only a portion
of their expenditures were reimbursed
by the company. While NOAs liked
the entrepreneurial side of the contract,
Fall 2012
most considered the expense reimbursement to be woefully inadequate. This
would soon become a bone of contention between NOAs and management; a
rift so serious that it led to the founding
of the National Neighborhood Office
Agents Club (NNOAC) in 1989. The
group subsequently changed its name to
the National Association of Professional
Allstate Agents (NAPAA).
In 1990, the company introduced the
EA contract, an ‘independent contractor’
agreement that eliminated expense reimbursements and offered commissions
of 10/10 on auto and 20/10 on property.
Virtually all new agents were hired under the EA agreement while existing
employee agents were allowed to convert
to the new contract only if they qualified.
The pace of voluntarily employee agent
conversions was slow, however. Perhaps
the company thought the employee
agents would be so eager to become EAs
that they would strive to meet the conversion qualifiers. But that didn’t happen,
and after ten years, approximately 6,200
agents were still employees. It was clear
that they had reservations about the EA
contract, which stripped them of all employee benefits and protections.
In the mid 90’s the company fired all
of its California agents and rehired them
as ‘independent contractors’ in response
to a lawsuit that had been filed there. Although the company denied it would ever
happen again, the stage had been set.
Possibly a result of the tepid pace of
voluntary employee-to-EA conversions
and the substantial cost savings it realized from the forced conversions in California, the company grew restless and eager to move agents into the ‘independent
contractor’ model. Finally in 2000, the
company fired the bulk of its remaining
employee agent workforce, offering to
rehire them as ‘independent contractors.”
Since the mindset of the NOA agent
was already semi-entrepreneurial, they
adapted sooner than those who had been
under other employee agent contracts.
And the promised freedoms associated with ‘independent contractor’ status, as well as the assurance of owning
their book of business, only heightened
their excitement. Agents eagerly sought
to grow their books of business because
Fall 2012
they were told only the business they
wrote as ‘independent contractors’ would
count toward their “ownership interest.”
This ownership interest was frequently
touted by Allstate as a commodity that
could be easily sold or passed down to
a qualified relative. But now, 12 years
removed from the glitz and glamour of
those early promises, a troubling reality
has emerged wherein management routinely micro-manages buyer approvals
and interferes with the sales process.
Presumably pressured by Wall Street
expectations, but more likely because of
its stubborn reluctance to relinquish its
longstanding employee-employer mentality, Allstate continues to cling to a
management philosophy that is decades
old. Rather than savor the emancipation
it promised to grant its ‘independent
contractor’ agents in its now infamous
Private Letter Ruling, Allstate has instead made a conscious decision to keep
its agency force in check by dredging up
and instituting employee-like controls
that fly in the face of IRS precepts. This
backward thinking has stymied the entrepreneurial spirit of the agency force
and prolonged the life of the company’s
obsolete management corps – the structure of which has remained virtually unchanged since the employee agent days
of the NOA.
Within a year of implementing the
Exclusive Agent program, Allstate had
already begun its subtle transition back
to the very controls it utilized for its employee agents. Initially, the company began by testing the waters, one change at
a time. Maybe they reasoned that since
a majority of the agency force had been
employee agents, they could gradually
reintroduce employee-like controls without much agent pushback. Aside from
NAPAA, few agents could fathom how
the reconstitution of quotas, mandatory
office hours, mandatory call forwarding
and other controls would ultimately affect their independent contractor status
and their careers. For the most part, the
vast majority of Allstate agents ignored
the transition back to their former status
as employee agents. Perhaps this nonchalance was due to the fact that their
whole world had been turned upside
down by the mass conversion.
The fact that its ‘independent contractor’ agents offered little resistance at first,
gave Allstate management the confidence it needed to accelerate its return to
the days of full-blown employee controls.
Further, they surmised that in spite of the
aggressive reimplementation of previous
employee controls, many agents would
rather focus on the promise of independence than on the reality that they were
once again operating under the complete
control of Allstate’s old employee agent
system.
Even worse than the letdown associated with the unfulfilled goal of gaining
true independent contractor freedoms,
more and more agents have concluded
that Allstate’s promise of “independence”
was a cruel sham which was never intended to be delivered.
The Sword of Damocles
With the exception of new agents,
there isn’t an agent in the country who
doesn’t personally know another agent
who has been fired. It is no accident that
Allstate designed the “90-day termination notice” the way it did. Ostensibly
designed as a mechanism to allow poorly
performing agents to rectify production
deficiencies in order to meet company
quotas, or “business objectives,” it instead serves as a gauntlet of shame that
typically ends in an agent’s termination
while simultaneously serving as a harbinger for those who remain.
Clearly, no agent wants their business
to fail. This understatement hasn’t lost its
meaning at Allstate’s home office. When
Allstate first implemented its Neighborhood Office Agent (NOA) program,
management knew the single most important aspect of the program’s design
had to include a perception of ownership
even though there was none. They knew
that unless agents believed they had an
ownership stake in their NOA agencies, they would not make the necessary
emotional or financial commitments to
ensure the success of the program. Once
the agents bought into the program,
Allstate knew it could institute ever-increasing controls without the risk of an
agent easily walking away.
It is no mistake that the current EA
program is an enhanced clone of the
NOA program, including the perception
of ownership. To be sure, Allstate management’s life was made easier by the
fact that they did not have to alter much
of the prior employee program when
they introduced the EA program. But
the EA program goes beyond the NOA
program in some respects. Because it no
longer classifies agents as employees, the
company is no longer bound to honor
employee protections. Presumably, the
company has sought legal counsel for
the purpose of skirting IRS guidelines
that govern whether someone is an independent contractor or not. Visiting the
section of the IRS website that describes
its independent contractor guidelines is
more that enough to convince most people that Allstate is pushing boundaries to
the extreme.
Apart from not fulfilling their life “validation” quotas during the first three years
of their contracts, employee agents in the
80’s were rarely terminated. And compared to today’s standards, the validation
quotas were miniscule, probably averaging
between $3,000 and $4,000 per year in issued life premium. Once agents made it
three years, it was unlikely they would be
fired for anything except misrepresentation, falsification of applications, stealing
or dereliction of duty, such as regularly
failing to show up for work.
When an NOA did manage to get terminated, they departed with little more
than a memory of their tenure at Allstate.
The financial impact, while serious, was
mostly attributable to the loss of money
invested in growing and operating their
business.
When an EA is fired, it begins with
a review process that includes a measurement of the agent’s performance as
compared to company imposed business objectives, also known as quotas or
Expected Results. But unlike the NOA
employee agent, the EA has an ownership interest in his book of business. So
the stakes are much higher when an EA
is terminated. From the outset, the EA
is encouraged to write as much business as possible to supercharge the “economic interest” of the book of business.
Under normal circumstances this would
be sound advice; invest in your agency
to build your business and reap the re48 — Exclusivefocus
wards when it is time to sell. It makes
a lot of sense, right? Not necessarily. In
the past five years, thousands of Allstate
agents have been terminated or been intimidated into leaving; forcing many to
accept “fire sale” prices for their books of
business. Many more were unable to find
buyers and had to settle for TPP. In most
of these cases, the tens of thousands of
dollars they invested to build their agencies were lost, causing some to go bankrupt or even attempt suicide. And those
with large outstanding loans on their
books and/or long-term leases were similarly affected. Of course, what is rarely
talked about is the loss of future income
attributable to return of investment from
an owned asset – hundreds of thousands
of dollars in many cases.
Allstate understands all of this and
uses it like a Sword of Damocles over
the heads of its EAs. Because of this,
leveraging proscribed behaviors from its
EA agency sales force has now become
a simple matter of instituting a threat
process, followed closely by a reminder
of just exactly what the agent has to lose:
EVERYTHING.
To the agent, it sounds something like
this: “Now that it is March, here are your
‘Business Objectives’ for the year. How
you reach these corporately mandated
business objectives is up to you, but failure to do so could jeopardize your business relationship with Allstate.” Which
translates to: either chase after our quotas or lose everything.
