AGENCY CONCERNS 

Every month thousands and thousands of agents call and send emails to UFAA expressing their concerns with the direction of Farmers and the behavior of certain management individuals that impede and interfere with their ability to service and sell insurance policies.

 It is probably fair to say that the majority of management individuals are academics in the sense that they have no real concept of what it takes to sell and service clients in an insurance agency.  For them it is all academic, something they read about or learned in a classroom.  They are given quotas from upper management and their only concern is achieving their quota by whatever means necessary.   

Which brings me to the purpose of this article.  Most agents know that September 2010 is hump month for Life insurance so that district managers, DMM's, State Directors and other management individuals can try and hit their assigned quotas.

This is critical to them personally as their bonuses, maybe their very jobs are based on the achievement of their quotas.  So the pressure has begun.  Agent's are starting to report that they are receiving letters from their State Directors informing them that they have only sold X amount of policies in the last 12 to 18 months. The agents have noticed that the letters are being copied to their DMM, District Manager and agents file. 

They are also starting to receive letters from their DM's concerning the same issue.  This infuriates most agents as it is implying that the agent also has some type of quota.  Most state they could care less if a copy goes in their agents file, as it doesn't really mean anything. 

Let us be clear, that agents should always strive to sell life insurance protection, auto insurance, homeowners insurance, disability insurance, etc. whenever there is a need by their clients.  That is the professional responsibility of every insurance agent.  

UFAA will be watching the behavior and actions of management individuals very closely in September  to see if any of their actions violate the Independent Contractor ruling.  To refresh your memory, that means that production quotas, mandatory meetings and mandatory reports are a violation of Federal law.  If any of these activities are breached, then the agent may be reclassified as an employee by the IRS and FGI could be responsible for the agents Social Security taxes, paying vacation, etc. 

The AAA also specifically states that there are no production requirements and nothing in the contract shall be construed as an employer/employee relationship. 

Please inform UFAA, whether you’re a member or non member at no@ufaa.com, if you feel your Agency Contract or Independent Contractor status is being threatened.

Tom Schrader
President
United Farmers Agents Association