Pros
The benefits are good at Symetra and they have never had layoffs. The company if filled with 8-4 employees happily collecting their paycheck and waiting for their distant retirement. These people are kind, fun, and they do care about the company and its clients. The actuary department and legal seem happy. The executive leadership is very good. The CEO, and top three executives that lead the divisions are top notch leaders.
Cons
Above the hard-working masses that fill the Symetra offices, (including the lower managers who are just as underpaid and overworked), there are highly political, nepotistic, pathological, back stabbing people who care about their personal careers more than anything else. I witnessed many instances, department managers up to the vice president level, of window dressing to show their great progress; but the good managers who cared about their departments' sustainability and the company mission always ended up getting thrown under the bus. The 'good guy manager' doesn't win at Symetra because there are so many cunning competitors ready to push them out.