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I worked for aflac and was very successful, however it became a large pyramid scheme.

each person gets bonuses and payments for hiring people regardless of the quality of the individual.

It became a big game and clients are merely pawns in a big game.

each person gets paid for every level underneath them....the pyramid takes advantage of both the consumer and the unsuspecting agents who are promised the world....even though only 1 in 20 will stick around.

Management hires new people, gets a couple clients, gets rid of the new people, then keeps the clients for themselves or for friends and family.

Do not get sucked into the scam. They will take groups and cancel your renewals in order to grow the pyramid and their wallets.

Location: Saint Louis, Missouri

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Guest

Hi, I am debating on whether to take legal action against Aflac. Your situation is similiar to mine. May I have your address or phone number in case I deside to?

Guest

I have tried it twice. Now, my second supervisor has told me he hasn't the time for me.

It seems it is all contests. I just want to sell the insurance. I know I got one group an appointment.

I didn't have a licence. I to this day suspect they took the group as the office was all related in some way.

Guest

Because your first year is the hardest since the job is 100% commission, so they try to help new agents out. After your first year, you should have a network and professional experience that should give you an edge on new hires.

Guest

Aflac does not cancel policies, they have guaranteed renewable contracts which is a legal term and if they broke those policies they would probably be all over the news for shady practices. The only way policies are cancelled is if the policy holder quits paying their policy, which since Aflac focuses on group policies would mean the employer quit sending in the premium.

Aflac offers every policy holder an option to pay their policy on their own from their credit card should their employer mess up, which would leave the responsibility to pay their premium on their own shoulder rather than someone else.

Secondly, unlike other companies, Aflac offers their bottom employees the opportunity to make more money by hiring rather than a manager or corporate recruiter. Should someone who is senior or works harder not make more money than someone who a new hire? This isn't much different than any other company except that people who work hard are guaranteed to get paid for it whether than being forced to kiss managements butt and hoping management notices how hard they work.

Also, unlike most jobs, Insurance companies can't tell from a resume who will be a good insurance agent.

Insurance agents come from all backgrounds and education levels, so yes, they do hire anyone.

Name another field or company that gives people without a college education or background in fast food a chance to make 6 figures a year. The average agent makes $60k a year, which is above the average salary.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1086532

"The average agent makes $60K a year".

Not even close, Ashley. It's a pyramid scheme with office politics on steroids.

Don't buy the Aflac hype.

I have dedicated over 17 years at Aflac as an insurance agent and it's not a good company to work for. Duck the duck!

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1277666

Sounds like a bitter person who doesn't have the motivation to build their own business. Are there bad managers out there?

Absolutely, much like every other field. It's a great company with unlimited potential for the right person who is willing to work hard. I'm a very successful agent who has never brought in a single new agent under me. I chose to build my own book of business and focus on myself only.

Maybe you should be in an office job with no room for advancement.

Sounds like it would be a better fit. Good luck!

Guest

This is true. Its happening to me right now!!!

Guest

100% correct!!! Aflac's contract says they own the account even though they recruit you to build your own business.

They say they love their veteran associates but your State, Regional and District Sales Coordinators will steal your accounts so they can send new recruits in to write business and the cycle begins.

Most of the ethical people have left and definitely won't be coordinators. Paul Amos is rolling over in his grave.

Guest

If you're going to work for Aflac, be prepared to pay for a lot of hidden fees....

The study supplies you need for your test will cost you about $100 or more

The test itself costs about $65

Then you won't make money right away so be prepared to pay for gas... and gas isn't exactly cheap.

I am currently and inturn with them this summer and I haven't made any money at all. NOTHING!

I have been doing everything I am supposed to be doing but I feel like my boss is purposely making businesses wait to that he can steal all the profit once I leave to go back to school in the fall....

It's total B*LL ***

I feel completely used..

Guest

The comments here from negative people really should be dismissed. Aflac has 50 million policy holder and is in the Fortune 125.

All the agents are independent contractors who basically run their own businesses. Aflac is nice enough to provide training and help to 'independent' business people who sell their product.

I have run businesses in the past and some have done well, some have not. Most times I had a good product, sometimes I did not. With Aflac I have a great variety of products that are very inexpensive.

I sell to individuals directly and to business employees. As with a 'standard' business I try to make myself standout from another agent who does the same thing. I speak two languages, I hustle hard, I communicate with my policy holders who all have my private cell phone and I constantly try to learn more about the products Aflac produces.

