Farmers Insurance Agent vs. Independent

Sorry had to repost Brent's message due to technical difficulties

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First off, I would strongly discourage anybody from signing an agency contract with Farmers.

Twenty one years ago at the age of 25, I became an Agent For Farmers. I enjoyed the first ten years of my relationship and built a solid business. Back in those days, most of the people in the Farmers organization were decent people who actually cared and wanted to help each other grow.
About ten years ago, Farmers was sold. First to British-American Tobacco company, then to Zurich. And thus began a downhill slide in the corporate environment. Today, there is a very adversarial attitude from management to agent. Over the last few years, agents have become very bitter and angry that the promises made to them are being broken on a daily basis. We've seen 30-60 percent rate increases, and business is leaving in droves. It has become such an unpleasant place to work, that after 21 years, I decided to resign my contract and walked away from a very nice income.

The Independent world:
Trying to get appointments from the carriers that support the independent agents has turned out to be a much longer and more difficult process than I expected. Many companies want volume committments, and many simply won't appoint you until you have a certain size book of business (catch-22). It's like having a big store, and lots of customers who are ready to purchase, but the shelves are empty. Very frustrating.

Two months ago, I found the solution. I have joined a group of independent agents who have banded together as a group. I now have access to about 30 different insurance companies, and can win a sale against Farmers almost every time. When I was with Farmers, my closing ration was about 20 quotes to one sale. Now I have a place fore every prospect that walks through the dore. The combined premium volume of the group makes us a powerful negotiator with the insurance companies. We are able to obtain higher commission percentages and share in profitibility bonuses that are otherwise not attainable for many years of solid production. I'm now making on average almost double the commission from what I was getting at Farmers. I can make just as much as I was before with 1/2 the customer service work. And I will be able to share in the production bonus at the end of the year.

But more importantly - The independent carriers have to compete for your business. They must keep the agent happy, or the agent will place his / her business elsewhere. If you decide to build your career with a captive company like Farmers, you should know that they do not have this attitude. They know that most agents will get to a comfortable income and be hand cuffed to the brand. They have no incentive to keep the agent happy. They pay low commission percentages, and in the end, you will find that the "contract value" is worth only about 60% of how it is represented. After my painful lesson (it cost me a bunch of money), I have explained it to several other agents and they are shocked at how the math actually works.

If anybody would like to talk to me about the opportunities within our group, I would be happy to introduce you to the team. Send me an email.
Brent Walker
brent@bwalkerinsurance.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/06/2010 04:51PM by administrator.

Brent, does this organization do business in CA?

I would really like more information I was a farmers Reserve agent What a mistake. Does your group work in Washington?

It has been three years since I wrote this post. Apart from the embarrasing spelling errors, I still stand by every word of it.

I've met many new friends in and away from the farmers Agency force -- most of them still unhappy. I on the other hand continue to enjoy growth that I never thought possible. The grass is most definately greener on the independent side of the fence.

Independent: Free from outside control; not depending on another’s authority.
(Synonyms: Liberation, Freedom, Unconventional)

Captive: A person who has been taken prisoner,confined, or kept under restraint.
(Synonyms: Prisoner, Jailbird)

The agency is growing in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. We are looking for agency partners in those states and beyond. For those of you that simply want a place to put the business that farmers rejects - without fear of the competition cross selling the rest of the household, we will be happy to co-op with you. For those seeking a full time insurance career away from the confines of the captive contract -- We can help with that as well.

Insurance can be a fun, rewarding, and profitable career. That is, for those of us who are NOT tied to the farmers mill-stone. (The "f" is not capitalized due to lack of respect)

I don't monitor the boards, so if you wish to open a conversation, please call 801-562-5000 or email to brent@bwalkerinsurance.com

who did you join, I am with a different company as captured agent, I have been in financial planning for over 25 years and recently about 4 years ago started adding p&c lines also, but being capture and having to suffer at the whims of a corporate environment is proving more difficult than I want to deal with. I really want to go back to be independent and am just starting to look, any help you can give would be appreciated

I was a Farmers agent for 27 years. Farmers is administrative top=heavy. It was always us (the agents) against them (the guys in the glass towers). I am proud to say I have talked many agents out of becoming involved with Farmers. Farmers is a terrible company. We had many district managers....the average time was each lasted about 2-3 years. You virtually never have seen a happy agent. Most are constantly afraid of being terminated. As an agent you pay for all your expenses. Many Farmers agents have quit and become an independent agent and was happy. DO NOT BECOME A FARMERS AGENT.

I am new to this website and it amazes me to see the same issue being around for such a long time.
I was working as a partner in a Farmers agency from 2010 to 2015 and I build a Championship agency with my partner in that time period, however, I experienced the same issues that so many Farmers agents have to deal with nowadays. Non-competitive rates, underwriting restrictions and more administrative work for agents to be able to fire service personnel in-house.

In 2015 I split from Farmers and became an independent agent. I do have now access to several major carriers and with today's software developments it is a breeze to run quotes with multiple carriers and manage a book of business that consists not only of one carrier.

I was able to build personal lines fairly quickly, expand to commercial, health and financial services and today I can do what I initially set out to do: Service my client in his best interest.

Looking at the complaints from Farmers agents, the terminated agents and the ones struggling with the quotas, threats and other corporate tactics to put pressure on the distribution side, I would like to offer any one in the Los Angeles area to team up with me and build a huge independent agency that provides enough money for the agents and the best service for the clients.
If you like what you read you can contact me my email or call 323-841-5079

After more than 37 years as a Farmers agent I recently decided to retire. I sent them the 90 day notice but never received any type of response. I then hired an attorney who sent them a newly dated 90
day notice and still no response. Throughout the next 90 days my attorney made several more attempts to contact Farmers to no avail. My question is what now? How long should I wait to see if I recieve my contract value? Has anyone had a similar experience? Thanks for any type of assistance you can offer.

We have heard SO many stories like this, most as of recent. We even attended the UFAA (United Farmers Agent Assoc) national convention and spoke face to face with hundreds of disgruntled agents going through a gambit of issues.

It's crazy what kind of practices the company and district managers are partaking in i.e. asking one agent to buy another's book when the agent doesn't know their book is for sale!

Farmers agents are so well trained and have a great entrepreneurial spirit that is perfect for going independent. We've even designed a program that helps Farmers agents bridge the "scary" gap of starting over. Reach out to us to get out now, before you lose a ton of money and you lose your agency!

zach@pacificcrestinsurance.com