Testing and then implementing this
management philosophy was elementary
for Allstate. It was this “sense of ownership” that Allstate would use as leverage
when it decided to proceed with the mass
conversion of employee agents to EAs
in 2000. As an inducement to convert
the employee agents to EA status, they
simply offered to let them keep the very
agencies they had already built. Allstate
knew that virtually no agent could afford
to walk away from a lifetime’s worth of
work and investment. And to this day,
Allstate leverages an agent’s commitment to success against his fear of losing
everything. Many agents have likened
their business relationship with Allstate
as: “All stick and no carrot.” Others recognize the true nature of the abusive re-
lationship, but cannot afford to extricate
themselves without dire financial consequences.
Stockholm Syndrome?
After spending a certain amount of
time in captivity, kidnap victims have
been known to begin to empathize with
their abductors. This “rationalization,”
known as Stockholm Syndrome, can occur even if there is severe trauma or abuse
associated with the process.
Among the ranks of Allstate agents,
there exists a contingent of unabashed
supporters of the current management
regime as well as an acceptance of the
current EA contract. Mostly made up of
“Mega Agencies,” with large staffs, they
seem out of touch with the average Allstate agent. Without doubt, it is much
easier to meet your quotas with a cadre of
LSPs; a luxury most agents can ill-afford.
There are also a number of smaller midsize agents who “play the game” and who
don’t seem too bothered with the mandatory quotas. For these agents, it has
become a matter of ignoring Allstate’s
use of employee controls and willingly
sacrificing their status as ‘independent
contractors.’
Mindful to shield its newly hired
agents from reality, Allstate managers
have been largely successful in steering
them away from resources like NAPAA
and ALLBlueBlog. Management wants
to be the sole source for advice – from
which sales processes to use to the necessary expenditures they should make as
they run their agencies. These spoon-fed
neophytes often buy into Allstate’s master plan, only to recant their allegiance at
a later date when they realize that running an agency in the real world is nothing like the imaginary world presented to
them by their never-owned-an-agency
FSLs.
It is confounding how any agent can
ignore the fact that their true status is
one of an employee, not an independent
contractor. Even successful agents know
their tenure as an Allstate agent is dependent on two things; meeting their
monthly and yearly quotas and Allstate’s current R3001 Agency Supplement, which changes frequently. What
many agents still don’t get is that they
Fall 2012
signed a unilateral agreement, not a bilateral agreement. It is time for Allstate
agents to demand and secure a bilateral
agreement that ensures true independent
contractor status. For new hires, it is imperative that they perform some degree
of due diligence by contacting NAPAA,
getting on ALLBlueBlog and by comparing the Allstate 3001 EA Agreement
(and R3001 Supplement) to a true independent contractor agent agreement.
Whether they realize it or not, the two
agent segments referenced above operate in a stress-filled environment resulting from trying to reconcile perception
with reality. As Allstate agents approach
2013, it will be increasingly difficult to
avoid the necessity to perform at a higher
level just to get back to 10% compensation. It is expected in some circles, that
the base will fall even further in 2015.
The highest level of fiduciary
responsibility
There is no doubt that a morale problem exists within the ranks of the Allstate
agency sales force. It has been well-documented on the Allstate Agency Community as well as in the company’s annual
Agency Relationship Survey. The fact
that Allstate CEO Tom Wilson repeatedly demeans his own integrity and credibility by issuing frequent public denials
covering up the truth should give agents
reason for concern. But then, he seems
prone to spinning yarns. At the Allstate
shareholder meeting last May, he denied
the company ever had any plans to reduce the number of agents. He made this
preposterous statement in spite of the
fact that Allstate has turned over more
than 5,000 agents since he began leading
the company in late 2007. In addition,
programs such as “Agency Performance
Segmentation,” the Agency Loyalty Index (ALI) and others were specifically
contrived to depopulate the agency force.
Apparently, Mr. Wilson never learned
that mendacity is an unflattering trait.
But let’s give Mr. Wilson the benefit
of the doubt and say that he is simply
ignorant of the morale problem among
the agents. If true, it is a breathtaking example of how out of touch he is with his
responsibilities as CEO.
If we consider the former of the two
Fall 2012
hypotheses, it follows that Wilson expects a rather swift implementation of
his agenda and that any negative impact
from poor agent morale will not be permanent. Further, while it is possible the
morale issue was not one of his primary
concerns, it is possible that it has now
been factored into his plan and will serve
to advance his agenda.
When considering the latter of the
two hypotheses, (that Wilson is simply out of touch with the rank and file
agent), it would seem inconceivable that
a CEO could be that oblivious to an issue that has resulted in thousands of
agents terminating their relationships
with Allstate.
Regardless of Wilson’s motivation,
his actions, or the lack thereof, impact
thousands of agents. It is unconscionable to think that he would allow the
current level of discord to continue, leaving agents and outsiders alike wondering
when or if the problem will be addressed.
The added stress resulting from uncertainty has manifested itself into an
increasing number of despondent agents
posting increasingly desperate comments on ALLBlueBlog and the Allstate
Agency Community.
Tom Wilson is the cause, and
there might not be a cure
Someone once said: “Recognizing that
a problem exists, is half the battle.”
Even if management acknowledged
the agent morale problem, it is doubtful
Tom Wilson would look for a cure. His
statement at this year’s Allstate Shareholder Meeting, whence he exclaimed,
“We can do whatever we want,” seems
to have put to rest any possibility of addressing the issue any time soon.
In spite of the uncertainty, some agents
are vowing to weather the storm, hoping for better days. With so much going
against them, including an upcoming
reduction in compensation, these agents
are choosing to focus on the things that
they can control, such as trying to increase their sales production and retention. Still others have likened it to battening down the hatches, as they count
the days until retirement.
An increasing number of agents are
opting out by choosing a “Plan B.” Un-
willing to wait for the ultimate outcome
of Wilson’s grand plan, a serious number of agents are planning to quit before
year-end in order to take advantage of
the current 12-month TPP, or Termination Payment Provision. For these
agents, self-medication takes the form
of resigning, moving a mile, and opening
up a true independent insurance agency.
In the past few years, it has become
evident that Tom Wilson’s idea of a successful company is based solely on the
destination, not the road traveled. His
detachment from the humanistic side
of the business has enabled him to turn
his back on the very people who helped
build the company; a fact that does not
sit well with tenured agents. He is fully
aware of the cries for help on ALLBlueBlog and the Allstate Agency Community. He is likely briefed daily on the
status of the number of agents leaving
the company, yet his response is a chilling denial of these problems, followed
by silence.
So what are agents left with? For now,
it is clear the company will offer nothing
to assuage their concerns. Equally clear is
Tom Wilson’s focus on other corporate
enterprises he hopes will help turn around
Allstate’s dwindling PIF. Like a desperate poker player, Wilson made an “all-in”
bet with the purchase of Esurance. Since
all of chips are now on the table, agents
can expect this “all-in” bet will get his “allout” support to ensure its success, even if
it means sacrificing profits.
If Esurance should fail, it would spell
the end of Tom Wilson’s Allstate career.
This all-out effort to prove he’s right will
come at the expense of the agency force,
whose morale is already near rock bottom. Mr. Wilson’s disdain for the agency
force has never been clearer. If he cared
as much for the agents as he seems to
care for Esurance, the agent morale issues would have been solved long ago.
For some agents, the cure to this
“Great Sadness” may be in savoring a
bittersweet goodbye from the company
they once loved and a cheery hello to
their newfound home in the world of independent agents.
Shame on you Tom Wilson for enriching yourself at the expense of those great
people who built Allstate. Ef
feature
True Success without Allstate
By Bryan Ahlquist
T
he solitary figure exited the red
bricked building and walked with
purposeful strides across the narrow street. Upon reaching the other side,
the man looked back and marveled at the
crispness of the parallel lines that separated each of the oven-fired, Chicago made
bricks. Turning to begin the short walk
that lay ahead, he noticed the evening air
had been scented with the delicious aroma
of grilled steaks and with what he thought
was a touch of smoke coming from a slow
cooking rack of barbeque ribs.
His neighbor’s lawn had been recently
mowed and the smell of the freshly cut
grass seemed particularly fragrant and clean.