I love being in business for myself and having a powerful business like Aflac standing behind me.

Approach it like you would any new business venture and you will work hard to make it a success and not complain that others are causing you to not succeed.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-688052

But why should a manager that has their head up their *** make the same renewal as the agent but strangely agents with under 2 years of service get paid more than veterans that have been doing it 10 years something is backwards about this scenario

Guest

What a joke...I was told that there is no cold calling all pre qualified calls...meaning theat someone called aflac and wanted a rep to come by and meet with them. I find out it is nothing but cold calls and "drop ins" You have to make 100 cold calls a day to get one meeting...or get in your car and drive to a business and walk in unannounced....might as well work for the Fuller Brusch Company or sell Bibles.

This place is a farse. Get 25 people to show up...pass the state test...so they get maybe 15 outof the 25. Of those 15 maybe 5 are worth hiring if you owned your own company and lookad at their qualifications. Then three of the five leave so what do they do???they start another hiring in three months and find 25 more and keep doing it.

Yes when I did it for two whole days after passing state test and going into the training sessions I learned that there is no such thing as pre quailfied calls ...they use one big list and it is filled with people who say I have seen three of you this month aready leave me alone....real bull. Save you money for the exam and traing and the license and go do soemthing else.

Guest

I have only been an agent for a short time. I have been impressed by leaders of my district.

They are anxious to help, they have a good training program with an excellent natl. trainer.there is no doubt that selling anything takes a special person. The success stories they relate are true and provable. The deciding factor in this game is "ME".

It is not easy, you do have to have enough money until you are proficient at prospecting, networking, but the opportunity to excel is available. If i work today, it will allow me to reap rewards tomorrow.

Sitting on my rear, will just make it bigger.

I say good luck to all those who have the desire to make something the average person fails at, into a thriving business for themselves and their family.

Guest

Am a former agent (top 25 in state agent) but always look at things from both sides and will be unbiased.

Aflac is not a scam. You can make decent money. You will probably starve your first year but you can make decent money (around $40k/year as an agent and more if you move up the ladder).

About it being a pyramid...what business isn't? The people on the top make more money than entry-level no matter what company.

Turnover is ridiculously high and there are a lot of agents that fail (b/c of their own lack of work ethic and not tweaking their skills) and blame it on any and everyone except themselves and make forums like this.

Their are a lot of clients that buy a low cost accident policy and when they get sick and want coverage it is always the agents/companies fault and they complain on forums like this.

Their products can be very helpful and supplemental insurance is moving from a niche to a mainstream product.

With that said, I still wouldn't recommend it for most people.

It is more of a recruiting company than insurance company. They "hire" anyone w/ a pulse and are deceptive (promising the world) into getting people that shouldn't be in an insurance career on board. There are so many scummy agents saturating the market making it hard (even impossible in some situations) for the good ones to close groups. Business owners also will never look at you as a professional. A lot of family friends that ran successful businesses looked at me like why are you doing that, you can do so much better.

You are not a business owner. Your higher ups have the power to make or destroy your career. If you're a district and a new regional or state manager comes in they can get rid of you , even if your hitting quota just because they don't like you or you're not doing things their way.

When you need help from corporate you can an 800 number, press several prompts, get a call back, and talk to a random who knows less than you and tries to make your job harder instead of help you out.

Their products cost double, have lower coverage, and pay way less commission than competitors. It takes 2 years to be 50% vested, 5 to be 75%, and 10 to be 100% vested, which means you don't own your renewals until you meet above said time, its 1-2 years w/ most companies, meaning they are hoping you don't stick around.

Aflac is good for the fact that it's got people out of dead end jobs, who are now making better money and having a flexible schedules but compared to other insurance companies it's the very bottom of the barrel. Luckily I moved on to better carriers.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-500484

This is very efficient of you. I know how this works.

Companies troll these sites in order to hide their corruption. They type up a lot of very well crafted comments that seem so nice and real, kind of like what Jehovah Witnesses and Scientologists do when the media shows up for an interview. They charmingly sweep everything under the rug so as to make it look like everything is just another great day in the land of Oz. What I'm wondering is if you are the person who wrote all the comments on here about AFLAC being so wonderful,.

Pretty strange that you can make 40k the first year, yet the turnover is 95% in the first year?

No one leaves a 40k job in an entry level position. This just reveals the twists and turns that you make to cover your companies behind.

