Insurance Agent Forum

[mswebb06]

Good evening everyone, I know several people having posted about their experiences with pa out of Meridian,MS experiences being both good and bad.

A personal friend of mine has been offered a district manager position with parker, covering the Tupelo, MS area and portions of the Memphis-TN area. So, what have your experiences with parker been like? good/bad? Things you like, what did you dislike about parker?

[honestagent]

I strongly encourage you and your friend to dig a little. It won't take too long to hear what you need to find.

All I can say is: whatever you find is all very true plus 1000X.

[midwestbroker]

There has been some talk about getting released from Parker and Associates and how challenging it is.

[theinuranceguy]

Originally Posted by midwestbroker

There has been some talk about getting released from Parker and Associates and how challenging it is.

Challenging is an understatement... more like impossible

[GreenSky]

Any marketer that won't guarantee you a release is dishonest in my book. I was offered a contract through Parker, asked for the pre-nup, and was told no. Obviously, I have no contracts with them.

Rick

[Slim]

I did not believe what I originally dug up on my search of pa. There were some good things about them so I gave them a shot to work some dual eligible leads. My entry to the MAPD market was excellent experience , but with pa I found terrible leads, and lack of follow through when asking them to terminate my contract. I've not pushed the termination deal. Would recommend no agent sign on without termination clause mentioned for agent side not just company side. Bait and switch with commission is bad also. Often on recruiting the commission is mentioned but when you have bought your leads the withholding is mentioned. Some BS aboutescrow. Should mention it upfront. I do not want to downgrade anyone but this company is terrible in my humble opinion. The main recruiter I dealt with is anyway. We will leave it at that. I documented everything . From leads I ran. To online reporting to everything. The online site was also pitiful. 3 days I wasted. Glad I did not waste more. Thanks to what I read here , I did not waste more. One sale out of 16 was good but did not even try getting commission. Tell me about leads? The first was not available on arrival , others did not have decision maker present, one had no medicare card 2 others at least had employer insurance (Union and School). About 3 or 4 were able to present to . One man I could have presented to but on my follow up appointment after I threw in the towel on the company , the decision maker was not there. So, I cut my losses (timewise). One other sale had just been written up and canceled because the lady canceled w/ the same Carrier days before I arrived and wrote her. That may have been possible to deal with but pa said they own their 4 US call centers and are in control of their telemarketing and know they get good leads. I take people at their word too much I guess. That is my fault but when one FMO says we will work out credits and leads are as represented, you get spoiled. At least I did . P&A GA tried to tell me the leads telemarketed are just to get you the appointment. If that is so (i do not want to get into a lead discussion on this ), then you are wasting your money on a pro telemarketer . Don't charge me for the lead because I can get the appointment on my own. ut especially don't tell me about your 4 call centers and why you have them is because you can control your leads and get good quality and and not rehashed leads. One of the leads had a policy since last year with Carrier. I can understand checking an agent out and wanting service oriented professionals and being money motivated from the telemarketer and janitor to the manager but I do not like to be mislead and then not have any support or consideration by a GA or whatever he is , that seems to sit back and push email buttons all day to get you signed on with other carriers. Luckily i just took one carrier that i know of and maybe i can get out of them and go directly with the company . If you get any offers from pa you would be better off doing something else. This info may get in the wrong hands and be to my detriment but it is the kind of thing (with less detail) that I reported and received no satisfactory solution. When I agreed to go train w/ some manager in the field and meet long distance away i had to cancel and he said no problem but the lady who was trying to help said oh now i cannot help you to terminate as originally requested and can't help you with anything because all was contingent on you getting back in production. I had legitimate reason to cancel but the concern to help me get the right outcome was immediately disrupted when I asked a simple question was told do XYZ and I said no I will call carrier and find out in 2 seconds which is what i did and then told the lady instead of rescheduling me to go meet manager in field just stick with my original letter. The only reason I did not stick w/ original request to terminate in first place is because i gave benefit of doubt and because the lady said if this does not work just let me know and blah blah. Made me think there was no problem with the follow through and desire to do what is right. Oh well. SOme things just happen . That is my opinion and experience for anyone who wants to be recruited by Parker and Associates of Meridian or anywhere else. They ruined it for the whole company with me .