When his eye caught a swatch of deep azure
peeking from behind the towering oaks that
lined the street, he felt as if he were noticing
the sky for the first time. Without realizing
it, a broad grin had erupted across his face,
replacing what was usually a stoic if not melancholy countenance.
Then, as the awareness of all of these
things slowly made their way to his conscious thoughts, he knew for the first time
in a long time, he was going to be happy.
He knew the thing that he had dreaded the
most was finally behind him. There would
no longer be sleepless nights, followed by
anxiety-filled days. His heart and mind
both told him that the days ahead were going to be the best days of his life.
Then just for a moment, he allowed
himself to drift back to the point in time
that had become the catalyst for the
event that would forever change his life.
The phone had been busily ringing all
morning. Most of the calls were clients
wanting his attention, or that of his capable staff. Thinking the latest incoming
call was a prospective client, he quickly
answered the call.
Minutes after hanging up, he knew his
future was about to be changed. At first,
there was disbelief and then came the
anger. In the end, there was sadness. The
call had been from his Allstate manager,
who called to give him a “heads up” that
he would be receiving a 90-day “improvement” notice in the mail the following day.
Nearly 30 years of service, a 40% loss
ratio, 90% retention, an ALI score of 85,
and multiple awards could not stave off the
letter that was coming. None of that mattered because he was told he was failing
to achieve the only true measurement of
success as defined by Allstate’s mandated
“Expected Results.” He had failed to sell
enough Allstate Financial Services products to be “on pace” for his annual quota.
In the few months that followed, he
sold the requisite premium in life insurance and met the mandate handed down
to him. No second letter followed the
first one, only his manager’s brief call
telling him that for now, he was safe.
It was then that he realized the true nature of the relationship he had with Allstate. It was also then that he vowed never
to let Allstate be the arbiter of his success.
By any customary measure of accomplishment for a businessman, he was a success.
He employed three terrific support staff
and his generosity allowed each of them
to have financial security along with an
excellent work environment. But more
than the financial aspect of his agency, he
felt he and his staff provided a valuable
service to the community.
Thinking back to that fateful day, he
allowed that same feeling of anger to
well up inside him again. In a way, he was
mad at himself too. Had he taken a stand
early in his career, he might have made
the decision to leave much sooner, sparing him what he now considered to be
wasted years. Instead, he allowed his actions and business goals to be defined by
Allstate. He had trusted a company that
had never given him as much as he had
given it. That would never happen again.
Now, as he turned the corner to walk
back to where he lived, he knew he
would be making an even bigger, more
dramatic turn in his life. Earlier that day
he had sent his resignation to his manager via email. He informed him that he
would be opening a true independent
agency “more than a mile” from his old
Allstate office. He even told his manager
he would be happier in his new endeavor,
in spite of the dire warnings he had received in past conversations with him.
Crossing the street, he slowed his
pace a bit as he approached the sidewalk
leading to his house. The grin that had
occupied his face during his walk grew
even larger. Pausing to stare at his house,
he knew for the first time that just like
his house, he could pass his agency on
to his children if that is what he wanted
to do. On his approval only, he could enrich the lives of his kids with the simple
act of love that knew no constraints. His
agency would finally be his and only his.
For the first time in years, he had
smelled the fresh scented air and took notice of his surroundings. The fresh air on
his walk that day stimulated his senses and
filled him with possible solutions. Was this
an unexpected awakening for him, or had
the air always held the “possibilities” that
he was now just discovering? Suddenly, he
realized that he had just not been able to
“see” them until he freed himself from the
restraints of his inner and outer demons.
Opening his front door, he held his
head higher than he had in a long time.
He now understood that the truest measure of success could only come from
within. He also knew that whatever lay
ahead, only he would be able to affect the
outcome. He would use these two simple
truths to guide him the rest of his life. Ef
Fall 2012
humour
Name Changes…
Oops, I Mean “Moniker Alterations”
By Brian Spillman
IONAL!
S
U
L
E
D
Expected
Results
A
llstate is big on name changes
these days. Instead of “Pro Shops,”
we now have “Good Hands Repair Networks.” Instead of Motor Club,
we now have “Good Hands Roadside.”
Instead of homeowners Insurance, we
have “House and Home.” C’mon, House
and Home? Isn’t that like calling it Home
and Home or House and House?
All of this not-so-clever name-changing is either a sign of desperation or a
way to keep managers employed. Well,
Allstate doesn’t really care about anyone
keeping their jobs, so I’ve got to go with
desperation here.
Since I sold my agency effective June
Fall 2012
1st, I’ve decided I would like to be hired
by the name-changing division at Allstate. Then I could change names based
on agency perspectives, using input from
agents. Here’s a sample of what I would
bring to the table, so please consider this
my application for this position.
“Expected Results” should be changed
to “Delusional Results.” Other names I
would consider: “Random Results,” “Unexpected Results,” and “You’ve Gotta
Be Kidding Me!” The new homeowner
product, which includes whopping tropical cyclone deductibles and no replacement cost on roofs over 10 years old,
should be changed from “House and
Home” to “Moderate Assistance Insurance.” The runner-up was “I Have to Pay
what?!” As a side note, I suggest we hand
out smelling salts with every new policy
in the event the customer comprehends
the Tropical Cyclone Deductible (TCD).
“Exclusive Agent,” which is sort of
like a franchise, but not really, will be
changed to “Disenfranchised Agent.” I
feel this name better reflects the position.
“Non-Qualifying Agents,” who don’t
meet their year-end goals, should be
referred to as “Infidels.” Licensed Sales
Producers should be renamed “Risk Magicians,” since it better defines the role of
encouraging customers to take on more
risk by switching to Allstate. “Tropical
Cyclone Deductible” should be changed
to “Gotcha!” I would also consider using
“Read the Fine Print,” but that lacks the
soul-crushing snap that “Gotcha!” brings
to the table when the deductible applies.
My suggestion for Woople? How about
“Poople?” It seems to be the most appropriate word to describe some of the
inane material presented in those crazy
videos. Other suggestions I considered
were “Stinkle,” and “Suckle.”
The Commercial Department needs
to change its name to the “Risk Aversion Department.” As I write this article,
I think the only risk we accept is hair
salons, and that’s only if they don’t use
scissors! Everything else goes to Northeast, Northwest, or Butwin. But why stop
here? I’ve been leading up to the biggest
name change of all. I suggest changing the
entire company name to better reflect its
awesome potential and future direction.
“Allstate Insurance” should be changed to
“Titanic Insurance Company.”
Needless to say, I probably won’t be
hired for the name-changer gig. That’s
clear to me now. Ef
NAPAA Membership
Puts Money in Your Pocket
T
here are many benefits to
NAPAA’s affiliation with the Office and Professional Employees
International Union (OPEIU). In addition to the strength that comes with
being part of an organization with more
than 108,000 members and the legislative and legal support it offers, there are
a number of membership perks that can
put money directly into your pocket.
Among these benefits is the Errors
and Omissions Deductible Subsidy,
which reimburses members 20 percent
of their deductible for any E&O claim
paid, up to $500 per member per year.
Members taking advantage of this benefit have been pleased with how quick and
easy it is to collect their reimbursement
checks. “NAPAA membership has very
real and tangible benefits when you have
something like the E&O subsidy,” said
a satisfied agent from New Jersey. “The
$200 payment I received is more than
half of the NAPAA membership fees.
It almost pays for my membership right
there!” Clearly delighted, he added, “The
bottom line is that NAPAA membership
really pays dividends.”
NAPAA membership also includes other unique benefits, one of which is a unique
subsidy program that provides a $50 payment for continuing education every two
years. Filing for these benefits is simple
and easy. Applications for both the E&O
and the Continuing Education subsidy are
available at www.napaaUSA.org.
But the list of benefits doesn’t end there.
As a NAPAA member, you are entitled
to a free comprehensive defense against
identity theft – the fastest growing crime
in the United States. Identity theft affects
one in twenty households, costs businesses billions of dollars every year and,
on average, takes 165 hours for a victim
to regain pre-theft status. In the event of
identity theft, NAPAA members will be
restored to “pre-victim” status, with a fully
managed recovery provider that could
save you hundreds of hours of your own
time, productivity and money.
