No professional courtesy

Farmers has no professional courtesy. I interviewed for a position and was told a decision would be mde in 2 weeks. I followed up and was strung along. Well, they have re-post position without the courtesy of a phone call, letter or even an email.

Don't feel so bad,you would never want to work with this gruop,they threatened me tried to intimidate me lied to me told me stories about other clients pending claims making fun of their injuries and said they would send me to 50 of their co Drs to prove me wrong on my claim and otherwise make my life miserable this co will go bankrupt soon they can not continue to get away with it

I sent a resume for a posting, then got a call about a month later from an HR guy wanting to set up a screening interview and an aptitude test. I took off half of a day from work, and the HR guy no-showed for the interview. I aced the aptitude test (no real surprise, I've got years of experience as a licensed adjuster, plus years of estimating experience in body shops), and then waited. They e-mailed me a link to take a "personality profile" test. The HR guy ("Mr. No-Show" told me they'd get the results of my personality profile and then call me within 24 hours to set up an official interview. I called him back after about a week....turns out their 4 question word association test (Choose the words that best describe you from this list, etc...) is the main tool they use to select new hires. Who cares about the years of experience, the glowing references, or acing their aptitude test. Their FOUR QUESTION WORD ASSOCIATION TEST is the be-all end-all of their selection process.

Keep checking back, he said. I've seen the job re-posted, but the two times I've followed up, he says "nothing has changed...we're still building a pool of applicants. I'm starting to remember why I left claims. Ignorant mid-management.

DON'T FEEL BAD. BE GLAD YOU DID NOT WORK FOR FARMERS. I DID FOR 2 YEARS. I WORK UNDER AN AGENT IN MOBILE ALABAMA (THE LISA ANDERSON AGENCY). TALK ABOUT RIP OFFS AND FRAUD. I WAS FORCED TO FORGE DOCUMENTS TO MAKE UP DOCUMENTS. I WORK HOURS OF OVERTIME WITHOUT PAY. THE AGENTS DOWN HERE THINK THEY ARE ROYALTY. THEY NEVER WORK OR EVEN SPEAK TO THEIR CUSTOMERS. I WAS THE ACCOUNT MANAGER HANDLING THE WHOLE OFFICE. SERVICING EXISTING POLOCIES TO WRITING NEW ONES. I HAD A LICENSE FOR LIFE AND HEALTH BUT NOT P&C. I WAS CONSTANTLY QUESTIONING THE FACT THAT POLOCIES WERE WRITTEN WITHOUT A LICENSE. I WAS TOLD TO SHUT UP AND NOT TELL ANYONE THAT I WAS NOT LICENSED. SO FOR MONTHS AND MONTHS SHE WENT ON VACATION OR JUST STAYED HOME AND LEFT THE OFFICE UNDER MY CONTROL WITHOUT ANY TRAINING. OF COURSE I UTILIZED CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTER IN ILLINOIS TO WALK ME TROUGH AND TRAIN ME. BUT NOTHING WAS DONE BY THE BOOK, BECAUSE I DID NOT HAVE ONE. SHE TOLD ME TO BUILD HER BOOK OF BUSINESS WHICH MEANT TO WRITE WHATEVER I COULD. SO WITHOUT ANY INSPECTIONS WHEN CLAIMS WERE FILED AND DENIED BECAUSE DAMAGE WAS FOUND TO BE EXISTING, SHE WOULD INSTRUCT ME TO MAKE THE PROPER DOCUMENTS APPEAR NO MATTER WHAT, THAT MY JOB DEPENDED ON IT. I EVENTUALLY TRIED TO CONTACT THE INS.COM., OUR DM, EVEN OUR UNDERWRITING SUPERVISORS TO WARN OF THIS PRACTICE BUT FARMERS HAS ALL DEPTMENTS BACKED IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.AS LONG AS THAT AGENT IS PRODUCING THEN THEY WILL COVER FOR THEM. HER BUSINESS GREW TREMENDOUSLY BUT I HAD TO INSIST ON HER HIRING MORE PEOPLE BECAUSE I COULD NOT KEEP UP THE WORK LOAD BY MYSELF. EVENTUALLY SHE DID BUT I NEVER RECIEVED A VACATION NOT EVEN A RAISE IN THE LAST YR AND A HALF I WORKED. I WAS REPROMANDED FOR HAVING TO TAKE TIME OFF WITH MY CHILDREN FROM TIME TO TIME. I NEVER HAD A LUNCH BREAK NOR ANY OF THE THINGS THAT YOU WOULD EXPECT TO BE A GIVEN. AFTER BEING SEATED BEHIND A DESK FOR 2 YRS WITHOUT ANY OF THESE LUXURIES I DEVELOPED DEGENERATIVE DISC DISEASE WITH A HORRIBLE CASE OF SACROLITIS WHICH IS INFLAMATION IN THE SACROILIAC JOINTS BUT MINE WENT UNTREATED FOR SO LONG BECAUSE I WAS NOT ALLOWED TO TAKE OFF WORK THAT THE INFLAMATION HAD TURNED INTO A VERY SEVERE INFECTION. AFTER BEING HOSPITALIZED FOR A WEEK ON THE DAY OF MY RELEASE MRS ANDERSON CALLED TO TELL ME THAT I NEEDED TO BE IN THE NEXT MONDAY BECAUSE HER AND HER FAMILY WERE GOING TO DISNEYLAND IN CALIF. I AGAIN COMPLIED. WHY? BECAUSE I NEEDED THE INCOME AND BECAUSE JOBS ARE SCARCE HERE. AFTER ONLY 3WKS BACK AT WORK I HAD A RELAPSE AND HAD ANOTHER INFECTION IN THE JOINTS AS WELL AS LOST ANOTHER DISC. MY DR WAS VERY DISTRAUGHT AND TOLD ME THAT IF I DID NOT TAKE A LEAVE OF ABSENCE TO GET WELL THAT I WOULD BE SPINNING MY WHEELS FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. HE ORDERED A 6WK LEAVE OF ABSENCE AND A MANDATORY STAY IN THE HOSPITAL FOR THE 1ST TWO WEEKS TO RECIEVE VERY INTENSE PHYSICAL THERAPY 7 DAYS A WK. THEN GOING TO 6 THEN 5 AND SO ON...
WHEN I LET MRS. ANDERSON KNOW THIS SHE TERMINATED ME IMMEDIATLY.
SO I KNOW ALL TOO WELL THAT FARMERS INSURANCE IS A BAD CHOICE. BUT THE AGENTS MAKE UP THE COMPANY. THEY ARE THE HEART OF IT AND I PROMISE YOU THAT THEY DON'T HAVE ONE

