Pros
Brand Recognition Largest personal Auto and Home insurer in the world Subsidized lead and marketing programs Do not need to purchase a book of business
Cons
You're forced to produce Financial Services and Bank products when P&C is what really makes you the $, and while you're on the TICA contract you're not truly independent as this contract needs to be renewed every year by management for the first 1-5 years. So if you don't produce the products that make them their bonuses, off with your head! Senior management only cares about your Life insurance production and that you qualify for the travel trip. A large portion of the AFE's and VPA's bonus is dependent on this. If you open an agency in an area that has potential for a natural disaster, watch out, the company will not hesitate to shut down production of Home insurance and then tell you to write Long Term Care and Life insurance to make money. The problem with that is as an agent your real residual income comes from Home and Auto insurance. If you're not growing that, you better have a lot of reserve capital or you'll close your doors. I stated earlier that you don't need to purchase a book of business, this is true, however, you also don't have any economic interest in the book of business. This is fine if you're given a large assignment to start with but if you open an agency as a "New Market" or "Scratch" agent, meaning you open your doors with 0 clients it puts you in a dangerous position if you don't make it. You can spend all of your start-up capital building your agency and if management decides not to renew your contract while you're a TICA, that's it, you're gone and have absolutely nothing to show for it, no way to make up for all that revenue you've invested, State Farm owns the clients you brought into the company.
