09/02/2010 - Anywhere in Claims

09/02/2010

Category	Rating
Pay	-5
Respect	-5
Benefits	-5
Job Security	-5
Work/Life Balance	-5
Career Potential/Growth	-5
Location	-5
Co-worker Competence	-3
Work Environment	-5

Claims management is completely lost, they have no idea what it takes to live up to the standards they have created. In addition, the requirements that they have created do not lead to better claims handling, in fact, it is just the opposite. Field claims Reps. are "graded" on basically 3 goals, file quality, customer service and prouction. File quality standards are somewhat in your control but the auditors "opinion" over rules any potential gray areas, so everytime you handle a claim it is a "roll of the dice." Customer service is 50% of your overall ratings, so if you have a low number of responses and get one bad survey you are sunk. Production is basically out of your control, if you are in a busy metro area you will get more claims and be able to have exremely high production numbers, if you are in a rural area, you will be driving all day long and have low produciton numbers.

Reps. are openly overpaying claims to get back positive surveys and sometimes denying claims that may be potential problem surveys. If there is a gray area and a Field Rep. thinks an insured is going to be a problem, it is in the reps. best intrest to deny the claim so a survey is not sent (only sent on paid claims.) The opposite of that is, if you pay a claim, you might as well over pay it to get a decent survey......what a joke.

Claim Reps. are supposed to evaluate a claim based on its merits, without pressure to find coverage, deny coverage or overpay a claim. The surveys should be counted and poor survey results should be looked at as a training opportunity, they should not be counted as 50% of your overall ratiing!! This whole mentality is warped and is sinking the ship.......it is just a matter of time before someone puts 2 and 2 together.

08/21/2010 - Anywhere, USA

08/21/2010

Category	Rating
Pay	-4
Respect	-5
Benefits	-3
Job Security	-5
Work/Life Balance	-5
Career Potential/Growth	-4
Location	0
Co-worker Competence	0
Work Environment	-5

The people giving poor ratings on this website are hitting the nail on the head with everything they say, so I will keep my comments short and sweet.The people who have overly postive remarks- you are brainwashed and delusionsional. Take a step back, and have a better look. I would highly discourage anyone from applying and accepting a position with Farmers.

Pay- Is going downhill, and management has very clever ways of how they have expedited this.

Respect- None. It's all about pushing what's on your desk off onto someone else's. Management and even supervisors have NO respect for Claims Representatives. They have no idea how to handle claims, but will be the first to tell you that you're doing something wrong.

Benefits- I don't like the change. This is hard for me to comment on because I haven't worked for any other company offering benefits, so I don't have a lot to compare too.

Job Security- If you make a mistake, you can count on an audits of your time card, expense reports, claims, etc. They will find a way to fire you.

Work/Life Balance- In exit interviews conducted by HR when someone quits, the number one reason why people quit is because they feel as though they can't separate work from their life outside of Farmers.

Career Potential/Growth- There used to be. Not anymore.

Co-worker Competence- I think my peers are relatively competent. It's management that doesn't what they're doing. This is as a result of not knowing what is truly going on in the field.

Work Environment- Hostile. Anxiety sets in when you get back from having days off. You could have an e-mail in your inbox leading to being fired. I will say that I have had a few supportive managers/supervisors that I wish I could work for under a different company.

08/15/2010 - TEXAS

08/15/2010

Category	Rating
Pay	-3
Respect	-5
Benefits	-4
Job Security	-4
Work/Life Balance	-5
Career Potential/Growth	-4
Location	0
Co-worker Competence	2
Work Environment	-4

PAY- Pay is about average for the claims enviorment in my area. With the termination of Profit sharing after 80 years, it is not as good as it once was, and that was nothing to get excited about. But, was enough to keep most employees around.

RESPECT--Honestly, there is none. I have noticed that they give a lot of lip service about the employees, but that is all. They do nothing of any real help with it comes to real problems or needs. The certainly dont listen to the adjusters in the field who actually expierence the day to day grind of customer service and deal with the technological issues that abound. Management asks what is needed, and has for a long time, but fails to act upon the information that is so generously available to them. It has been stated several times across the state and country that we need more time to do our work, yet farmers management, does not listen to us. It is apparent those making the policies, decisions and goals have not worked a claim in this enviorment or with the programs that we have in years.

BENEFITS- Since the cost of insurance continues to go up and with the profit sharing going out the window, this company is certainly below average in our field.

WORK LIFE BAL. If you in auto, you are not given enough time to do your job durning the day. Management knows this as they have verbalized it several times but fails to do anything about it. If your liability, forget it. Absolutely no respect for those adjusters. I am clueless how they do the continued, repititive and unrealistic file expectations. Farmers does not care about your personal life and if you fall behind, its cause you have time management issues. This is the montra of a company who has inadequate training, inferior supervisors, and outdated policies. Its a very weak excuse and they usually are not able to back it up or prove it.