Guest

Number 10 is an ***

Mark Orj

I agree with above. ALOT depends on your area.

Im a new agent as well. About 4 monmths now myself. I probably couldnt tell you how many times I went into a business, and they said "Your the 4th agent this week thats been in here." The biggest problem for me is that agents from neighboring towns come here. Yesterday I went to one, and the lady told me an agents from a town an hour away have been contacting them every week.

They REALLY need to make territories or something. Theyre worried about their rep, but aggrovating potential clients 4-6 times a week is going to kill them.

Guest

I started as an Agent with Aflac on April 2010. I have had piece mail training.

That is, I get trained by other agents who are out trying to do the same thing I am supposed to learn. They gave me scripts to use in my phone solicitaions and have had very little success in setting appointments.

Every agent and their mother is out there doing the same thing calling everybody and some buisiness's get swamped with calls from our agents. Is this what they call training for success?

Guest

I would like to clear up the confusion on some posts here; that hopefully can help future folks decide if they want to become an agent. I will try to be as accurate and un-biased as I can in this post. I am a former agent, and I will never be one again. Let me explain to you what I went through, what I saw, and what you can REALLY rely on as accurate information. So here we go.

First, Aflac is not a scam. It is more like a pyramid marketing program that has two parts. The first part is corporate located in GA and the second part is the regional office where you are recruited. Each works together, but is separate. You need to be clear on this because this is where inaccurate comments like รขโ‚ฌล“This is a scamรขโ‚ฌย come in. Itรขโ‚ฌโ„ขs important for you to know the difference. Corporate, pays you when you make a sale. If you make a sale, they will for sure pay you รขโ‚ฌโ€œ this is not a scam. The trouble is your regional office and the horrendous politics it plays on you to make the people at the top wealthy and not you.

Yes, I am a former agent, and I have seen plenty รขโ‚ฌโ€œ too much for my taste. Which is why I am posting this to help future people from being snagged into something they cannot win and lose serious money. Yes, you lose serious money! I am going to be as detailed as I want to be. I am even going to mention regional offices you should NEVER join under any circumstances as they have a great track record for a long line of angry former agents. The play is dirty and no one deserves to get caught up in such processes.

When you are recruited or when you go to the first meeting; you are terribly deceived by the regional district giving you the presentation. They tell you all sorts of information that tickle your ears and get you excited. They fail to tell you up to date accurate statistics and tell you numbers from over seven years ago รขโ‚ฌโ€œ yes, yes, this is what they do. They tell you, they make six figures, they tell you are a business owner, they tell you there are many agents that are agents for many, many years. This is not false information, itรขโ‚ฌโ„ขs inaccurate, which is deceit. Letรขโ‚ฌโ„ขs break down each one and go into detailรขโ‚ฌยฆ

You can do it! รขโ‚ฌโ€œ Cold calling is not for everyone. I am sorry but itรขโ‚ฌโ„ขs not! A shy person will never like or succeed at cold calling. Itรขโ‚ฌโ„ขs the truth. They tell you can!รขโ‚ฌยฆwell, however noble, come two weeks down the roadรขโ‚ฌยฆ

Making six figures รขโ‚ฌโ€œ If you are a new agent, you will need to be well funded. As in money in your bank account and lots of it. Let me explainรขโ‚ฌยฆIf you are an agent, you wonรขโ‚ฌโ„ขt make six figures unless you close a large account which is not happening the traditional way anymore. Most large accounts do on-line enrollments which in that case you make $0 commission. Small accounts one by one, rarely bring in any money รขโ‚ฌโ€œ what a couple hundred? You will starve to death at this pace รขโ‚ฌโ€œ but if you are well fundedรขโ‚ฌยฆyou could make it work and all your hard earned savings will start to dwindle on its way down. Following so far? Did I say you need to be well funded to pay rent, waterรขโ‚ฌยฆ Plus, not many agents crack a large account going solo, which means you have to split the commission and again here I tell you, you need to be well funded. One agent told me that he stuck around for a year trying to make it work, his savings of over $50K went to zero and he made $8K from Aflac and after taxes made $50 bucks. I kid you not, research it. Talk to former agents and see what they went through and for Godรขโ‚ฌโ„ขs sake, please do not believe everything the regional director tells you. Chances are they are inaccurate. Remember, out of 100 recruits, only 1 stays.