If you are a member and haven’t already
registered for the free ID theft program,
you are encouraged to do so as soon as
possible by visiting http://promos.privacymaxx.com/opeiu/. You can also register via phone by calling 888-247-9441.
NAPAA membership also provides
access to the Perks national discount savings program, a towing program that includes two towing/service calls per year
(valued at up to $100 each and applicable
to all family members living in the same
household), educational scholarships,
and much more.
Take advantage of these great member
benefits today. If you’re not a NAPAA
member, sign up by completing the application found elsewhere in this magazine
or by visiting www.napaaUSA.org. Ef
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Rhintotek Computer Products, Inc. 2301 E. Del Amo Blvd., Carson, CA 90220 (800) 695-RHINO www.rhinotek.com/napaa.htm
Fall 2012
Confidential NAPAA Membership Application
Name:______________________________________ Off Ph:_______________________ Cell__________________________
Street:________________________________________________ E-Mail:__________________________________________
City:________________________________________ State:_____ ZIP:__________
Agent since__________(year)
Comment?
MEMBERSHIP SECTION Regular (Gold) Membership q Annual: $350
Elite Membership (includes Producer Online Subscription)
q Annual: $475
To Activate Producer Online Subscription only:
q EFT: $29 /mo
q EFT: $39 /mo
User Name _____________ Password _____________
PAYMENT SECTION
q CHECK – Annual: Please make payable to NAPAA.
q CREDIT CARD – Annual: I authorize this amount to be charged to my credit card.
(Please complete the information below)
Card type: q VISA q MasterCard q Discover q American Express
Name on account _________________________________________ Amount to be Charged: $__________ (Annual only)
Account Number __________________________________________ Expiration date __________ Security code________
Address on Card _______________________________________________________________________
ZIP____________
Signature of Cardholder _______________________________________________ Todays Date _____________ (1/12 EF)
q EFT (PAM) - Monthly (attach or fax voided check)
I understand that the amount stated above will be deducted from my checking account every month until instructed otherwise. I have enclosed a voided check and understand that the withdrawals will occur on or about the 20th of every month. Authorization Signature: _____________________________________________________________ Date ____________
PLEASE FAX or MAIL APPLICATION TO:
National Association of Professional Allstate Agents, Inc.
P. O. Box 7666, Gulfport, MS 39506-7666
Call Toll-free: 877.627.2248 • E-Mail: HQ@napaausa.org • Fax Toll-free: 866.627.2232
Please include your generous donation to the NAPAA Action Fund
Fall 2012
technology
Part 2:
Has ALSTAR Support Ever Told You to
Contact Your Own IT Support?
By Dan Helton
I
n our previous article, we discussed
how to correctly connect everything
hardware-wise. Now I will talk more
about how your network needs to be
configured properly in Windows so that
you have access to your Public Drive, or
“P” drive, and shared printers.
How your Network should be
Configured
First, all of the PCs in your network
have to be in the same workgroup or
domain. Domains are more for big companies that have their own logon servers
and many more computers than most
Allstate offices have. Domains require
a separate server to hold the login IDs
for the company and the servers are very
expensive. So for most Allstate offices,
the correct network configuration is the
workgroup model.
In the workgroup model, each computer maintains its own list of login IDs
for users and all computers must be added
to the workgroup. When I was converting agent offices, I used the location code,
or “booth code,” as the workgroup name
for each agency. For instance, if an agent’s
Booth Code was IL698, I would set the
workgroup for each computer to IL698.
Then I would set the PC Names to be
IL698-PC01, IL698-PC02 and so on.
On the primary PC, designated as PC #1,
I would add all of the user names in the
office. All of the other PCs usually only
had one user, so, besides the Administrator account, only one user was listed.
Each user name must also have a password. If a user sets their password to be
blank, the networking will not work.
Plus, it is always advisable to have a password associated with each user name.
If someone breaks into your office and
steals your PCs, a PC with no password
allows the thief to access to all files on
that PC. On each of the other PCs, the
user names and passwords must be the
same as were entered on PC #1. Then on
PC #1, the file folder that is being used as
the Public Drive must be shared with the
network. Each of the other network PCs
which will share that folder must then be
mapped to the Public Drive. After this is
done, all network PCs can share files by
simply putting the file to be shared into
the Public Drive.
Another thing that I do is enable the
Administrator Account on all of the
computers and assign a password to this
account. I generally do not give out this
password to anyone unless it is absolutely necessary. This way, if a computer is
compromised with viruses or malicious
software, another account is available to
log into the affected computer, which
Fall 2012
can usually be fixed by using the additional account.
It is complicated to get into more specifics without going into much greater
detail, which we don’t have space for in
this article. This is especially true since
some agent offices are using PCs with
Windows XP, and some use Windows
Vista, and still others are using Windows 7. The set-up configuration is a
little different for each of these operating
systems. Note: The login User IDs and
Passwords I referred to above have nothing to do with the User ID and Password
that an agent uses to login to the Allstate
Gateway; they only have to sign in after
the PC is first turned on.
Different Operating Systems
When Allstate forced its agents to convert to their own computers, it came out
with a list of minimum requirements. At
the time, the only operating systems that
were on the market were Windows XP
and Windows Vista. There were previous
versions of Windows, but none of those
met the minimum specifications that Allstate required. In 2010, Microsoft rolled
out Windows 7. Windows XP had a
Home edition, a Professional edition and
a Media Center edition. Only the Professional and the Media Center editions had
the required networking capability.
Windows Vista had 4 versions: Vista
Home Basic, Vista Home Premium,
Vista Business and Vista Ultimate. Only
Vista Business and Vista Ultimate had
networking capability. That is why Allstate required you to have Windows XP
Professional or Windows Vista Business
as a minimum. Without networking capability, you would not be able to use the
Public Drive, or share printers.
Windows 7 has 4 versions: Windows
7 Home Basic, Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional and
Windows 7 Ultimate. Only Windows
7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate
have the networking capability. If you
go out and buy a PC or laptop, chances
are you will get a PC with Windows 7
Home Premium. This means for you to
be able to use it in your office, you will
have to upgrade it to one of the Windows 7 versions that have the networking capability.
Fall 2012
This article was written at the end of
August, 2012. If you must buy a new PC
immediately, it is likely that the only operating system they can sell right now is
Windows 7, so be sure to ask if the PC
you are buying can support being upgraded to either Windows 7 Professional
or Windows 7 Ultimate. You may have
to pay a little more to have them load
it with one of these networking capable
operating systems, but it will save you a
whole lot of headaches in the long run to
do so. On the other hand, if your need
is not urgent, you may want to wait for
Windows 8, which should be released
sometime this fall – maybe by the time
you receive this issue of Exclusivefocus.
To make matters even more confusing, each of the Windows Operating
Systems has a 32-bit version and a 64bit version. Most PCs on the market at
the time Allstate was doing the conversions had standard Pentium 4 Processors in them. Around the same time, PC
makers were coming out with systems
that contained the next line of processors from Intel called the Core 2 Duo.
In simple language, the Core 2 Duo processors consist of twin Pentium 4 processors that are incorporated into a single
chip. In accomplishing this, the Core 2
Duo processor was able to handle instructions that are 64 bits long, whereas
the standard Pentium 4 processor could
only handle instructions that were 32
bits long. Thus, to keep up with this new
technology, Microsoft created both 32bit and 64-bit versions of their operating
systems. At the time of the technology
conversions, not many software vendors
had written programs to work correctly
on the 64-bit versions of the Windows
Operating Systems, which included
the Allstate Gateway programs. Hence,
Allstate only required that agents buy
the 32-bit versions of Windows XP or
Windows Vista. Presently, Allstate and
most other software companies have now
made their software compatible to work
on these 64-bit versions of the operating
systems.
Another Allstate requirement is that
PCs have Microsoft Office Small Business 2007 or greater. I have found that
many people confuse Microsoft Office
with the Microsoft Windows operating
system. The operating system is what
controls how you log into the computer, PC networking, and all of the other
software programs you load onto a PC.
