Too Important To Be Rhetorical

 

A rhetorical question is a figure of speech in the form of a question posed for its persuasive effect without the expectation of a reply.
I'm going to forgo my standard format this issue of the "Voice" to pose the following questions to FGI, submitted directly and unedited by the agency force.

1.) Why was it necessary for the Exchanges to purchase an internet based direct auto insurance company (21st Century) that competes directly against the agency force? Every auto policy that 21st Century issues is one less policy the Farmers agent can write.

2.) What about Independent Agents having full access to the product line through Foremost?
 
3.) Why did Robert Woudstra send a letter to the Independent Agents detailing the Farmers purchase of AIG and how it will effect the the IA's. Included in the letter is the statement that "This acquisition demonstrates our commitment to meet the needs of independent agents with a broad product suite, ease of doing business and financial stability."
 
4.) Why do Farmers agents not have access to the products of their own company but Independent Agents do?
 
5.) Do we honestly believe that the Independent Agents will just write the auto insurance, but not write the homeowners, boat, life or umbrella insurance? Isn't this direct competition against the agency force?

6.) Why does Farmers not allow its Captive agents to write all the business lines owned by Zurich or the Exchanges, but it is demanding that agents place all their business through the commercial brokerage house they have made an agreement with, but is not owned by them? Isn't this a direct violation of the Agents Appointment Agreement which states that agents are free to place business outside of Farmers when it is not acceptable to the Exchanges?
 
7.) What legal or contractual right does FGI think gives it the legal authority to demand that the Captive agents who have a contract with the Exchanges place business through its commercial brokerage house that it does not own and the insurance paper is not Farmers?

8.) Is the new Agents Appointment Agreement illegal since it basically allows FGI the right to change the contract at will without additional financial consideration?

9.) What is Distinct Choice and how does it have an effect on me as a Farmers agent? I have visited the website distinctchoice.com, but don't understand its impact now or in the future on me as an agent.

10.) Is it true, and this is according to the Insurance Journal, that Zurich/Farmers Management Service’s management fees and other related revenues were up 6 percent to $2.3 billion? Doesn't that mean that Zurich is getting about $7,123,287.67 per day from the exchanges? Doesn't that sound excessive for a management fee considering all expenses, claims, agent commissions, etc. are paid for by the Exchanges?

11.) According to my DM the reason for the large agent recruiting centers is that the DMMs will be gone by the end of 2009 and the DMs will be gone by the end of 2010. Any truth to that rumor?
 
Again, the purpose of this article was to allow agents to publically air their questions directly to FGI. It is highly unlikely that any response will be forthcoming from FGI on these questions and they can therefore be viewed as rhetorical questions. However, there is legitimacy in many of these questions and they should be considered too important to be rhetorical.

Tom Schrader President

United Farmers Agents Association