CAREER POT/GROWTH There used to be a time when you could move around in this company if you were willing to move and had the desire. However, with all the acquisations of other companies and the layoffs that ensue, there is little chance now for any advancement that anyone would want. Also, when you go from FCR to FCS, you lose your car, hardly any raise, increase your time to work by 50%. It is a known issue that most that go to FCS position are failures as FCR's and this is there attempt to keep employed as they are not able to handle the core of claims.

LOCATION This is of course an item that is left up to each person. For most of us, it was great, we worked out of our houses and not an office and when gone, worked in cars.

CO-WORKER COMP Usually pretty good at the FCR stage. You would have to be very competent to even meet expectations. Where I came from, out of 18 adjusters, there was only 2 that exceeded expectations and one of them quit due to the general work enviorment of the company.

WORK ENVIORMENT This is the crux of the issues most adjusters have. The policies,, time limits given to work the job, the duties and lack of any real leadership is the main issue facing Farmers today. The management of this company is trying to utilize currect technology (cough) with processes that were in use 10 years ago and they dont match. Adjusters are given insufficent time to do thier work, usually dont take all thier lunch or work thru it, never take breaks, and when they discuss the need for more time to do the work, they are told its time management issues. As stated prior, its a very lazy, uneducated, and hostile mantra from mangement. The fact that most supers admit that they cant do our job goes a long way to tell you how little credability management has and how ineffective as supers they really are. I would be embrassed to be over someone and tell them how to do thier job, and not be able to do it myself. Most members of management are exactly that, manangers, sure not leaders. They are under the incorrect assumption that if they are good managers, this will make them leaders, but dont realize how incorrect they are. This further erodes thier credability. The enviorement is hostile, harrassing, and counter-productive to any management style that is considered professional. Its mainly a joke. I would also note that there is yet another rumor of lawsuits for unfair labor practices-(due to OT issues, remote synch issues, time alloted to travel back and forth to an office you dont go to) in NM and Texas.

In general, the complete lack of competetence from Managements (cscm's and fcs's), the unrealistic time frames to do the job in the field, marginal technology, and working claims in an enviorment that was best suited for 10 years ago-- makes this company a very poor choice for a career. It is riddled with harrasing attitudes, inproper procedures and policies, and a hostile work enviorment. The only reason that have any policies at all (un-competetive pricing and policies) is because they are buying other companies. They are losing PIF (policies in force) but are making up for it by buying other companies. Very sad that after 80 years profit sharing it was terminated, stated that it was not good for the employees, and Farmers made a mistake for 80 years by giving it to the employees. STIP was put in place as it is certainly better for the employees (HA). Anyone who thinks that this is true, really is an idiot.

08/11/2010 - Midwest

08/11/2010

Category	Rating
Pay	0
Respect	0
Benefits	0
Job Security	0
Work/Life Balance	0
Career Potential/Growth	0
Location	0
Co-worker Competence	0
Work Environment	0

I interviewed for the first time. The interview went well, the manager lady was very enthusiastic and nice. I passed my background check and have been asked to come for a second interview.

I am looking at the Agent position. Can anyone give me some feedback on how it is to be an Agent with Farmers? Do you enjoy what you do? Are the rates competitive? Are the goals by the company achievable?

Since the position is all based on commissions, I wander how much money you make a sale?

The manager told me that you have to reach a cap of 40 auto, homes, and 4 life sales before you become fully contracted with the company. Does that seem reasonable?

Please help. Thank in advance for your answers!!!

08/06/2010 - phoenix, az

08/06/2010

Category	Rating
Pay	-1
Respect	-4
Benefits	-3
Job Security	-5
Work/Life Balance	-5
Career Potential/Growth	-5
Location	0
Co-worker Competence	0
Work Environment	-5

If you want to be worked to death with no support or concern for your wellbeing then farmers is for you. Did I mention they will work you to death, oh I did. They will give you so much work that you will not pass your audits and you will not get a raise or bonus. They rule in fear, you will not sleep at night as you are in constent fear of being fired. They have the attitude that you should be lucky to have a job!!!

08/05/2010 - Pacific

08/05/2010

Category	Rating
Pay	2
Respect	-5
Benefits	-4
Job Security	-5
Work/Life Balance	-4
Career Potential/Growth	-4
Location	2
Co-worker Competence	4
Work Environment	-5

Farmers Pacific Auto is a meat grinder, Is a place to work with descent benefits in this economy but it is not a place to have a long term career.

The divisional s, Jim, Derek, and Todd brag and boast about how they don't lay people off rather they strategically over work and over burden specific groups

to ensure the environment is impossible to achieve success or terrible to work in. Unfortunately in a "at will" environment there is nothing illegal about

this strategy although it is completely immoral and unethical to set employees up for failure. In addition, the openly incestuous relationship between

management and Human resources will likely get the company in trouble at some point, sooner rather than later. Should they really be advertising how HR

works for management to help find reasons to justify firing people????? Probably not a good idea....

