Insurance Agent Forum

[HomeService]

OK, over the last two years or so, I have been fairly positive about AIG. Most of the life brokers on here have been as well. I have also been positive as far as AGLA goes for the "training of the newby". But, today the financial news is not great- for this huge company. Now what? Is everyone waiting it out?

[Slim]

Read the disclaimers for this website.

Your fairly positive opinions vs the totally positive opinions you may have been able to give aren't necessarily the issue here.

Any trainee, newby or new member should have their own caution, common sense when arriving at the table.

Large companies, forums and members can hype and disguise almost any problem or solution.

"Buyer beware"? We have all heard of that!

"Everyone" is probably going about their normal business. Most likely , a small % are affected in the sampling you get here. Maybe I'm wrong.













Decision of where to get training rests on shoulders of
Trainee. What you soak in vs what you read has to be balanced. Ethics you control are only the ones coming out of you. Your words and deeds are all you can stand up for .

Any large company and government agency can go away.

What can you do for me is all the trainee wants to hear. If they feel lied to it will come out in ther own time. I have not seen anything good about said companies which make me feel lied to . It was surprise to hear on news. I am not affected by said companies.

Fairly positive as you put it needs to be recognized by reader that you were not totally positive. There is a difference.

Everyone who can make a buck today is probably saying "ho-hum what is next on my agenda."

[HomeService]

I was really trying to see if people around here will still offer AIG- in light of the news today. I am assuming they are still positive about it, especially the ones who are selling it and getting renewals and such. Also, I wonder how many prospects out there actually keep up with the latest news, or are they more concerned with Kanye West and Lindsey Lohan and all that Hollywood garbage.

[Slim]

My above post is messed up. I am sorry about that. I have blank space because I meant to edit out some of the lower half. Was not meaning to sound disrespectful.

I would not offer AIG/AGLA if it were in my portfolio.

Wouldn't speak ill of them either. Would suggest anyone affected to give it some time .

However, usually when something like this happens , there is a lot of blame to go around. It is not easy to understand but
You better believe the finger-pointing will get ugly.

If you or I were in their shoes do you really think you or I could ask an agent to sell the product?

I say if a financial institution cannot keep their books straight then they have trouble on their hands.

Same for Merrill Lynch and the other one in the news last night / today.

This should come as no surprise to anyone who has watched them from an advantaged position.

:-)

[HomeService]

Good post, slim. I think waiting it out -may be an option, here.

[al3]

Funny that I don't see all the McSame Republicans and Ron Barr Libertarians who talk the game of totally un-regulated capitalism (especially here on this board) talking it up this morning.

One person here (in another thread) said I "hated capitalism" and I'm sure most of you believe that. So I assume you and he "loves" it.

I didn't see him or any of you say "Let Freddie fail. Let Sallie fail" two weeks ago.

I don't hear anyone today saying "Let AIG go down the tubes."

However, by all the silence here, what I suspect you all really want a "government bailout" but don't want to admit it.

Yeah, you will bailout an insurance company or a bank or a mortgage broker, but the idea that we should "bail out" working-poor citizens who are sick and need health care is scorned and ridiculed.

Like the man said. It's the "ownership" society... which means "you're on your own." That's what you folks have been saying here this campaign season so why not let AIG go down the drain... along with banks and any one else? Isn't that Republican doctrine?

So what if the depositors lose their money or annuity owners are wiped or if policy holder's CSV goes to zero because the financial institution goes tits-up. It's what you guys preach, isn't it? However you don't seem to want to practice it.

Oh wait a minute. Gee, if a big insurance company goes bust... maybe people will be very hesitant to buy insurance... and maybe a lot of you right-wing, neo-con agents will lose some sales and money. I get it now.

I'm slow... but I'm sure.


The Jackass

[Mr. Bill]

Nope, and I didn't want a government bailout of Chrysler, either.

I would, however, like to see some nice, juicy shareholder lawsuits!

Wow, I should be a trial attorney. Yum, yum, yum!!!

[somarco]

I doubt anyone will be pushing AIG (or any of their carriers) any time soon, but I also believe this will blow over eventually. AIG may be sold off in pieces but I don't see them going into receivership.

They are a storied carrier with a lot of history. The company is not the same since Hank Greenberg was forced out or when AG was a separate entity run by Woody Woodson.

[Mr. Bill]

Even so, to ask the Federal Reserve for help is stinky and foul.

