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 Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 6:39 pm Post subject: |
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| Wow...We need to clean up more scum like this. It irritates me when going to conventions or general sales courses and such to talk to other agents that only care about the bottom dollar. I am not really making all that much money...enough to support and have extra obviously but I am more concerned with my customers knowing what they are buying and making sure it is the best for them. |
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slappy
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| Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 6:40 pm Post subject: |
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Dayum.....
(if you get to Memphis, I'll give you a couple of addresses)
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LifeIsGood
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| Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 8:50 pm Post subject: |
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We have to be fair to LifeIsGood.
Allstate has been thrown under the bus and driven over in this thread.
It's NOT the Allstate "agents" who refuse to pay the fair claims.
It's NOT the Allstate "agents" who refuse to write homeowner's in Florida.
It's NOT the Allstate "agents" who set their rates, deny claims and cancel policies.
Now I'm NOT a Properly & Casually guy but the story I got regarding Allstate being aggressive bass towards when it comes to auto claims is that they made a corporate decision (some years back) they were not going to just pay out these $10,000 to $20,000 fraudulent auto claims because of the threat of litigation costing more than the claim.
They wanted to send a message to the ambulance chasing attorneys that Allstate wasn't just going to write an easy check anymore.
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GarySpicuzza
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| Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 8:58 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for that Gary - it just happened to be Allstate because of our excellent commercial (hee hee). I'm sure we could start a thread about any number of companies and have the same conversations.
You are right - Insurance companies are good targets for a certain type of lawyer. We have all heard where it is easier/cheaper to pay than it is to take the case to court.
Allstate said enough. I'm glad they did. Keeps my loss ratio in check.
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Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. - Ferris Bueller |
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LifeIsGood
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| Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 3:14 am Post subject: |
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Trick - or- Treat
I agree, let's leave Allstate alone and pick on somebody else. I think we should pick on those ruthless SOBs at Americo.
Here comes the bus:
Americo's Vanishing Premium Sales Scheme
Americo encouraged and trained its agents to market life-insurance using “vanishing premium” sales presentations. The “vanishing premium” concept refers to marketing life insurance policies on the basis that after a certain number of years, or after one lump sum premium payment, a policy's premiums can be completely paid by interest (in the case of an Interest Sensitive Whole Life Policy). As a result, policyholders are told they need only pay premiums for certain number of years (usually between 5 and 10), and once the “vanish year” is reached, no further premium payments will ever be required from the policyholder.
As part of the sales scheme and conspiracy, Americo supplied its agents with illustrations (or the computer software designed to produce such illustrations) for use in vanishing premium sales presentations. These illustrations were intended to induce potential policyholders into purchasing Interest Sensitive Whole Life Policies on the basis that after a certain number of years, no further premium payments would be required from the policyholder to keep the policy in force. The illustrations contained a column representing the annual premium payments required by the policy. The illustrations represented that once the “vanish year” was reached, no further premium was required from the policyholder.
Americo's vanishing premium illustrations projected policy values and premium payments based on the unrealistic premise that the interest rates, mortality and expense assumptions and other assumptions used in the illustration – which were not disclosed anywhere – would continue unchanged for the duration of the policy, a period often extending 20 or 30 years into the future. Thus, if Americo credits less interest during the life of the policy than illustrated, the policy will not accumulate sufficient interest to pay the policy's future premiums and the cash premiums will not vanish as illustrated.
Americo omitted this material information and its illustrations and representations made to policyholders. Americo knew, but failed to disclose that its interest crediting rates would be reduced in the future, thus requiring policyholders to make several years of additional premium payments beyond the represented vanish year in order to keep their policies in force.
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InsInvestigator
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| Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 12:23 pm Post subject: |
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So Mark what happen to the guy in CA?
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Lori
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| Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 4:02 pm Post subject: |
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The big weenie had his license suspended for a while then appealed to have it reinstated. I think he had to pay a $25,000 fine and eventually got his license back.
This, and several other cases were just big jokes because they were my personal "projects". After I quit working with the DOI, my team (who knew anything at all about life insurance fraud) were reassigned to other departments by then Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush. Because it is a matter of public record; it turned out that "The Quack" had his position terminated by the Governor because he was (allegedly) pocketing campaign contributions. After being let go, he retired to Maui, where he lives today.
The Life Insurance Fraud unit was never rebuilt and today consists of 2 or 3 people - in all of California. When I was working with them, there were as many as 13 investigators.
This is the reason I keep so busy. The top agents all know that if and/or when they get caught, all they'll have to do is pay $25 or $50K in fines and put back on the street. What's $50K to a guy making 7 figures in FYC (First Year Commissions?)
If I build cases against the companies and sue them for their agent's conduct and it costs them, say, $100 million each time (MetLife is currently up to around $300 million), they have to start policing themselves. Sure, they're big companies but that is a huge amount of money and someone has to answer for it.
The overall cure for this, or any other insurance-related issue, will be educating the public, which will be no small task. When the average consumer has the ability to identify potential problems in his/her own policy, any type of insurance policy, the industry will have no choice but to turn - or learn new ways to screw people.
Although I'm generally an optimist, I'm betting on the latter.
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Please feel free to go to my website at www.markcolbert.com or, if you have a specific question, you can email me directly. I hope I can answer any questions you might have. If not, I can certainly find an answer right away. |
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InsInvestigator
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| Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2008 9:30 pm Post subject: the commercial makes a powerful point |
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This may seem to be a "scare tactic" but it's real life. I have an agency client who was hit with a $850,000 judgment years ago after a fatal accident involving his daughter.
Standard liability limits were too low and his umbrella policy saved his home and business.
My niece's husband was killed in a private plane crash about 2 years ago. A significant lawsuit is ongoing. If the defendant is found at fault, they stand to lose everything. She has 4 kids between 1 and 6 years old.
I'm a big believer in umbrellas and hope the commercial enlightens some folks about their value.
That said, the benefits need to be explained to the customer so they can make their judgment based on their situation. Where I see a problem is when the agent or CSR makes the decision that a client doesn't need it or can't afford it without explaining the concept. |
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InsuranceMarketer
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| Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 7:58 am Post subject: |
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My friend was the boy in that commercial!!
=D
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Sandra
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| Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 11:16 am Post subject: |
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Get outta town Sandra really? Well he did a good job of looking scared! How old is he? And is he an actor or get the 'hookup' some other way?
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"Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way." Martin Luther King Jr. |
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Lori
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| Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2008 10:17 pm Post subject: 3 fingers |
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did anyone else notice that the lawyer who puts his hand on the other lawyers back only has 3 fingers?[/center]
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riley526
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| Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2008 2:01 am Post subject: |
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SHUT UP! REALLY? Now I hope it comes on tonight!
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"Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way." Martin Luther King Jr. |
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Lori
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| Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2008 5:18 am Post subject: |
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I wonder if he bowls that way?
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Please feel free to go to my website at www.markcolbert.com or, if you have a specific question, you can email me directly. I hope I can answer any questions you might have. If not, I can certainly find an answer right away. |
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InsInvestigator
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