As for the PLCS supervisors, they are working anywhere from 55-60 hours a week to perform their work the "Farmers Way" while also doing it the PLCS way.

Check the numbers you know it's right....It seems to me that someone should check to see if the supervisors and managers classifications are in fact correct,

given the implementation of the "liability strategy" its does not appear that they have much if any authority any more. As for us representatives, we are

getting 7-10 claims, not units....yes 7-10 claims per day with mixed lines, coverage, injury, auto physical damage and held to a different standard than our

CRN counterparts with customer service. I'm sure there will be class actions for overtime, hostile environment, wrongful termination, ect.

As for long term longevity with this company, they don't want us. Every point they have made things difficult for us. As for the changes in management its

absolutely criminal and clearly a organizational weakness, one of my CRN peers has had 5 line claim managers in the past 5 years...In fact my line manger

was recently stepped down. At some point someone (Hello Doug!!Wake up!!Where are you?) needs to ask who and what is really the incompetent component of

management here. Is it the manager or supervisor who steps up just to be slapped back down or is it the directors inability to effectively select, train,

support, and maintain consistent management. Is this really managing to high expectations or is it an exercise whereby which the directors and VP protect

their STIP awards rather that truly engage in incorporating new talented people into their little fraternity. Has anyone asked, why has your leadership

team failed with so many supervisors and Managers? This is not managing to high expectations this is failure to lead your most visible & respected leaders

in the field offices to success. At some point someone needs to ask is this sustainable and is this right for the company? I know that I don't' any part of

management although I keep getting dinged on my reviews for not wanting to promote.

Is it too much to ask for an environment where we can achieve success with out having our office turned upside down every 6 months? I guess it is.

We saw what mistakes were made with the Bristol merger and now it seems that the Pacific division has gotten meaner and less accepting to our new 21st

counterparts. I will have to admit, I truly thought the 21st management were going to breath fresh air into our organization, but as I look around it

seems the Farmers machine has yet again stomped out any hope of change again... a wise leader once said "what got us here won't get us to were we need to

go" unfortunately Linda and her directors don't know what this means. These managers are effective with fear, intimidation, and strategy to

achieve their results but the fact remains that they are simply managers not true leaders. They are incapable of inspiring true commitment and dedication.

Yes, leadership is dangerous but working in the front line is just as dangerous at least managers get the opportunity to step down where as we get fired....

The question is does working in fear obtain sustainable results or is Bryan and Doug going to keep their eyes closed hoping that the Pacific bubble does

not burst. Many other companies get fantastic results without such a cannibalistic view toward its employees. Why can't we?

07/31/2010 - Southern CA

07/31/2010

Category	Rating
Pay	1
Respect	-5
Benefits	1
Job Security	-5
Work/Life Balance	-5
Career Potential/Growth	-2
Location	3
Co-worker Competence	1
Work Environment	-5

With so many different changes due to integration, management impatience, everchanging priorities, and lack of respect, it is hard to fathom there will be any improvement. Leaders need to slow down and look at the whole picture. From customer service to employee satisfaction to miscommunication to performance management that is inconsistent/unfair. All areas are suffering and there needs to be someone to step up and really provide the straight talk/courage necessary to show leadership that the current avenue to results and growth is not working and will not. Employees, whether long term with Farmers, 21st, Foremost, or Bristol to new employees deserve a fair chance and even playing ground to prove their worth. Too many employees have been convinced that they are failures and with only 2 weeks or more to improve, they cannot show the necessary results that prove they are valuable to this company. Farmers does not seem to see the hidden gems and the true desires of employees to succeed. The tools are there-coaching connections, etc but the execution is inconsistent at best and management is impatient.

07/28/2010 - Albuquerque Nm

07/28/2010

Category	Rating
Pay	0
Respect	0
Benefits	0
Job Security	0
Work/Life Balance	0
Career Potential/Growth	0
Location	0
Co-worker Competence	0
Work Environment	0

Had my first interview with farmers , i need to fill out my background papers from what i have read should i even bother

06/25/2010 - Houston, TX

06/25/2010

Category	Rating
Pay	-5
Respect	-5
Benefits	-5
Job Security	-5
Work/Life Balance	-5
Career Potential/Growth	-5
Location	0
Co-worker Competence	0
Work Environment	-5

If any agents in Texas have been given there contract termination letters would like to talk. It is happening in waves...so be prepared!

06/23/2010 - oklahoma city helppoint

06/23/2010

Category	Rating
Pay	0
Respect	0
Benefits	0
Job Security	0
Work/Life Balance	0
Career Potential/Growth	0
Location	0
Co-worker Competence	0
Work Environment	0

Does anyone have a pay schedule for Farmers'? I'd like to rate it against my current pay to see if I'm interested in switching careers? I currently manage a clothing store and the pay is good but the hours suck. I've been offered a job a Farmers' but don't know if it's a good idea based on all the reviews? They promise advancement is quick if you're a hard worker. Thanks for any help!!

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