It's not just one person at the helm, it's all the stupid management team as well. Same as the government. If you don't rid/cleanse those who are mismanaging (just like congress), you're not going to have a significant impact on change within the organization.

"Merrill Lynch hires Freddie Mac ex-COO for Wealth Management"

I believe that either Fannie or Freddie recently hired the former Vice Chairman of Merrill Lynch.

Ah yes, here's the link: http://www.financialweek.com/apps/pb...038/EXCLUSIVES

And we wonder what the problem is????

[Bozack23]

How will all of this affect agents at AGLA? I will be taking the PA exam soon and have accepted a position with a local AGLA office. As a newbie should I think about going somewhere else?

[joshril]

Originally Posted by Bozack23

How will all of this affect agents at AGLA? I will be taking the PA exam soon and have accepted a position with a local AGLA office. As a newbie should I think about going somewhere else?

From what I've read, the big problems with AIG are not in it's insurance related business. However, cutbacks in all segments are possible.

My guess is they will get their bridge loan from the Fed, and that will be that.

[HomeService]

I would not think it would effect the AGLA agents directly, right now. The upper home office folks would be the first to feel it. I would think. Later the agents may feel it. There could be a large re-vamp effort and it could be good for agents, or another company buys AGLA out from AIG , or who knows. It could go either way. new agent: I would go ahead and do the job and get trained , if I were you. Get some training under your belt.

[xrac]

AIG will probably continue to operate just like a Conseco. Someone may acquire the insurance operation.

[Slim]

XracAIG will probably continue to operate just like a Conseco. Someone may acquire the insurance operation.


I agree xrac.

It seems when a private or public insurance or banking
Institution goes out , the other players will buy them
Piecemeal. Maybe divide them as contracted industry wide
For the good of the whole.

As for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, I believe they were
Introduced by gov't mandate decades ago.

For the gov't to turn its back on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be ignoring its promise.

If AIG , Lehman Brothers , and Merrill Lynch were led to their
Demise by law, the leadership should have stood up against it before, when they saw it coming. Individual responsibility!

Slim

[ABC]

I just submitted a life app with them today.

It was a Term ROP and they had the best rate.

I am a bit nervous about it.

[somarco]

Best rate isn't always the best choice.

Ask the folks who bought Executive Life . . .

[InsuranceGuru]

Originally Posted by ABC

I just submitted a life app with them today.

It was a Term ROP and they had the best rate.

I am a bit nervous about it.

Sorry, but I have to disagree with a lot of people here that this is merely a passing thing. The market is bad enough (who's going to deny this?), it was bound to happen at some point to some of the insurance companies out there. This is an article explaining what the problem is:

[I'd post a link to the story on this, but I'm apparently not allowed to do that until I post 15 posts. Go to google and search "AIG, news" and look for the second indexed site, a Forbes article on the financial issues AIG is facing right now.]

I know there's a fine line on this site about posting a dissenting opinion of the "greatness" of an insurance company's financial position, but there's no liability as long as the discussion pertains to information gathering and not for the purpose of competing for business. Let's just be clear, though, that the cat is totally out of the bag now.

In this regard, I respectfully submit that I would hold off on placing interest-bearing insurance products with AIG if it were my client - if only to see what happens with them. I don't work for AIG, but I consider them to be a reputable company. It appears the primary issue is the trickling effect of the mortgage collapse, but you don't know how much affect this "trickling" will have on the policy-holder.

As a Broker, you represent the client and the company (unlike an agent, who represents only the company, not the client). It's up to you, but if I were in that position with this kind of uncertainty, I would hold off or place elsewhere. Just my two cents on this...

EDIT: Misstated my point in the last paragraph. Corrected.

[R. Paul Aguirre]

Originally Posted by ABC

I just submitted a life app with them today.

It was a Term ROP and they had the best rate.

I am a bit nervous about it.

Let me guess the clients signed yesterday and your cell phone has been off all day right?

[HomeService]

I never understood the rop thing, anyhow. Why not just sell whole life or UL or something? Besides, usually the rop rider is quite high, usually, with most companies I have sampled.
Maybe AIG has a cheap rop rider, but most I have seen are quite high.

[moonlightandmargaritas]

Originally Posted by InsuranceGuru

As a Broker, you represent the client, not the company (unlike an agent, who represents the company, not the client).

You may want to bone up on the "laws of agency" in most states (including Tennessee, I believe).