Exclusivefocus Summer 2012.pdf - National Association of ...

its infinite wisdom wanted my buyer tobecome big overnight and was willingto finance the high-end sale price of mybook of business. I just couldn’t afford tomiss the opportunity, especially with allthe commission turmoil discussions thatwere taking place at the time. Once againthank you for the great work you are doingand your support for all these years.It looks like things are progressing okayfor the sale of my agency this fall. MyFSL stopped in for a visit last week andtalked like it was a done deal. The buyer isa bit confused as to why he needs $50,000in the bank, not to mention coming upwith the financing. I had told him upfrontthere will be no holding a note. He sayshe has the money now and just has to gothrough the Allstate process now – I surehope they don’t try to spoil my sale. Anyway,I offered to stay on part-time so hewould have the licensed LSP he needs,but both he and his wife are licensed, sohe may already be planning to ‘trim thefat’ from agency expenses.Incidentally, way to go at the shareholder’smeeting! I think I may buy one share,and then head over to the meeting next year.After 28 years of working 70 to 80hours a week trying to deliver the Promise,I have decided to retire and work foran independent agent. The new Houseand Home product was an indicatorthat Allstate does not want to be in thehomeowner market. They then changedto SRM 6 and hid the rate increases. Italso gave them an opportunity to runcredit and, at the same time, told us weneeded to get permission.They are excited about their new commercialproducts. However, when I was anew agent, we were also excited and I wroteand lost a $300,000 book of commercialbusiness. In 2003, I purchased two booksof business, which gave me a $4,000,000book, six employees and two offices.In 2006, Tom Wilson got scared andclosed down earthquake coverage in mystate and we did not have an alternative forsix months. Needless to say, Wilson’s lackof understanding the competition cost meover $1,000,000 in premium, and $100,000in income per year. By the time I sold mybook, it had drifted down to $2,800,000and Tom’s income did not suffer.After 28 years of being an agent, notone Regional Vice President, not oneAssistance Vice President and not oneRegional Sales Manager had the courtesyto thank me for my service or wishme well. My FSL did wish me well, butonly after I told her I was retiring andonly then did she remember.Allstate has become heartless and theagents will never trust them again. Thenon top of it all, the company wants totake away commission dollars from theagents so it can claim more profits, whichmeans more money for Tom Wilson.Way to go Tom; thanks for looking outfor those who made this company great!Thanks for all you do at NAPAA andkeep up the good fight.To my fellow Allstate agents:In May 2012, I “celebrated” my 30thyear with Allstate. My office is located ina small rural community of approximately10,000 people with just over 9,000households. Believe it or not, there areten insurance offices listed in the phonebook for my town and there are numerousother offices within 7 miles. Most ofthem are independent agencies.Like many other Allstate agents 30years ago, I started at the Allstate boothin a Sears store. In those days, we weretruly able to take care of our customers –from underwriting to claims. It was niceto be able to talk to and reason with theunderwriters who were assigned to us.Of course, every so often the companywould rotate them so that they didn’tget too comfortable with us or do us toomany favors. The customer service andclaim reps were great too. They didn’t rotateoften and we got to know them andthey really tried to help us.During those years, we had the powerto make a difference. Then came thechanges; first the NOA program. Thiswas followed by tightened underwritingand new restrictions. Soon after, thecompany terminated our positions asemployee agents and the EA programbegan. I accepted each new challenge believingthe company was principled, andfair. I tried each new program that waspresented over the years.As I look back over the past 8 to 10years, I realize how stupid it was to allowmyself to be intimidated into spendingmoney on the new programs that managementdreamed up. During the past 8years, I increased staff and participatedin a multitude of programs. Unfortunatelyfor me, doing so used up 90% ofthe retirement funds that I had accumulatedover the years. After my financialwell dried up, I had little left to spend onmarketing programs and, as you mightexpect, I received my termination letter,effective June 1, 2012.Someday, I believe Allstate will eventuallyrealize the mistakes it made withall these changes. Good agents havelost their life savings, yet the companyremains in denial of the truth. If theythink they can cover everything up withadvertising campaigns where they feigncompassion by giving away teddy bears,they are sadly mistaken.In the end, I do not regret my timewith Allstate. Actually, the first 15 yearswere quite good. I look forward to thenew paths I have chosen. I will be pursuingsomething more in tune with myspiritual nature. I intend to study Reiki,as well as equine and canine anatomy.Once I become proficient, I hope to aidin the healing and relieving of pain inhorses and large dogs. In the meantime,you will all be in my prayers – wishinggreat success to all of you.Respectfully yours,Barb HanleyLetters and articles submittedto NAPAA may be edited forclarity, space, grammar, syntaxand suitability.Names of agent contributors will onlybe published with writer’s permission.Letters and othersubmissions can bee-mailed toExclusivefocus@napaaUSA.orgor mailed to:NAPAA, P.O. Box 7666,Gulfport, MS 3950658 — Exclusivefocus Summer 2012