[xrac]

I have heard almost nothing good about Parker and Associates. My opinion is where there is smoke there is fire.

[GreenSky]

Originally Posted by xrac

I have heard almost nothing good about Parker and Associates. My opinion is where there is smoke there is fire.

almost?

Rick

[jdeasy]

They are a cooked organization. They are just flat out thiefs. And, that's putting it nicely.

Earlier this year, I keep asking about my escrow which was standing at $2416. My upline saud they were working on getting my escrow paid to me because my policies stayed on the books. There was another agent I knew in the same boat and they were telling him the same thing. Out of nowhere in march, I got a charge back and, coincidentally, the cahrgeback was exactly $2416. They charged me back on active Coventry policies. I contacted the members and they still had the coverage. I contacted Coventry and they said all were "active and no problems". They said they had paid Parker and Asses and my beef was with them. Parker and Asses are still supposedly investigating this issue.

I have asked for a release time and time again only to be told, "no releases".

In July, I got a $600 bonus from Coventry. It was for some contest that I had forgotten about. Anyway, the same day that parker and Asses paid me that bonus, they had another chargeback for me out of the blue, wanna guess how much that chargeback was? That's right, $600.

There is a class action lawsuit in the works over these kinds of dealings. I don't know where that lawsuit stands at the moment, but, I have been deposed in conjuction with it. I know another agent that went to Indy last week for his deposition, so, it's moving. I figure I'll get my money back someday, but, lawsuits like this take years.

No agent should have any dealings with Parker and Asses and any agent that does currently should get out as soon as possible. I'm having to forge my own release by not writing business with the companies I still have with them.

Some of the parker and Asses managers, knowing that the word is out on Parker, are spreading out and doing business and trying to contract agents under different names. Jim Parker, no relation, is one of those. He is equally as bad as his namesake company and contrary to what he claims, he is still tied to Parker and Asses. He is now peddling a 403b deal in conjunction with Great American that, without his involvement, could be a good deal for agents. He is parkerizing that deal, though.

Bottom line, stay away from Parker and Asses.

[MacCrazy]

RUN LIKE A SCAULDED DOG !!!!

I know of a few horror stories told by some agents that were with them for a while

[xrac]

Originally Posted by GreenSky

almost?

Rick

Actually come to think of it I think it NOTHING good!

[medicarebenefitsdirect]

I had a friend that was owed a 5k bonus and they sent him a letter saying he owed 5k in charebacks (which was not true). They said the two would basically cancel out and they were even. Amazing.

Ilovemedicare.com

[Gregb3104]

I know a guy who had a bad experience. Be wary.

[xrac]

Originally Posted by medicarebenefitsdirect

I had a friend that was owed a 5k bonus and they sent him a letter saying he owed 5k in charebacks (which was not true). They said the two would basically cancel out and they were even. Amazing.


Ilovemedicare.com

Sounds like a very profitable way to do business for PARKER. From what you are saying they are nothing more than common thieves!

[insuranceconceptscindy]

Run away and do it quickly! Those guys are incompetant. I am so lucky I only had one company through them and was able to go direct. They still haven't paid me what I earned, but I'm not going to waste my time. I get better commissions direct.

[Slim]

Ditto that . You can get out but need to be wise in how you go about it. Much good info is on this forum if you read it. Limiting your communication and giving a Company what they need to help you is the best thing. If you start to get the run around just be patient. Don't get frustrated at them or it may be used against you. Do what you do best and b above the fray.

[mcampbell]

Stay away from Parker and Associates. I use to work for a large IMO that gave me the run down on there company. They will never release and they do shady biz. Just a heads up I have heard all about them. GOOD LUCK and if you are looking for FE let me know.

[theinuranceguy]

Originally Posted by AttillaTheOne

One final thought of my opinion of these guys>>>>>>>

"Please don't tell my mother I am a Parker and Associates Insurance Agent......
She thinks I'm a Piano Player in a Whorehouse!"

Now thats funny.

[HealthResourceAdvisor]

Sounds like they lost a few of their carrier contracts for 2009. Looks like the carriers must be reading this forum and are finally catching on to these guys...

[Glen]

Does anyone know about a class action law suite against Parker & Assoc? I would love to join it!
Glen