Allstate hired me and other agents to open offices for them, which would be our own businesses. First they checked our finances to make sure we could be in a position to operate a business, and with good reason. No one ever makes money doing this, and they want to make sure you can use your assets to stay in business for a year or better, getting them customers through family, friends and massive, expensive advertising in the Yellow Pages, which Allstate keeps when you quit. You do not really own the business. In my case, my old mom had died, leaving me some money, and I was a perfect "mark" for them, as were other agents they recruited who had retirements from other jobs, spouses who made a lot of money, etc.
I opened an office in the suburbs, which was a hot new growth area of new affluent homes, and I actually sold a lot of insurance at first. I was the only rookie to win a sales contest, "Where Eagles Dare," in the first year. My manager assured me I was on my way. What this did was create a "feeding frenzy," and they started opening offices all around me, something they said they would not do.
Allstate is the worst case of office politics I have ever seen. They have a double standard for older, pet agents and those who have important family members working there. An old, long-time agent moved a mile down the street from my office, something they said would not happen. Another office opened up on the other end of the street with three agents (company policy is a maximum of two per office) just because they had important family working for the company and could break all the rules. Needless to say, they took a lot of customers who were on their way to my office and scarfed them up.
The last straw was that they made it so tough for new customers to get insurance. They started checking credit and zip codes (no one from "the hood," they told us) and using insider insurance sites such as CLUE/Equifax to get all kinds of dirt on people, so as not to insure them. I could not put insurance on anyone anymore, and my office expenses and overhead outran my income.
No new hires or agents who started with Allstate in this Neighborhood Office Agent/Exclusive Agent Program made it, including me.
Do yourself a favor and stay away from this "opportunity." It is every bit as bad as some of the other rip-off companies I have seen.
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