Bankers Life reviews

3.8

63% would recommend to a friend

(2,249 total reviews)
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Scott Goldberg

82% approve of CEO

63% positive business outlook

Bankers Life has an employee rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 2,249 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Bankers Life employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Insurance industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews
1.0
Jan 15, 2014

Scam.

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

They used to have hardline phones to make calls and Ethernet internet in their offices.

Cons

Everything. This company sells whole life insurance and annuities. They do not care about medicare supplement plans or anything else in their "catalog" of products. When they bring you on board you are responsible for getting your own license to sell life insurance in the state of California. That means you pay for the online class for the test with the state including a live scan fingerprint test. All in all if you study from home you will probably spend 250-300 out of pocket. It will also take time to study and for the state to process your license. It could be a month before you begin "working". All training is unpaid so that month you make 0 dollars and 0 cents. Then you start hitting the phones and going into a field with a trainer. Expect to make hundreds of calls a day using substandard "leads" sourced either from a phone book or the local sign in sheet from a bingo parlor. All of the "leads" are supposed to be "baby boomers" which is just code for "elderly and infirm". You will call these individuals in their twilight years and tell them you have important information for them regarding medicare. This combined with other vague statements often stands to confuse and alarm the "lead" who are supposed to be tricked into thinking that something is wrong with their medicare. We wont explain what is wrong though, we insist that we go to their house and explain it to them. This is how you get your sales appointments. It used to be that phone days where 3 days a week and field days where 3 days a week (6 days a week total). On field days you go meet the people you tricked into thinking there is a problem with their medicare. The second you are in the door you run through a sales presentation for the company's whole life products and try to sell them insurance. No mention is made of medicare and if they ask we would say that the important information about medicare was to tell them that it doesn't cover burial expenses. That's our angle. Many of the "leads" do not have the mental capacities left to them to be making financial decisions. Others are lonely and just happy to have someone call them on the phone and go visit them. Others become aware quickly that we are not associated with medicare and they now have strangers in their homes under false pretenses. Most are polite enough to listen to our spiel before escorting us out. Regardless sales are almost non existent. No sales mean no money. Days spent makes calls are unpaid. Days spent driving around town in your own personal vehicle using your gas are unpaid/reimbursed. The second way to get appointments is more effective. What you do is make a list of everyone you have ever known or ever met, Mom, Dad, Sister, Brother, Cousin Bob with the lazy eye, James your best friend from 3rd grade who you have not seen in 15 years, put em all on a list and call em up! Exchange cheap pleasantries then try and sell them insurance. Nothing is more rewarding that showing every member of your family and all of your friends that you're a cheap flim-flam man. Some friends and relatives will purchase something out of love, guilt or pity. Most will cancel within a month or two, which makes you lose your commission. They pay a large commission based on the customer being on their books for a long period of time. That's how them pay a 700 commission when you only collect 125 for the first month. When they cancel most (maybe all) of that commission is "charged back" ie taken back. When starting a good salesman might make 1 sale a week, new a new salesman might make one a month. They claim you are an independent contractor to avoid paying you salary or benefits but they tell you when and where to work and for how long. In three months I made 2-3 sales for less than 1000 dollars. Most weeks I worked 6 days a week. I worked it out once and I made roughly 85 cents for every hour I worked. In the interm I ran up thousands in credit card debt in order to pay my bills. When I left the company they attempted to chargeback every single cent that they had ever paid me. Since my bank account was empty due to working 3 months and making so little they began sending me some nice letters in regards to my "debt". Since I figured even if the policies I sold had been canceled after 1 month I should be entitled to at least some of the first months premiums I sent them a letter requesting an explanation of the charge backs which was never provided to me. It was never even confirmed that the policies were canceled. Their "attorney" still sent several more letters though looking to collect. Be sure that they will report the matter to the three major credit agencies. If you read all of this and still go to work with this company you are either completely desperate or completely stupid. Every week they had group interviews at our office and hired 8-10 or so new employees to replace their weekly employee losses. My situation was not unique in the slightest many of my coworkers suffered the same fate. The unique situation was where the employee succeeded. If they get you in the door and you convince a couple family members to sign up they consider it a success then spit you out like used gum.

1.0
Feb 7, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

You make your own hours

Cons

EVERYTHING. This company is horrible. They scam their employees and customers. You're basically cold calling asking people to let you come to their homes and sell them horrible insurance policies. First you pay around $300 to become licensed. Then they let you ride with an experienced agent and you make a little money but barely enough to cover what you pay to get started. As a new college graduate I took this position believing all the lies they told. Once I realized what exactly was going on, I quit. It is in no way safe for a young female to being going to random homes alone to sell insurance. If someone did buy I felt huge guilt because I had a feeling I wasn't truly helping them like Bankers Life tried to convince me. Then months after quitting, I get a letter in the mail saying I owe $200+ in chargebacks (which I've already paid taxes on) and that they will turn me over to debt collectors if not paid back. The whole thing was a complete nightmare in every aspect. Please please please do not fall victim to this company and their scams.

1.0
Feb 18, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

There are great opportunities to make very good money. The newer agents that have not been overcome by competition factor and have not expanded their moral boundaries are decent people.

Cons

My experience with Bankers Life is limited to the Sarasota complex 2025. The comment in the “pros” section is true, but the steps to make money is limited to only a very few people. The turnover rate at bankers is over 90%, which translated - out of every 10 new agents only 1 agents will remain with the company for period longer than 3 months. The odds are very slim that someone who enters Bankers with high hopes will make good money, or any money at all. What they don’t tell you. 1. A new agent will need at least 6 months of saved income to support themselves until they get through their training period where they can start making income that is not shared with senior agents. 2. You will have to cold call leads that are outdated and angry. Or you can buy leads, and they are not cheap (the route I took). To be a good cold caller, you have to become someone you once hated and hung up on. 3. If you do make a few dollars, and then decide that you cannot make it (remember the 90%), be prepared to pay some or most of that money back because people do cancel their accounts. What keeps agents above water is the relentless signing of new accounts. Many are stuck because of this. 4. I left after 4 months with an estimated commissions owed to me of over 3000. I only received 57% of the total before I resigned. With the threat of damaging my credit rating I was forced to pay back 74% of the 57% I received because of canceled or lapsed accounts in the short period of a few months. I never received the other 43% owed to me because I resigned. All this was while I was under a trainer and I had not control over the information given to these poor people. 5. To make money at Bankers (Sarasota) you have to expand your moral boundaries. You will be trained to tell little-white-lies to our senior citizens (nicknamed – telling the truth to your advantage). Remember, many of these people can barely pay rent and buy food, and now they are faced with another burden of insurance, and in many cases a policy they do not need or can afford. Just think you can be part of this!

Viewing 13 - 15 of 2,249 Reviews

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