You are a business owner รขโ‚ฌโ€œ False. You are not. You are a 1099 agent. You have no control over the customers รขโ‚ฌโ€œ they belong to AFLAC. If you are a business owner then they would belong to you.

Agent Turnover รขโ‚ฌโ€œ Is high. During my time I have seen one person out of 100 last beyond a year. If you are serious about this รขโ‚ฌโ€œ check the stats รขโ‚ฌโ€œ I mean really investigate.

Account Turnover รขโ‚ฌโ€œ Accounts have been dropping their coverage like flies. This means you get a charge back and รขโ‚ฌล“YESรขโ‚ฌย you will need to pay back the commission they gave you already. This is not a scam it is something corporate is fair to you on.

One regional office you need to stay away from is that of John Byers. Please. Look up his former agents and talk to them, see what they went through. Ask about the dirty work. Byers region gets all sorts of new business leads and he only gives them to his inner circle. He has a group of favorite people รขโ‚ฌโ€œ no one else gets any of those leads except that group. In addition, I am extremely surprised on why he has not lost his license as of yet. I know it has been suspended twice, which is why he is now passing all business enrollments to his wife. The State Coordinator defends him to the grind, so be careful. Until someone reports their sleazy activities, they will continue to get away with it. Sleazy, you say? Yes he advises cancer patients to lieรขโ‚ฌยฆor excuse meรขโ‚ฌยฆwithhold accurate information and because the patient is starving for insurance and the agent is starving for moneyรขโ‚ฌยฆthey all agree to it. Until someone reports this รขโ‚ฌโ€œ he will continue to do it. Heyรขโ‚ฌยฆa sale is a sale, right? Thank goodness I never did this so I donรขโ‚ฌโ„ขt have this chip on my shoulder. Also, Byers never can keep his agents รขโ‚ฌโ€œ they too drop like flies. Turnover is 100% every nine months. Plus, if he ends up not liking you รขโ‚ฌโ€œ which is everyone รขโ‚ฌโ€œ he will call corporate to get you out. He keeps your accounts and gets commission on they all future enrollments. Who wins again? If you are lucky and smart then you will know how and when to fight.

Donรขโ‚ฌโ„ขt even get me started on the awardsรขโ‚ฌยฆwhich is the biggest hunk of BS you will EVER encounter. I won several and I threw them all out.

High Saturation รขโ‚ฌโ€œ What was is now was. Saturation is terribly high which leaves no room for new agents to come in and close new accounts. Lawrenceville (Byers region) is HIGHLY saturated รขโ‚ฌโ€œ but they never tell you รขโ‚ฌโ€œ EVER. You instead look like a fool knocking on accounts that are on a รขโ‚ฌล“Do not contactรขโ‚ฌย list and guess what? That is your responsibility to know.

Did I say you need to be well funded? Let me continue to explainรขโ‚ฌยฆ

You know by now you are 100% commission right? Who pays your gas? Food? Clothes? The cute squeaky ducks? YOU DO!!!! Or rather your well funded account. The regional directors are laughing all the way to the bank as you waste your precious drops of gas while they sit in their offices never forking up a penny to pay for your gas that is what now?รขโ‚ฌยฆ$4/GL? Righhhhtttttรขโ‚ฌยฆ.this one got me good. I spent a small fortune every month on gas รขโ‚ฌโ€œ never got reimbursed for it. Se la vรƒยญ.

Other stuff รขโ‚ฌโ€œ Byers harasses you รขโ‚ฌโ€œ forces you to do stuff รขโ‚ฌโ€œ yes there is evidence - he has been reported to corporate legal once before and it still puzzles me how he got away with it. Dirty. I guess this is why people think of it as a scam. You see, corporate turns their eye to a lot of things for a quick profit. I wish they would shut him down!

Computers, licenses and exams are all your responsibility and no it is not a scam. If you go into this world, this is your responsibility.

Bottom line, Aflac corporate is a good company. The agent structure is not and I donรขโ‚ฌโ„ขt recommend it. My time as an agent never graced my resume because I was embarrassed of it. If you want to get involved with insurance, then I suggest you join a company that is serious about their agents and donรขโ‚ฌโ„ขt readily drop them like flies. Accounts are leery, complaints are high and most locations are saturated. Do your research whatever decision you make. Be smart and donรขโ‚ฌโ„ขt let anyone bully you.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-368625

you must have really sucked at this job and decided to blame others. i feel sorry for you, good luck at Taco bell

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