Microsoft Office is a suite of software
programs that you load as a package onto
the PC after the operating system is installed. Microsoft Office contains many
Microsoft programs such as Word, for
writing letters and other documents, Excel, used for creating spread sheets, Publisher for creating publications, Access
for creating databases, Outlook for sending and receiving e-mail, Power Point
for creating slide show presentations,
Picture Viewer for viewing pictures, and
some other tools for scanning and printing documents that you create using the
programs in the MS Office Suite. As
with the Microsoft Windows operating
systems, Office also has different versions that determine which of the above
listed programs are included in the MS
Office Suite that you buy.
In 2010, Microsoft came out with Microsoft Office 2010. For legal reasons,
vendors that sell PCs can no longer load
a PC with the Microsoft Office programs unless purchased in advance. So,
what you will get when you buy a PC
from a retail store is a 90-day trial version
of the 2010 Office Suite. After the trial
period, you will be required to either purchase it online or install another program
that will allow you to access any files you
created during the trial period.
Since 2000, every time Microsoft has
come out with a new Windows operating system, it has also released a new
version of the MS Office Suite. This was
so the Office Programs would work best
with the new operating system. Below is
a list of which release of MS Office was
released with which operating system:
• W
indows 2000 – Microsoft Office
2000
• Windows XP – Microsoft Office
2003
• Windows Vista – Microsoft Office
2007
• Windows 7 – Microsoft Office
2010
• Windows 8 – Microsoft Office
2012 (fall 2012 release expected)
Although there were earlier releases
than those listed above, I don’t know of
anyone still using a Windows operating
system lower than Windows XP. As of
January 2010, Microsoft says they no
longer support Windows XP, but they
still provide Windows Updates for it.
And Allstate’s minimum requirements
list Windows XP as the oldest operating
system that will work with its Gateway
programs.
Within each release of Microsoft Office there were also different versions.
Each version offered variations of which
MS Office programs were included in
the package. To get a full listing of all of
the different versions of each release and
which programs are included, go to the
following URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/History_of_Microsoft_Office.
Other Required Allstate
PC Software
Allstate also requires that some other
software be installed on your PCs so that
the Gateway programs function properly.
All of this software is free on the Internet
and are listed below. Allstate also has a
website where you can easily download
all of these programs. The URL is gatewaysupport.allstate.com. When entering
the address in your browser, do not preface with the standard “www.;” just clear
the browser address bar and type the
address exactly as shown. The Allstate
Gateway Support site also lists the minimum requirements for PCs and software
that Allstate requires.
Here are the other programs that
Allstate requires:
• Allstate GO Gateway: Installs the
Allstate Gateway access program and
sets browser settings. Also installs the
Gateway icon and the Gateway Support
icon on your desktop.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader: Allows
you to view PDF files.
• Adobe Shockwave: Allows you to
view animation and other multimedia
web content.
• Adobe Flash Player: Also allows you
to view certain multimedia web content.
• Citrix Web Client: Client software
allowing you to access to the AS/400based Alstar Program.
• Java: Allows you to view certain
web content in your web browser.
• MS Directx: A collection of application programming interfaces (APIs)
that handle tasks related to viewing multimedia and video content.
Anti-Virus and firewall software is
also a requirement. A firewall is software
that determines which IP addresses and
ports are allowed access to your PC. This
software essentially filters out IP addresses, ports and websites that should
not be allowed into your PC. Microsoft
Windows has a built-in firewall. Many
antivirus software packages replace the
Windows firewall when you install them.
I recommend using antivirus software
that does not do this or gives you the option of not installing the firewall. There
are many different antivirus software
companies. The top three rated are AVG,
Bit Defender and Kaspersky. I personally
recommend using AVG or Microsoft
Security Essentials, which came out in
early 2012.
I know most people prefer Norton,
McAfee or Trend Micro, but they automatically install firewalls that block remote connections, causing me to waste
a lot of time talking the user through the
steps of shutting off their firewall so that
I can begin to remotely fix their computer problems.
And some versions of Norton and
McAfee are problematic. They can be very
hard to get rid of because the software installs itself in many different places in your
computer. Hence, when the user wants to
change antivirus providers, it becomes a
major project to remove the software.
AVG offers a free version and a paid
version. The paid version has many more
features, but some of these features block
you from going to a few of the websites
that are used with Allstate programs.
Consequently, I now recommend using
the free version. It does not block me
when I need to remote into a customer’s
computer, and it is easy to uninstall. The
paid version is only around $40.00 per
year, and you can get even better deals if
you go through a vendor. Microsoft Security Essentials is free antivirus software
that automatically updates itself when
you do Windows updates. I will be testing it and let you know my evaluation of
it in coming articles.
Printers Setup and Usage
As stated in the previous section, Allstate’s minimum specifications require
you to use a Windows Operating system
that is networking capable. This also
makes it possible for you to share printers. Let’s say you have more PCs in your
office than printers, or you have a printer
that has a mechanical failure. By sharing any of the printers attached to one
of the other PCs in your office, you allow
a PC without a printer attached to print
to one of the other printers in the office.
The first thing you need to do when setting up a PC with a local printer is to
make sure the printer is fully functional
all by itself. Most printers are capable of
running a self-test. With most HP printers, which Allstate has used for many
years, you simply have to hold down a
button while you are powering up the
printer. The button to hold down varies
with printer make and model and should
print out a self-test page. The test also
verifies that the toner or ink cartridge is
installed properly, that there is paper in
the printer and that all mechanical functions of the printer are working correctly. Next you need to install the correct
printer driver for the PC. To do this, you
need to know which Windows operating
system you are using, and whether it is
the 32-bit version or the 64-bit version.
To find this information, go to the Start
button on your computer desktop; two
columns will appear. The left column
will have programs, and the right column will have short-cuts to other things
in the operating system. If you are using
Windows XP, look for “My Computer”
in the list on the right. If you are using
Windows Vista or Windows 7, look
for the item listed as “Computer” in the
right-hand column. Click once on “My
Computer” or on “Computer” in order
to highlight your selection; then rightclick and a menu will pop-up. Click on
the “Properties” option and a window,
called “System Properties,” will open up
and you will be in the “General” tab of
the Window. The first section listed is
“System,” and describes which operating
system you have and the version you are
using. For example, if the top line reads,
Windows XP, the next line might read
Home Edition, followed by the next line,
Fall 2012
which might read Version 2002. Also, if
it does not indicate that you have the 64bit version, you have the 32-bit version.
If you have a HP LaserJet Printer, I
recommend you go to the HP website
download the correct driver for your
printer. If you have another manufacturer’s printer, I suggest you go to their
website to get the correct driver. Printer
driver installation varies from printer to
printer and from manufacturer to manufacturer, so it is impossible for me to go
into the specifics in this article for installing all printers. If you do not know
how to download and install a printer
driver, there are many ways you can get
help doing this. Google is one source, or
you can contact the manufacturer of the
printer and they may help you for a fee.
Alstar Support is another option, but if
they can’t help, you can always contact an
independent computer support service
for assistance.
Once you have the driver downloaded and installed, the printer must be
“shared” in order for other computers in
the workgroup to be able to print to it.
To share the printer, you need to go into
your computer’s “Control Panel” and locate the “Printers” icon. It is important
to note here that the Windows Control
Panel has two different views. One is
called “Category View” and the other is
called “Classic View.” Classic View displays individual icons for each item and
Category View lists categories in text. On
either screen, you are given the option to
switch from one view to the other. This
option can be found on the far left-hand
side of the screen. Windows Vista is a bit
different, as the area to the left will say
Control Panel Home, and Classic View.
In Windows 7, the way you switch views
is to open the Control Panel. In the top
right-hand side of the main part of the
window will be a drop-down box labeled
“View by,” which will allow you to switch
between Category View, Large Icons or
Small Icons. The whole purpose of my
going into this is to get you to the Classic
View in XP or Vista or the Large Icons
View in Windows 7, making it easier for
you to select the Printers icon.
