CaNewAgent
Expert
- 71
This is good info. What would you do if they pay you for your book of business over a 2 year period?
Resigned from Bankers Life
- Thread starter Indy007
- Start date
This is good info. What would you do if they pay you for your book of business over a 2 year period?
Frank, is absolutely correct. You cannot compete in the Med Supp business without the flexibility to change carriers when rates change. The Med Supp business is a lot like P&C. For a time I worked with a group selling Pyramid products. The Med Supp rates were not competitive and it was a tough go.
They are good at threats, and they are good at taking everyone's money. Those 'friends' never see that they will soon be on the other side of the fence. That company knows how to pit everyone against each other.
Here's you some good news- they have more than a few regulators comin for their asses- check this news:
CNO's Bankers Life fined for unlicensed brokers
Wed April 4, 2012
Bankers Life and Casualty agreed to pay $9.9 million to settle charges it engaged in unlicensed brokerage activities in a number of states, Maine securities regulators said on Wednesday.
Including reimbursements and fees, the company, a unit of CNO Financial Group, will pay out a total of $10.6 million to the four states that conducted the investigation.
In a statement, Maine's Office of Securities said a branch audit revealed Bankers Life was operating in some states where it was not licensed, by affiliating with licensed brokers and then directing their operations, including steering customers into Bankers Life annuity products.
Maine officials said Bankers Life agreed not to hire, train or supervise any registered representatives or investment advisers for three years.
Banker's Life also agreed to surrender BLCF's brokerage licenses to both the SEC and regulators in Illinois, where the brokerage is based. It also agreed to withdraw from industry oversight body FINRA.
"BLCFS was established in 2002 and appropriately registered in Illinois under a structure now deemed inappropriate by the regulators, and as a result, BLCFS will be eliminated," a CNO spokeswoman said in a statement. "The steps taken in this settlement should ensure additional clarity between the roles of agents and financial advisers."
Besides Maine, the other investigating states were New Hampshire, Vermont and Missouri.
I think this deserves a little more information:
The case dates back to 2005, when Bankers Life reached an agreement with Uvest Financial Inc. in which agents for the carrier who became registered representatives with Uvest would be allowed to provide advisory and brokerage services out of Bankers Life branches.
Under the agreement with the broker-dealer, Bankers Life participated in a number of securities-related activities, including working with Uvest to determine the compensation paid to the agents and to select the product offerings available to them. The carrier also was responsible for covering agents' training prep for Finra exams and paying for investment research materials in the branch offices.
Bankers Life pocketed 82% to 85% of the commissions Uvest received for the agents' securities activities, according to Maine state regulators, who received cooperation from the North American Securities Administrators Association in investigating the case.
The carrier reached a similar agreement with ProEquities, in which Bankers Life took as much as 91% of the revenue the broker-dealer had made from agents' securities sales.
Between 2005 and 2011, Bankers Life received $21 million from the firms, with $15 million going toward agents' compensation and $6 million going to the carrier, state officials claimed.
Judith Shaw, Maine's securities administrator and the lead regulator on the case, said that her department was tipped off to the situation at Bankers Life after an 82-year-old investor called to complain that a Bankers Life agent had suggested that she liquidate some investments to purchase an annuity.
Though the securities department was able to unwind the transaction, Maine regulators felt Bankers Life warranted a closer look. “When we went to Bankers Life's branch office and looked at its broker-dealer operations, we realized that Bankers Life itself was engaged in unlicensed broker-dealer activity,” Ms. Shaw said.
The settlement also affects Bankers Life's Finra-registered broker-dealer, BLC Financial Services Inc. Although none of the agents involved was registered with it — they were with Uvest or ProEquities — the settlement requires BLC to withdraw its registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission and terminate its relationship with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc.
Ms. Shaw noted that it isn't unusual for broker-dealers to share office space with non-securities entities or to have insurance producers who are properly licensed for securities transactions.
In this case, however, Bankers Life received a “fair amount” of compensation for undertaking activities that would normally be handled by a broker-dealer, including assuring that agents took the appropriate Finra exams and covering the cost of prep courses, Ms. Shaw said.
“These are activities we'd expect to see from broker-dealers — not an insurer that wants to share commissions on certain sales,” she added.
The carrier also will pay $375,000 to reimburse the states for the cost of the investigation, $260,000 in past licensing and registration fees and $106,000 to cover the cost of state audits. It also agreed to a quiet period ending in March 2015, during which neither it nor BLC will engage in any securities activities.
“This joint investigation … demonstrates the ongoing value of states working together to benefit investors nationwide,” said Jack E. Herstein, NASAA president and assistant director of the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance.
State securities regulators also reached settlements with Uvest and ProEquities, with the former paying $750,000 and the latter agreeing to a payment of $435,000.
“The recent settlement agreement between NASAA and BLC Financial Services puts another legacy issue behind us,” said Bankers Life spokeswoman Barbara Ciesemier. “Bankers branches will continue to serve the needs of the marketplace through ProEquities-registered advisers who are co-located in our branches. The steps taken in this settlement should ensure additional clarity between the roles of agents and financial advisers.”
"Uvest fully cooperated with the NASAA task force and entered into a consent order for the sole purpose of avoiding protracted and expensive proceedings," said Michael Herley, a spokesman for LPL Financial LLC, which now owns the broker-dealer. "Uvest did not admit to any wrongdoing and there was no allegation of sales practice violations or customer harm against Uvest. The company is happy to put the matter to rest.” “ProEquities fully cooperated with NASAA in its investigation of Bankers Life," said Mike Mungenast, president and CEO of the firm. "We are ready to move ahead and will continue to work with all regulatory bodies with a spirit of compliance for the good of our industry and the investors we serve.”
The 'colocated' advisors, are simply Bankers people who have signed some forms.
They have that 'fine' money put back (budgeted for ), just wonder if they have enough for what's coming next.
Wow nothing seems to surprise me about what these companies are doing now days. It seems to me that it took you 4 Years to see the light it took me less than eight month's and a trip to Texas to jump ship with AIL....Just can't stand that company!!! Made My MGA a boat load of money.....Now back on the independent way of life and loving it.
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dcrone21 said:
The argument against Senior Life is:
No AM Best rating at all
Premiums that are no where close to competitive except their "super prefered" rates. That rate is not what most seniors qualify for AND if the agent offers it at all, they get a cut in their already low commission.
Low commissions to the producer when compared to most FE companies.
Very low renewals.
The argument for Senior Life is:
It can be sold over the phone without cranking up the car.
- Thread starter
- #47
The only reason I worked there for four years is I was young, making way more money than my friends working normal jobs, and I admittedly "drank a bit of the cool aid". I was new to insurance, learned a lot, made a bit of money and went on some pretty cool trips. I just got to the point that I knew I wasn't doing the right thing by selling overpriced insurance and underperforming annuities. Now that I'm independent, I feel MUCH better about what I do, and the difference in commission isn't bad either!
- 2,090
Are they not still captive? I just looked up a Banker's agent name on the state department's agent lookup, and he had tons of other companies on there for appointments.
- Thread starter
- #49
I just read a follow up associated press report the other day regarding Banker's Life reaching a settlement with their states of business regarding their illegal hiring of licensed brokers into their company while the company was unlicensed to do such a thing. As part of the settlement they may not engage in any investment activities until 2015. Think I'll post this article to Facebook and warn my friends in my town to steer clear of these a-holes!