I AM NOW IN MY 5TH WEEK OF PHYSICAL THERAPY I AM FEELING BETTER. BUT SHE IS TRYING TO FIGHT MY UNEMPLOYMENT SAYING THAT SHE WAS NOT AWARE OF ME NEEDING A LEAVE. THAT I WAS TERMINATED DUE TO PERFORMANCE.
DOES ANY ONE HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO PROVE HER WRONG. MY LEAVE WAS ORDERED THE SAME DAY OF MY TERMINATION. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW ANY SUGGESTIONS ON EXPOSING THIS COMPANY FOR ALLOWING THEIR AGENTS TO ENGAGE IN UNLAWFULL PRACTICES.
MY EMAIL IS mhunter_141@yahoo.com
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO FORWARD ANY SUGGESTIONS OR COMMENTS.
THANKS FOR READING THIS!
HEATHER HUNTER

well I finally got the letter from Farmers stating they found a candidate more qualified blah blah blah. Interestingly the letter was dated March 8, 2006. Please note my interview was March 30, 2006. In addition, they ran credit/background on March 31, 2006, which all came back fine as to be expected. I addressed the date issue and was told that it should have read March 28, 2006. If that was the case they still made their decision prior to my interview and than ran background/credit anyways. I authorized background/credit as I thought I had a chance of getting the job. Do I have any recourse based on them making decision prior to interview and really having no "need to know basis" once their decision was made.

I would like to add I worked at Farmers in a different department for a number of years and left in good standings. I would like to say that the company has some good adjusters, but have a lot of incompetent middle management and upper management.

After this experience, I am glad I work for a much more reputable insurance company.

I worked for Farmers Insurance Exchange in an undisclosed location in California for a number of years. I was a good employee and received several generous raises. Long story short I left the company in good standings and believe they are giving horrible feedback to potential employers. My personal file is reflective of my contributions while with the company including recommendations for promotions etc. The manager, at the time pouted when employees left and refused to re-hire them. I am not looking to be re-hire, however I do not want the company sabotaging my job hunting efforts.

Is there are way to find out if they are giving negative feedback?
Is there any legal action I can take?

This office in particular has been investigated on numerous occasions by the HR department in recent years.

Prior,

This sounds obvious but have you considered having a friend call Farmers Insurance on your behalf to impersonate a potential employer?

Good luck.

I have thought about a friend calling, but have decided to not do that. I have copies of the all my reviews and raises and will offer them out to any future employers.

Thanks for your help. Its all about Karma and when the branch claims manager is demoted it proves to me that their bad karma will come back it just takes time.

Great job on the forum and best of luck to all Farmers insured, claimants, employees and agents.

