Can anyone give me info on Combined Insurance?

[Cenla Agent]

AON corporation is spinning off the Combined Insurance Division along with Sterling Life Insurance and the Olympic Life Insurance companies. The combined Senior Division in merging with Sterling Life Insurance effective September 1, 2007. All Senior Division agents must reapply to Sterling for their jobs. All your health benefits are through AON, so no one knows what will happen with them. Sterling is suppose to pick up all of the Senior products the Combined has been selling. Yes you have good training, but you will go door to door and travel, sometimes a week or more at a time. Been there done that....

Anyone have any comments on Combined's LTC plan, (i.e. premiums, benefits vs. the Genworths and John Hancocks) which is something they and Sterling are pushing now? With the uncertainty of PFFS and the sky high premiums of both Sterling and Combined supps it looks like the only attractive things about going to work for them are LTC training by Phyllis Shelton paid by the company as well as access to Combined's book of business to market MA, LTC, etc. to.

 

[Survivor]

I'm with American General right now. One of my co-workers used to work for Combined. He did pretty good business over there, but left because he wanted to move and his upline that was making money off all the business he wrote got butt hurt.

He has a very positive opinion on their training. He is in the process of going through his old customers and replacing their policies though. We have much better supplemental health policies, according to him. It did sound like there was a push for recruiting over there, though. He said part of the training was going to the mall and telling people about the company on a job opportunity basis. Honestly, that is pretty cheezy but apparently it builds a lot of confidence, and you need it with Combined. He wrote a bunch of business, but only because he took cold calling to the extreme. He said he would be driving, see a construction site, whip in, tell the guys about his stuff, and write apps. A lot of these were like 20 dollar/month accident policies and the company was apparently pretty liberal in its underwriting of proposed insureds with "dangerous" occupations.

In summary, if you work for them you will have to write A LOT of apps each week. This involves some serious "walk and talk." If you try to work by appointments only with this thing, you will go broke fast.

 

[HomeService]

yes, they collect premiums. They are a throw back to the old debit days. While most policies are mail in or bank draft, some older ones are still paid cash, usually quarterly, and if the client throws some cash at you, and you collect it, you get some collection commission, even if you did not write it originally.

I drove around with a guy, and when they sent me to Dallas for training I got creeped out. The main thing I did not like was all the "red flags" that were going off left and right.

They made me sign someting that I must have a guy room with me in Dallas in my hotel. I must, and if I do not get one assigned, I am to go find a combined guy to room with me so we can role play and study together. Wrong.

Then, it was superbowl weekend, and they said there was absolutely no way I was ever to show up in the hotel bar, even if I were to wander in there to watch the superbowl.

And, I could never have a beer, not even in my own hotel room. That they paid for. I thought there were too many red flags- around there.

 

[Cenla Agent]

yes, they collect premiums. They are a throw back to the old debit days. While most policies are mail in or bank draft, some older ones are still paid cash, usually quarterly, and if the client throws some cash at you, and you collect it, you get some collection commission, even if you did not write it originally.

I drove around with a guy, and when they sent me to Dallas for training I got creeped out. The main thing I did not like was all the "red flags" that were going off left and right.

They made me sign someting that I must have a guy room with me in Dallas in my hotel. I must, and if I do not get one assigned, I am to go find a combined guy to room with me so we can role play and study together. Wrong.

Then, it was superbowl weekend, and they said there was absolutely no way I was ever to show up in the hotel bar, even if I were to wander in there to watch the superbowl.

And, I could never have a beer, not even in my own hotel room. That they paid for. I thought there were too many red flags- around there.

I was told that at one time they hired a lot of young guys who would come to Dallas and raise hell, which caused them to implement the strict rules about drinking etc.

 

[HomeService]

They need to raise a little more hell , there obviously was not enough of that going on, ha ha.

Oh yeah, and they told me my wife could not come up there and stay in my room as well. With me. Even if I paid. Well, they did not want me to pay and get my own room, anyways. Now, we are legally married for nearly 20 years. She could use a "get away" to Dallas every now and then. But, she drinks beer. Guess we can't have that.

Anybody telling me I need to room up with some strange guy instead of my wife, and I cannot go into a bar to watch the superbowl, even if I only drink water, and I need to do this and that, well, that person can go to heck. Raise hell? OK, I'm up for it.

 

[2112Greg]

yes, they collect premiums. They are a throw back to the old debit days. While most policies are mail in or bank draft, some older ones are still paid cash, usually quarterly, and if the client throws some cash at you, and you collect it, you get some collection commission, even if you did not write it originally.

I drove around with a guy, and when they sent me to Dallas for training I got creeped out. The main thing I did not like was all the "red flags" that were going off left and right.

They made me sign someting that I must have a guy room with me in Dallas in my hotel. I must, and if I do not get one assigned, I am to go find a combined guy to room with me so we can role play and study together. Wrong.

Then, it was superbowl weekend, and they said there was absolutely no way I was ever to show up in the hotel bar, even if I were to wander in there to watch the superbowl.

And, I could never have a beer, not even in my own hotel room. That they paid for. I thought there were too many red flags- around there.

Wow, where's Rod Serling??? That sounds like the best episode of Twilight Zone ever!

 

[HomeService]

Keep Austin weird. Keep me out of Dallas in some strange hotel room. ha ha

 

[Cenla Agent]

Wow, where's Rod Serling??? That sounds like the best episode of Twilight Zone ever!

And he didn't even mention PMA, "I FEEL HEALTHY HAPPY AND TERRIFIC" etc.

 

[HomeService]

PMA, "I FEEL HEALTHY HAPPY AND TERRIFIC"

yeah, I saw all those posters all over the walls in the dallas office when I went in to quit the next day