Now you should be able to open the
Control Panel and switch to the view
where the main part of the control panel
Fall 2012
window has icons. Scroll down if necessary and double click on the Printers
icon. Another window will open and the
printer you just installed the driver for
should be displayed there. Only one of
the printers listed will have a check mark
next to it, indicating that it is the “default”
printer, which means that Windows and
other programs will automatically print
to it when you are in a program and hit
the print button. If the printer just installed does not have this check mark,
click once on the printer to select it and
then right-click your mouse and another
pop-up Menu will appear. Usually, the
second Item in this menu will say, “Set as
Default.” You will want to select this option and the check mark should move to
this new printer. Next, right-click on this
printer again and the menu will pop-up
once more; go to the very bottom of the
menu and select “Properties.” The Printer Properties window will come up and
you will be in the General tab. On this
page there should be a button that says
“Print a Test Page.” Click this button
and a Windows test page should print
out. This verifies that the printer is correctly connected to the PC, the printer
driver is correctly installed and Windows
can print to this printer. In the Printer
Properties window, you’ll see several
other tabs. Now you’ll want to click on
the tab labeled “Sharing.” Then click the
radial button labeled “Share this Printer.”
Leave the name the same and click OK
at the bottom. Your printer will now appear with both the check mark and have
a picture of a hand under it. The picture
of the hand under the printer indicates
it is shared.
Now go to another PC in the office that
does not have a printer attached to it. If
using Windows XP, click on “Start” and
then on “My Network Places.” A window will open and over on the left-hand
side of the main window under “Other
Places,” you’ll want to select “Entire Network.” Then double-click on “Microsoft
Windows Network” and the workgroup
name set for your office should appear in
the main window. Double-Click on this
workgroup and the main window should
show all computers that are powered on in
the office. Double-click on the computer
that has the shared printer. The window
will change again and the printer will appear along with any other folders that are
shared on this computer. You should then
right-click on the printer and select “Connect.” Now if you go back to the Control
Panel and select the Printers icon, the
networked printer should appear in this
folder. You will note that it appears a bit
differently than it did on the PC where it
was initially installed. What you will see is
an icon that represents a network printer.
You should be able to right-click on it, go
to the Properties page for the printer and
click on the “print a test page” button as
you did before. Also, you should be able to
right-click on the printer and choose the
“Set as Default” option as well.
I’m sure this article may have been difficult to follow at times, but if you plan
to set up your own printers, it will make
much more sense once you get started.
Just remember to take it step by step and
you’ll be fine. Ef
Dan Helton has worked in the computer industry 32 years. Since 1995, he has worked
almost exclusively with Allstate agencies
handling their technology needs. In 2001,
Dan started WECUSS International, a
computer support company offering remote
technical support to Allstate agents nationwide. For more information, call (877)
993-2877 or (877) 9WE-CUSS.
letters to NAPAA
Thanks for the “heads up” about The
Kindness Revolution. I am looking forward to talking with them.
By the way, tell Nancy she has my vote
to go toe-to-toe with Tommy anytime.
Editor’s response: I’ll tell Nancy to
sharpen her claws for the next shareholders
meeting.
As always, I read the last Exclusivefocus
from cover to cover. Over the past year,
NAPAA has promoted its alliance with
the union. I always thought the purpose
of affiliating was the power that the union
body brings to the table. NAPAA, in order to further its cause, not only needs
to operate from a position of strength by
adding more members, but rank and file
union members must also have a clear understanding of our movement so they are
willing to champion our cause and show
solidarity. Now I am a bit confused because it sounds like you are telling us that
Tom Wilson is untouchable and Allstate
can do “whatever we want.”
With the lower commissions, SRM6,
new inspections, etc., the company does
not care about their customers, only
stockholders. This is a perfect time
for a media blitz from the union and
NAPAA wherein union members let it
be known that they are willing to support the agents that support NAPAA.
There are millions of union members
out there and if they all said, “I will only
buy Allstate from a NAPAA member,”
it would send a powerful message to the
company.
Our region is going to introduce the
new House & Home product and we
have been told that the modeling is already underpriced and a rate change is
in the works. We also had a meeting on
SRM6 and we were told that the compa58 — Exclusivefocus
ny is rerunning credit. I can’t rerun credit
without permission, how can Allstate?
These are issues that affect us daily
and if you KEEP addressing the small
issues that drive us crazy, you will pick
up support.
My agency is growing nicely. I sure
don’t miss the cesspool at Allstate. Seems
everybody there is miserable. One of our
more active referral sources called last
week and said they haven’t written a single Allstate policy in six days. Everything
they’ve written was in the Expanded
Market program. He’s a good producer,
so that’s just unheard of for him. That’s
pretty scary.
Our loss ratios are excellent. With our
primary property carrier we actually have
a negative L/R. How cool is that? I am
so happy when I get those kinds of visits
from company reps. They also thank us
for any and all business we submit, which
is so different from Allstate where we
had to constantly jump through hoops
and when we did, we rarely ever got any
thanks or recognition. I don’t miss that
nonsense at all.
I still shake my head daily at some of
the stories and posts on ABB. I guess
some folks just have thicker heads or
more patience than I do. My only regret
is that I didn’t take TPP the day they announced the homeowner non-renewals
back in 2005. I should have taken my kaching and ran like hell.
I just hope the agents who are struggling find peace either with staying or
leaving. Making the decision is the hardest part. After that, it’s a cakewalk.
My agency is in pretty good shape
now. I’ve been at this for three years
and I am earning as much now as I was
at Allstate after 13 years. I can’t whine
about that. All in all, I am so happy I
made the change… things are really
good for me on this side of the fence.
The only downside is that I miss you guys!
Thank you for including me [in The
Kindness Revolution notification]. I
apologize, but whenever I get a message
from anyone whom I don’t know personally, saying that I have been selected
or are among a select group, I get a bit
skeptical. How is it that my agency was
chosen to be in the first 60 to be offered
this opportunity?
Editor’s response: Quite honestly, I remembered that you appeared to have a keen
social conscience as evidenced by your disapproval of the prisoner train we depicted
on the cover of Exclusivefocus magazine a
couple of years ago. Our goal for The Kindness Revolution was to choose agents that
we believed would be sincere advocates of
the principles of kindness. I felt you demonstrated that virtue when you spoke out
against the cover of the magazine.
I sat down and read the letters section in the last edition of Exclusivefocus
a hundred times, if not more. It is clear
Allstate is not at all concerned about its
agents – or shall we say, soon-to-be exagents – and even less concerned about
its customers.
I have decided to leave Allstate and
continue my insurance career as an independent agent for many of the same
reasons as other agents have cited in your
magazine. I feel that Allstate has not provided the level of support they committed
to and it has become increasingly frustrating to deal with them on a daily basis.
At the meeting with my FSL on July
5th, I was told that I would most likely
be released from my contract without
having to serve out the 90-day period as
required. More than a week later, I received a phone call, as well as an email,
informing me that I would need to serve
out the 90-day period and terminate at
the end of September. Then yesterday, I
Fall 2012
was informed by email that I would be
released at the end of October.
As you can imagine, this development
will have a severe impact on my financial
situation, as it will be impossible to continue writing business for Allstate during
this period. It will most likely also have
a negative impact on my health, having
recently undergone a heart procedure.
Worst of all, what about the customers? I opened my Allstate agency earlier
this year and took over a book of business
from an agent who was only with the
company for less than six month. Now
instead of Allstate putting the customer
first, they have decided to play kindergarten games to teach me a lesson.
I am no fool, but I am inclined to write
a letter to my FSVP with a copy to Tom
Wilson about the ethical problems we
seem to have in our state. I plan to point
out the conviction dates of several agents
and managers who have been fined by the
state for lying, cheating and for defrauding the state department of insurance in
a continuing education scam. Of particular concern is the fact that the company
gave two of these criminal agents 609000
accounts. Two other agents have been reported to local management for falsifying
applications. But instead of terminating
them, some of them were rewarded with
609000 accounts! This is very distressing
to see what is happening to our company,
especially after seeing honest long-term
agents terminated for missing their Expected Results quotas. This is common
knowledge in the field. Should I sell before I report this or do it now?
Editor’s response: Before you report anything, first be sure you have all the facts
straight. Then instead of writing to your
FSVP and copying Tom Wilson, you might
want to file a report using the Allstate i-Report process, which is the proper procedure to
use in cases like this. It would not be surprising if your FSVP tried to sweep this under
the rug, as he is held accountable for things
that happen in his region. If Tom Wilson
did see your letter, he would likely refer it
back to the region for resolution. There is also
a chance that your letter would never make
Fall 2012
it past his secretary. To file a confidential
i-Report with the Alert Line, go to www.