I spent 12 years working in claims at this wretched hellhole called Farmers Insurance. I've been gone over 5 years and it's been the best decision I've ever made. I had two colleagues die of strokes and one commit suicide; all were likely caused from the stress and depression caused from slaving away in this cesspool. It is an evil and cruel organization run by heartless, greedy
thieves.

I was reviewing some of the posting of ex-employment with Farmers and was relieved, amazed and sickened by how similar my employment experience with Farmers New World Life, Mercer Island was to others employed by different branches of Farmers/Zurich.
It still is shocking to me the type of environment that exists at any division of Farmers/Zurich. I still maintain that because of the nepotism, cronyism and favoritism that is fostered in Farmers contributes greatly to it's "Deliverance"-like atmosphere. It is probably why they continue to hire friends of friends, relatives of relatives, nobody with any sense of professionalism or descency would work or last long there. The quality of work is also affected by their hiring practices, not that that matters to them. Word to the wise both for consumers of their product and prospective employees, reconsider you options.

I was a Farmers CA Auto claims rep for 4 months in 2007. The training they give new hires is terrible. The equipment they give you to do your job, laptop, phone etc is terrible. Supervisors give conflicting and contradicting instructions and there is no accountability when you are advised you are in violation of some new procedure. You have to work 10 hour days without lunch to keep up with their performance expectations. They got burned on not paying claims reps OT a while back so now now they are "creative" on getting 10 hours a day out of you and only paying you for 8...
Anyway start to finish and top to bottom, Farmers is the worst company I ever worked for..

Yes, my husband's boss at FIG just had this same thing happen to him....only he had applied to a different office, in a different state. The upper management told the office calling for a refrence that they didn't want to hire said employee, he was pretty much a dirtbag. Meanwhile, the said employee works his butt off for this company. If you find out there is any legal action you can take, let me know!

All is i know is the test i took to even see if i was fit to interview was bullcrap. I am not talking about the personality test either. This was like a reasoning, math and english section. I found this to be really hard. And dont get me wrong, i have taken some hard test in my life. Hell i am a 2007 graduate in Criminal Justice from a big foour year university in Lousiana and i couldnt pass this stupid test?

I feel the same about testing at Farmers. I missed the test by 4 points and was let down that a stupid test kept me from persuing my life long passion as a insurance adjustor. Who knows what else will come up, and not to mention that when I failed their test they said that it could not be retaken for a whole year. What's up with that. I would have had a job on the spot, but that test took it away.

I too took the same test at Farmers. But they said they could not show me the result or what I missed. I don't know if I failed the personality profile or the aptitude test. All I know it that I cannot retake it for a whole year. They at least could of given me some material to study with this much on the line. I drove 3 hour to the city to take the test because they did not have a testing facility in my town. It was a waste of time, money, confidence. I am a recent college grad with a special degree in finance and still found the test rather difficult. I would have had a job on the spot, but that test took it away.

To everybody that applied for a job at Farmers and didn't get it:
Count your blessings and consider yourself lucky.
I work for this garbage company. I'm in the process of trying to get out and and have some happiness at a job for a change. There is so much favoritism, it's sickening. I was told by my new supervisor 3 weeks ago that I didn't put any notes in my claims files while on vacation. I told him, that's right, I was on vacation. His response: "Well, you told me you weren't going away on your vacation so I expected you to work". Meantime I had family at my house from England. I advised him there was no way, I was going to leave relatives sitting in the house while I worked. I asked him if he worked on his vacation. He said "Of course not". I could sit here for a couple of hours and write of all the indiscretions of this company. Then they sit in meetings and tell us how great an insurance company Farmers is. They are so clueless!!
I posted a message titled Unethical Management. Take a look.
Take Care Everybody!!

I 2nd the Count your Blessing part. I worked for them for 7 years and if the Attorney's knew half of what I did they would have a hay day. I have dates, names, things that was said and parties with head Mgmt involved. They play favortism, prevent people from getting jobs in other areas of insurance, finding ways of firing them because they are on FMLA. I could go on and on. They also have almost every Atty. in Okla. One reason is they know their going to have to pay a small mint for the crap they are doing to customers, and employees. The only reason why they were named number 1 in the best places to work is because they buy a paper for each employee to fill out and turn in. Yes, count your blessings that you don't work there.
Good luck

i am one of those to be agent. and farmer insurance was one of my choice, prior to reading these bad news. i guess i don't know much about farmer insurance, you see. so thanks for telling the truth. i now know my way better. thanks!

