Primerica
Ripoff bombshell

I post a lot regarding Primerica, mainly to
rebutt which I will be doing somewhat in this
report, but the main thrust is to alert and my focus this time around is the information from a Primerica website I recently discovered. The link is: http://ww3. Primerica.com/public/who/articles/metamorphosis.html

This particular Primerica website consists of
six pages. Recently some Primericans boasted
that AM Best upgraded its rating from A - to A. One would assume that this means that Primerica got financially stronger (i.E. Debt-to-worth, increasing equity, more sales and net income). Their boastings follow Primerica's usual characteristic of giving you half the story. Let's see what Primerica corporate says from page 1:

"The rating agency cited, among the company's many marketing and cross-marketing strengths, its increasingly aggressive emphasis on market-conduct compliance."

Marketing and compliance in a nutshell.in
fact I should hope that Primerica would be
compliant as I would expect that for any
company. As far as the marketing part goes,
a careful reading reveals that may not be AM
Best's opinion, rather that may be Primerica's own opinion as it can be interpreted that way. So this kind of takes
the wind out of Primerican posters sails.

Is the company a pyramid. From page 1:

"The company still relies on a pyramid-like sales force of part-time independent contractors." So ladies and gentlemen, Primerica corporate is saying that Primerica
is "pyramid-like" and if it walks like a duck
and quacks like a duck... Well I'm sure you
get the picture.

The following excerpt comes from Page 2. For
those who've been following my postings, I've
been asking about what has Primerica been
doing internally to correct unethical
practices and have complained to Paul from Brooklyb about it. I'm not the only one who has raised this issue as Travelers (an affiliate) has raised this issue as well as
their own concerns. Here's the excerpt:

"Some criticism comes from fellow agents under the red umbrella.in the field, PFS agents present the well-known Travelers name, then knock cash-value policies glossing over that these are the products for which Travelers is best known.

Executives of PFS and Travelers minimize the culture clash, but some Travelers agents complain that PFS tarnishes their image. When Weill took questions at a 1995 sales meeting in Cancn, Mexico, for Travelers Life's top independent producers, Manuel Ramos, who sells to affluent Latino clients in Downey, Calif., broached the issue. "What about the ethical matters of the Primerica people?" he recalls asking. "Are you doing something about it, or, as Travelers professionals, are we going to go down the toilet with these guys?" Weill responded with the company line: Travelers Life and PFS serve different markets with different needs, and each market requires a different approach. Travelers Life targets affluent customers through annuities, an array of cash-value life insurance and long-term care policies. Travelers also sells term, but as Weill points out, the average face amount for term policies issued by Travelers, at $309,000, exceeds the average $195,000 policy issued by PFS.

In some industry circles, Travelers Life has been tainted by its association with Primerica. For the last two years, the National Association of Life Underwriters (NALU) banned Travelers Life from exhibiting at its annual convention. NALU's executive committee recently lifted the ban, saying Travelers Life continues to uphold the organization's standards. Travelers is welcome to exhibit at the upcoming September convention as long as its display doesn't mention Primerica, NALU spokesman Jay Morris confirmed."

I can also add that a Smith-Barney employee
is embarrassed that Smith-Barney is affiliated with Primerica. Check out Janet
from Garland's posting dated 3/8.

The following excerpt from Page 2 confirms
what Cullen has been saying. Read on:

"PFS agents still have a reputation within the industry as unsophisticated, poorly trained part-timers who sell overpriced, simple products — and then drop out. While some of that rap is warranted..."

We often hear about employee turnover. What
about Primerica's customer turnover? From
Page 2:

"According to Fox-Pitt, Kelton, Primerica has a high first-year lapse rate of 25%, with 15% expected after two years and 10% after three." Ladies and gentlemen I'm not making
this stuff up, it's coming straight from the
horse's mouth. Is Primerica's term insurance
overpriced which is a frequent question that
comes up? Here's what Primerica corporate says from page 3:

"PFS charges more than many of its competitors in the term market, but consumers seem willing to pay for what they perceive as better service..." (the question left hanging is what is that better service?).

I often say that the "fat cats" of this
company benefit from the sale of its products
in this "pyramid-schemed" company (which
Primerica corporate refers to as multi-level). Let's see what Primerica has to say (from page 3):

"One reason PFS charges more than direct sellers is to support its multilevel structure." I've often asked for documentation showing what PFS frontline agents make which have fallen on deaf ears. Primerican claims that salaried employees don't make much isn't true as recent BLS figures show that the average salaried employee make over $15 an hour or over $30,000 a year for full timers.

Has Primerica ever been fined? I've posted where a former RVP went to jail for ripping off a senior citizen plus Citigroup has been charged with predatory lending. Page 5 has the answer:

"Nevertheless, the company's compliance record has not been perfect.in the last 10 years, PFS and its New York affiliate, National Benefit Life Insurance Co., paid about $700,000 in fines for various misdeeds, including allegations of deceptive sales material and licensing problems. This is in addition to the $2 million to $3 million settlement to former agents." Remember this
is straight from the horse's mouth (I'm aware
of other insurance companies also having fines and settlements - this still doesn't
make it right).

Some Primericans doing damage control will try to even dilute the message of their own website. I hope that Ripoff's visitors will learn and look at this company much more critically.

Company: Primerica
Country: USA
State: Georgia
City: Duluth
Site: ww3.primerica.com

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