AlertLine.com or call 800-427-9389.
In my state, the termination carnage affected 75% or more of all the agents over
55 years old. Profitability, retention and
honesty were disregarded. All that mattered were new sales and a speck of growth.
Honest agents who walked bad business
were given their pink slips, leaving the
unscrupulous behind to mind the store.
Imagine what will happen to the quality of
the state’s book of business with these morally challenged hooligans in charge.
As for me, I refuse to cheat, just to
write a few lousy apps. I have been a successful agent over the years, but I cannot
be a part of this anymore. The lies and
deceit are too much for any moral person
to endure. As for my still-ethical peers
who remain, I wish you the very best.
In my last two years with Allstate I became ill. My nerves got to me and I couldn’t
sleep. It was like I was all used up and had
no more to give – I was completely drained
and became a physical and mental mess.
With all the threats and demands from
management I was overwhelmed. Today,
after undergoing weeks of tests, I found
out that I’ve had several mini-strokes, that
I have an irregular heartbeat and other
stress-related health issues. The bottom
line is that if I had stayed with Allstate, I
would not be here today.
Allstate is a chapter in my life that I
have closed and do not want to think
about. The company cares nothing about
its agents; they still want to run peoples’
lives via Scientology.
It is a shame that every agent has allowed this to happen. I know, I know, I
was one of the agents that allowed it all
to happen. I guess we were all afraid we
would lose our jobs, but in the end, most
of us lost them anyway. It sickens me to
see what the company has done to so
many of good people.
I truly wish the best for the remaining agents. Fair warning though, the
management are all liars. I am so glad I
don’t have to put up with their bullshit
any longer.
Letters and articles submitted
to NAPAA may be edited for
clarity, space, grammar, syntax
and suitability.
Names of agent contributors
will only be published with
writer’s permission.
Letters and other
submissions can be
e-mailed to
Exclusivefocus@napaaUSA.org
or mailed to:
NAPAA, P.O. Box 7666,
Gulfport, MS 39506
the NAPAA market place
Agencies for Sale
Arizona
Green Valley
Brad Balmer
bradbalmer@allstate.com
520-400-3097
Asking Price: $240,000
PIF: 1,557 Premium: $1,205,000
Number of Staff: 2
Low overhead. L/R 27%, Retention 89%, Only EA within 25 miles.
Scottsdale
Rob
robertocammarata@msn.com
480-734-7574
PIF: 2,891 Premium: $2,455,000
Number of Staff: 3
81 ALI, 85% retention
Tucson
Agencies for Sale
Port Orange
Bert Daniel
rsdanielinc@cfl.rr.com
386-547-0220
Asking Price: Negotiable
PIF & Premium: Call for details
Number of Staff: 3
87% retention, 47% LR. Same
location 20 years.
A070725@ALLSTATE.COM 520-744-3994
Asking Price: $375,000 PIF: 1,518 Premium: $1,515,114
Number of Staff: 1 Prime area, easy to find, same
location over 10 years. 35 yr
agent.
Colorado
Colorado Springs
Steven R Nelson
ph7196608711@gmail.com
719-634-2106
Asking Price: 2X
PIF: 745 Premium: $742,000
Number of Staff: 1
Connecticut East Haven
Douglas M Hughes
douglashughes@allstate.com
203-469-2289
Asking Price: Call
PIF: 2,202 Premium: $2,783,289
Number of Staff: 1
ALI over 90
Florida
Naples, Florida
Cynthia Hill McIntosh
cmcintosh@allstate.com
239-434-7877
Number of Staff: 1
Tifton
Georgia
Private
insforsale@hotmail.com
229-382-0550
PIF: 1,677 Premium: $1,800,000
Established 1998. 90% retention.
Saint Cloud
Macon
Marilyn Cochran
Private
MaJaPa10@AOL.com
407-922-9471
PIF: 1,500 Premium: $1,500,000
Number of Staff: 3
Figures listed are rounded
mel@sammconsulting.com
678-223-7397
PIF: 4,300 Premium: $4,700,000
Number of Staff: 5
Incredible team of agents.
Retention 90%.
Deland
Denny Cowart
Harold Broc Broccoletti
Agencies for Sale
denniscowart@allstate.com
386-734-6551
Number of Staff: 1
27 yr agency, 48% LR, 94%
Prop Retention, 89% Auto
Retention
Haines City
Carol Eddy
CarolEddy@allstate.com 863-860-9555
Number of Staff: 2 Retiring after 27 years. Same
location since 1995.
Miami
Arnoldo Arguello
ArguelloArnoldo@gmail.com 786-499-3415
Asking Price: Please call PIF: 3,000 Premium: $4,000,000
Number of Staff: 3
22 year agent. Retention: 85%,
LR: 50%, ALI 81
Kissimmee
Dale Revels
Gwinnett County
Private
678-223-7397
PIF: 4,000 Premium: $4,200,000
Number of Staff: 2
Market leading agency, branded Allstate office, lease $1250
per month. Retention 90%.
Albany
Private
678-223-7397
PIF: 866 Premium: $1,000,000
Number of Staff: 1
Established 2006. I am changing industries to pursue other
interests.
Tyrone
Brad Gohsman
gohs31392@msn.com 770-487-1112
Number of Staff: 2 25 yr agency, reasonable rent,
low LR, high retention.
Agencies for Sale
Illinois
Hickory Hills
Bryant Harris
BRYKATH@comcast.net
708-254-4629
PIF: 2,412 Premium: $2,043,000
Number of Staff: 2
Same location 17 yrs. Retention 87, ALI 74
Indiana
New Castle
Janet Begley
jbegley1127@att.net
765-623-6432
PIF: 1,305 Premium: $1,320,918
Number of Staff: 1
LR 51, Retention 82.2, 25 yr
agent
Maryland
Several locations
Ed Hogg (Rep) ehogg9@gmail.com
703-862-8168
Asking Price: Negotiable PIF: Premium: Call for info Seller Rep, several locations,
call for details
Glen Burnie
Catherine Sorrell
cbsagent@aol.com 410-768-4446
Asking Price: $1,115,000
PIF: 3,027 Premium: $3,714,000
Number of Staff: 2
Retention 90.1, LR: 44.5, ALI 85
Nevada
Las Vegas
Howard M Shaw
howardmshaw@allstate.com
702-365-1392
PIF: 1,574 Premium: $2,100,000
Number of Staff: 3
Retiring after 34 years. ALI 90.
Retention 92.3, LR 49.4.
dalerevels@gmail.com 407-924-5336
Asking Price: Please call
PIF: & Premium: Call for info
Number of Staff: 1 Fall 2012
the NAPAA market place
Agencies for Sale
Agencies for Sale
New York Oklahoma
Brooklyn
Barbara Shamah Leeds barbararose583@aol.com 917-301-2477
Asking Price: Please call PIF: 1,758 Premium: $4,600,000
Number of Staff: 3
Best location in Brooklyn, 30 yr
agent retiring Brooklyn
Yuri Kibardin
yuri.kibardin@yahoo.com
646-270-8021
PIF: 1,581 Premium: $3,127,742
Number of Staff: 3
North Carolina
Durham
Sherwood Smith
ncrosewood@hotmail.com
919-801-1221
PIF: 1,570 Premium: $999,999
Number of Staff: 1
Asheville
Mike Gentilini
gentilini@bellsouth.net
828-712-0707
PIF: 3,900 Premium: $3,234,000
Number of Staff: 4
31 year agency in beautiful
Blue Ridge Mountains. Option
to purchase or lease office,
F&E (7 workstations) included.
LR 39, retention 90+.
Pisgah Forest
Leca Harris D!
lecaharris@allstate.com
SOL
828-606-9515
Asking Price: Call
PIF: 2,112 Premium: $1,725,000
North Dakota
Grand Forks
Leland Jelinek ljelinek2@gra.midco.net
ALE !
S
G
701-746-9330
DIN
ENNegotiable
Asking P
Price:
PIF: 1,227 Premium: $1,000,000
Fall 2012
Norman
Louis Hemphill louishemphill@allstate.com
E
SAL G!