I just graduated with my BBA in Marketing in December... a friend who works at farmers got me a interview for a claims adjuster position. I had a phone interview and did awsome, then I was scheduled to take the aptitude test and the personality test.
Well I did fine on the personality test and didn't pass the aptitude test. This makes me feel like total shit. I am not by any means dumb, I have a degree from a accredited university. I did very well in all my upper level business classes and I couldn't pass this stupid test.
I did awsome on the math, and I think I did pretty good on the policy and procedure part. The english test was bullshit... I ran out of time and had to hurry to answer the ones that I could. I ended up not answering 5... and they won't tell me what section I failed. assholes

I understand. I went through the same thing a month ago. The test was total b.s. and I have a college degree as well.

If you failed the test, it means you aren't consistent in your answers. The key to passing the LEAP is to understand that they ask you the same 3 questions about 50 different ways. If you do not understand what you are being asked, or deviate in any way from your earlier answers, you will fail it. Once you fail, Farmers is under no obligation to interview you, and usually won't.

Don't feel bad about not getting a job with Farmers. The company is the biggest dump in the insurance industry. They treat employees like their trash. They bring butt kissing employees into Management and brainwash them to treat everyone like their a low-life. They walk around with a "Holier than Thou" attitude. In the meantime, Management has their heads so far up their butts, they act as if they know what they're doing but, they really have no clue.
You go to meetings and Farmers claims to be the premier, best insurance carrier around and every other carrier has no idea what they're doing. Farmers insists on making their employees work 60-70 hours a week eventhough they lost millions in a class action suit for overtime pay. so, you get paid for 38 3/4 hours and work 70. that breaks down to a few dollars an hour. Go to Walmart, you'll make more money and probably be treated better. Farmers will always abuse and treat their employees like garbage.Consider yourself fortunate that you don't work in that hell hole.

I got an email from an DM even though I didn't apply for the job for an agent.

Showed up on interview day but he rescheduled at the last minute. So we did.

I passed the aptitude test and we have another meeting scheduled but I think after reading this site, i'm not going to go.

I'll be taking the LEAP test with Farmers next Monday. Can anyone post a couple of sample LEAP questions? Do you now what LEAP stands for?
Your comments are making me think twice before I spend anymore time interviewing with Farmers.
Any advise on how to prepare for the LEAP test will be appreciated.

I've been in the real estate business for the past 5 yrs but as we all know this market is very slow for now. I hold a Life/Health lic and have been contacted by a local Farmers DM to become a farmers agent but he's also pushing me to get my P&C lic which i had already thought of doing.
The thing is their commission split is very low i've been offerd 40% for term life and 50% for other life ins policies. also I can only get 10% comm on home and auto which i think is peanuts.
I've met with the DM and has promised that all policies i get will be retained by me and if i ever want t transfer the business to a family member, it would be no problem. he also has promised that i can be in independent agent and be able to work other companies but i must give farmers and its affiliates priority over new policies.
After reading this website, i must think about it twice, i guess.
Any other insurance companies you can suggest?

GO ELSEWHERE! Family member has to qualify to change even existing FIG agent in family. Next FNWL has terrible term life rates and most CO pay 80-90% first yr comm. Also you are falsely independent! They can fire you -no cause. And Writing with other Co.s will get you fired ASAp. Dont believe him. I was 28 yr agent and had to sue them to get my Contract Value. Still fighting. Best thing I ever did was become IA agent. They have sales quotas but wont tell you numbers but will fire you . Ask any Calif agent. They are firing Senior agents like S. Calif wildfires in last 3 mo.s

Thank you for your input.
I am not too familiar with Farmers life ins rates but I made some comparisons on auto insurance premiums and theirs is super high, even 3x as much as other companies it must be very hard to compete with other companies such as allstate.
I'm now thinking about going to a diff insurance co.
i've been contacted by a DM from Primerica ins co they offered life ins products at 100% comm (term only) for first year which is really good but they only offer $60.00 for auto policies referrals. Also, the downside is that not alot of people know this company.
I've also contacted state farm but with them you must also be a captive agent in addition to having some kind of capital to start with. I was told that they put you thru a 8mos training with paid salary plus they offer 18K to 24K bonus to start your bus.
Is this good offer?
I'm just an immature individual.

Can anyone explain what the LEAP test is.. what does it stand for? and must every one as agents go thru this?

I worked for farmers for a number of years. I was laid off 2 years ago and before I and others were laid off, they switched the hours from 38 3/4 hours a week to 40 hours a week. Of course with the change, we were not compensated the extra 15 minutes per day. Does anybody have info on when this requirement changed? Please, I need your help.
thanks

I just received a phone call from a Farmers sales rep. The fellow told me that because I looked for insurance online the "Do Not Call" directory didn't apply. I said that regardless, we don't need insurance and hung up. He continued to call back asking for my wife. What an idiot! I can't believe they allow people like this on the phone. I'm filing a complaint with Do Not Call and we'll see if there's anything to his claim, and if he calls again I'm calling the Police. I don't need this kind of harassment.