405 -360-7656
I
D N call
ENPlease
AskingP
Price:
PIF: 2,000 Premium: $2,000,000
Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh
Lawrence Ross Agency
LarryRoss67@gmail.com
PIF: 2,636 Premium: $2,522,201
Number of Staff: 1
Retention 91%, LR 45.27,
Policies /HH: 2.08. 23 years, in
professional area of Pleasant Hills. Premium does not
included brokered business.
No Phone Calls please email.
Philadelphia
Michael Phillips
michael.phillips@allstate.com
484-571-7646
PIF: 2,441 Premium: $2,673,000
Number of Staff: 3
12 yr agent, HH Ret 90%+
Denton
Texas Steve Sullivan
steve@thesullivanagency.com
940-566-2234
PIF: 1,156 Premium: $1,600,000
Number of Staff: 1
Good location, inexpensive
rent, good signage, largest
growing county in Texas.
Austin
Blake Simpson
blakesimpson@allstate.com
512-923-3004
PIF & Premium: call for details
Number of Staff: 1
Retention 92.2, LR 53.64, HH
680. Rent is $650 including
utilities. Please contact via
email, or after 5:30 by phone.
Agencies for Sale
Agencies for Sale
Virginia
Austin
Springfield
Lee
zaubyaj@yahoo.com
512-630-6699
PIF: 3,047 Premium: $3,200,000
Number of Staff: 1.5
Established 1989, two books
combine for 3.2 million, 2.5
miles apart. Approved for
merger.
Utah Spanish Fork
Mark Peterson
petersoninsuranceutah@
gmail.com
801-367-7428
PIF: 1,800 Premium: $1,600,000
Number of Staff: 2
Great Main Street Location,
Low overhead and Rent.
West Jordan
Ryan Davis
whosgameisit23@gmail.com
801-562-8866
Asking Price: Please call
PIF: 1,180 Premium: $1,065,000
Number of Staff: 2
Vermont
Brattleboro
Michael Dorner dorninc@yahoo.com
D!
802 -380-0014
SOL
PIF: 2,464 Premium: $2,271,000
Number of Staff: 1
Larry A Bronstone
lbronstone@gmail.com
703-967-8287
PIF: 2,286 Premium: $2,939,736
Number of Staff: 4
Several locations
Ed Hogg (Rep) ehogg9@gmail.com
703-862-8168
Asking Price: Negotiable PIF: Premium: Call for info Seller Rep, several locations,
call for details
Washington Spokane
Richard Cerenzia
RCerenzia@allstate.com
509-326-3069
PIF: 938 Premium: $720,000
Number of Staff: 1
4 Yr agent. ALI 91%, Retention
91, LR 42%. Buyer qualifies for
accelerated commission
Spokane, Washington
Dick Triesch dickjtriesch@yahoo.com
E
509-768-0957
SAL G!
IN call
Asking Price:
Please
END
P
PIF: 1,987 Premium: $1,675,349
The NAPAA market place…
where buyers meet sellers.
Place your classified ad here
for just $99 per issue
of Exclusivefocus
(Price reduced to $50
if ad is in conjunction with online ad.)
For more information, go to
www.napaausa.org,
or contact NAPAA at 877-627-2248,
or HQ@napaausa.org.
NAPAA Board
of Directors
2011-2012
Administrative Offices
Jim Fish, Executive Director
P. O. Box 7666
Gulfport, MS  39506
Ph # 877-269-3474
Nonmembers: Call 563-564-1800
ExecutiveDirector@napaausa.org
Nancy Fish, Association Manager
P.O. Box 7666
Gulfport, MS 39506
Ph #877-627-2248
Nonmembers: Call 563-564-1800
Fax #866-627-2232
hq@napaausa.org
Please email HQ@napaausa.org to
contact our officers and directors.
Include the name of the person in
the subject line.
OFFICERS
Bob Isacsen
President
Hoboken, NJ
Dale Revels
Immediate Past President
Kissimmee, FL
Debe Campos-Fleenor
Executive Vice President
Tucson, AZ
Exclusivefocus
This issue of Exclusivefocus magazine may contain
articles of interest submitted to NAPAA by outside authors. NAPAA is not responsible for the opinions, advice
or accuracy of any information provided therein.
P.O. Box 7666
Gulfport, MS 39506-7666
Phone Toll Free (877) 627-2248
Toll Free Fax (866) 627-2232
Web Site www.napaausa.org
Email HQ@napaausa.org
Nonmembers: call 563-564-1800
NAPAA’s Mission Statement
NAPAA is dedicated to the success of Allstate
Exclusive Agency Owners and to advance the
independence and entrepreneurial spirit of our
members.
National Association of
Professional Allstate Agents, Inc.
Jim Fish
Executive Editor
P.O. Box 7666
Gulfport, MS 39506
Phone (877) 269-3474 • Fax (866) 627-2232
Exclusivefocus@napaausa.org
Nonmembers: call 563-564-1800
Exclusivefocus and DirectExpress are official publications of NAPAA - The National Association of
Professional Allstate Agents, Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written permission of the publisher. It is the policy of this publication to reflect the professional thoughts and attitudes of
our members and to advance the professionalism of the
insurance industry to the ultimate benefit of the insuring public.
The views expressed by NAPAA, or any of its positions
relative to its activities and those of its members’ actions on
behalf of this organization, are expressly those of NAPAA,
and do not reflect the views or the opinions of Allstate Insurance Company, or any of its affiliates.
Letters to the Editor: All letters must include an address and a daytime and evening phone number. We
reserve the right to edit letters for clarity and space.
TABlETS ExPlAINEd
BRANdEd RETAIl ENvIRONMENT
NAPAA’s Goals
Our goals are subject to alteration, influenced by
a constantly changing environment and the needs
and wishes of our members.
NAPAA encourages its members to actively
participate in the process of defining and refining
our Mission, Goals and Positions.
Our General Goals:
• To provide an organization specifically tailored
to benefit Allstate Exclusive Agents
• Monitor legislative and legal issues pertinent
to Agents and their clients
• Maintain an Action Fund to support issues
beneficial to agents and clients
• Provide reliable communications on all issues
that affect Agents and the ability to call upon our
members to act
• Provide Agents with a distinct voice on issues
that affect them, continually exploring options and
solutions
• Make tools and resources available for members
in an effort to increase agency value and success.
For more information,
please visit
www.napaausa.org
lETTERS TO NAPAA
Exclusivefocus
Fall 2012
An Official Publication of the National Association of Professional Allstate Agents, Inc.
Ismael Melendez, Jr.
Treasurer
Federal Way, WA
Judy Ost
Secretary
Battleground, WA
DIRECTORS
Al Bullard, Floral Park, NY
Ed Hogg, Fairfax, VA
Greg Thompson, Burleson, TX
Lezlee Liljenberg, Arlington, TX
Intriguing
Agent Stories
page 34
Fall 2012
Your Flood Book:
Keep it, Sell it,
or Roll it page 28
issue of Exclusivefocus
Great Expectations
vs. Grim Realities:
What Every New
Allstate Agent
Needs to Know
brought to you by the
pages 14, 18, 20
Networking Ideas to
Help your Agency
page 22
Agency Business
Objectives Program
Exposed! page 40
A Bright New Day
for Allstate Agents
A Revolutionary Strategy
to Minimize Price Objections
while Enhancing your
Community Status
Page 42
National Association
of Professional
Allstate Agents.
Magazine
for
Allstate
AgencyOwners
Ownersand
andAllstate
AllstatePersonal
PersonalFinancial
FinancialRepresentatives
Representatives
AA
AMagazine
Magazinefor
forAllstate
AllstateAgency
Agency
Owners
and
Allstate
Personal
Financial
Representatives
Fall 2012
Insurance Professionals:
IS IT TIME TO BECOME THE OWNER OF
YOUR OWN INDEPENDENT INSURANCE AGENCY?
• Are you locked with a captive and all of the mounting restrictions?
• Are you tired of trying to write the business “they” want you to write?
• Are you just tired of working for someone else?
IF YOU ANSWERED “YES” TO ANY OF THESE QUESTIONS,
THEN IT’S TIME TO CONTACT EQUITY ONE!
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