This post is intentionally titled "Primerica Scam" with nothing else. Because I feel like I need to do some sort of public service announcement. And hopefully I can save one person from falling into the trap I almost did when they search on "Primerica Scam" like I did.
As most of you know, I'm looking for work. In recent months the effort is increasing at an increasing rate (or so I told Professor Joe over the phone when he asked). Since my resume is online I get semi-frequent calls and emails. Most of the calls and virtually all of the emails are off target (I'm sure I won't have the energy to write about them tonight, but hopefully I'll get to them soon. They're amusing).
So, onto Primerica. "Primerica Financial Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Citigroup, is headquartered in Duluth, Georgia. It is the largest financial services marketing organization in North America, with more than 100,000 licensed independent representatives." That sounds reasonable, right? Citigroup is the parent organization. I can deal with that. In fact, getting a little bit of financial background would be nice.
The conversation went something like this (I'm leaving out lots of pieces because I don't feel like writing all night):
Recruiter: Are you looking for work?
Me: Yes.
Recruiter: Great. I'm with Primerica. Are you familiar with Primerica?
Me: No.
Recruiter: Primerica is a wholly owned subsidiary of Citigroup... blah, blah, blah.... And we already have 15 offices here in Orange County. We're looking to expand to 45 offices. We need managers for the additional offices and that's why I've called you. Would that be something that would interest you?
Me: (Actually kind of flattered but very, very skeptical)... Well, sure.
Recruiter: Tell me a little bit about your previous job....
Me: I was working with... (at this point I know the dude has completely zoned out, at which point I ask him)... Before I get into the details, are you familiar with the IT industry?
Recruiter: Me? Well, no. Sorry.
Me: (Realizing that this seems really strange)... Do you have my resume in front of you?
Recruiter: No. You were given to me by our "Regional Vice President". He was very impressed with your resume and passed your information along.
Me: (I'm probably the only idiot who really thinks, "Wow. This could really be a great opportunity for me. I wonder who this Regional Vice President is. And I wonder what on my resume really stood out.) I probably said something here, but I don't remember and I don't want to make up any more of the details than I already am.
Recruiter: Well, I've been very impressed with you so far. We would like to bring you in for an office interview. We're located in Santa Ana. We have openings (he rattled off a bunch of times over the next few days all an hour apart). Would you be interested?
Me: (I'm still an idiot here and I'm flattered. It's also a short drive from where I live and I have nothing else to do.) The 3pm slot tomorrow works great for me.
He proceeds to give me directions and his cell phone number and that's that.
Alright. I have an interview. That's good. It could be a new opportunity in a new field. That's also good. The phone conversation still didn't seem quite right, almost like the guy was overly eager to get me into his office. Especially since I didn't really talk a whole lot about myself and, regardless of what I said, he was thrilled with the answer.
I wanted to be prepared for the interview, so I research the company. The first result is their website, as you would expect. Then I check out Wikipedia (which isn't always accurate, but it might give a little different insight). I find out that Primerica is a Multi-Level Marketing company.
What's a Multi-Level Marketing company? It's a Pyramid Scheme. So I continue with my searching, wondering what search terms I should use to get more information on a potential pyramid scheme. I've got to either confirm or deny this, right? If you have Google Toolbar on your browser, you'll know what I'm talking about - I started entering "Primerica" and they give you a list of the most common searches with whatever you've already entered. Fourth on the list... "Primerica Scam". Bingo.
The first search result was key - Here it is. This guy went through the same thing I was about to. And as far as the "Regional Vice President" liking my resume? "In Primerica, you are not a Regional Vice President for the company itself. These people are independent agents at which they are at the Regional Vice President level."
The following morning I was unsure whether I should just cancel the interview or not. I wasn't thinking about going for the normal reasons, like I had already committed and am obligated to go or that this might be different than what I was reading online. I wanted to go because I was bored. And I wanted to just mess with this dude. Not in a mean way. But in a way that I would ask the exact questions that he wouldn't want to answer. And I would keep asking until I got an answer to my satisfaction. At around noon, I started looking up local news channels, thinking that maybe they could give me a hidden camera and we could "out" Primerica and what they're all about. Long story short, my mom talked me out of it. And I left the guy a voicemail. It was something real simple like, "I'm calling to let you know that I need to cancel today's interview. I did some research on Primerica and it's not the direction I want for my career. Thank you for your time and the opportunity. Best of luck to you."
So that's that. My apologies to the thousands of people that make their living with Primerica. This post isn't intended for you. This post is to be informative for people like me who are looking for work and have their resume online. You may very well get a similar phone call. And I hope that this post will help better inform you of what's in store. As always, your input is welcome, whether it be a story like mine or a defense of Primerica.
1,182 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 401 – 600 of 1182 Newer› Newest»Wow that's a twist I have never heard of. I have to agree with you that in Primerica everyone is like family, but that is because we are brainwashed by our RVPs, Fast Start Schools, endless tapes and videos.
You seem to forget about the person who is most hurt by Primerica reps. Those are the clients who are receiving advice from ill trained reps, the CLIENTS!
Go build your business in whatever you want, but how about not destroy families with bad advice from the guy who has little knowledge and even less passion about the financial services industry.
The smartest guy I ever met in Primerica was the guy who went and recorded all of the fast start schools. He had a felony and couldn't join but he convinced his wife to join. Now he is making more money of brainwashed Primericans, which included me for a very long time, selling them video & audio disk. Now that's ingenious!
Look at the ABCs of making money. One of the authors was close friends with someone very high up in PFS. So what happens? Hundreds of thousands of copies sold to PFS drones (including me). Why? Because they mentioned Primerica on one page! LOL..... Total scam.
God I can't believe I was so brainwashed for so long!
And PS - I probably made more money for the past 10yrs with PFS than 99% of the reps posting on this blog. Save your lies for someone who will believe it!
Still waiting for Primerica Reps to post real numbers so we can do a comparison.
how is Primerica destroying families? would you buy term or cash value life insurance? would you rather have an IRA than not have one? Would you rather get 5% return on your investment or .5%?
Primerica actually does teach the right things. But what they offer isnt the best in the market. If Primerica destroyed families...that means those other financial institutions destroyed cities and the world by telling you to buy those other services such as cash value..but you don't see anyone taalking this much bs about New York Life. am I right.
Primerica is a financial services MARKETING company. We have to MARKET the services that we contract w. from companies like Van Kaampen and Legg Mason. If you were in a marketing company and you had a client tell you to do a "smoking" commercial for them and they paid you to do one, would you make a "non-smoking" commercial instead because it was right? obviously not because he is paying your bills. IT'S ADVERTISING! THATS WHAT IT IS. ITS NOT FINANCIAL ADVISING, ITS FINANCIAL MARKETING, AND PRIMERICA IS GETTING PAID BY THESE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS TO MARKET THEIR PRODUCTS. geez, you guys need some education in the business world.
as for the primerica reps that think they are financial advisors, they are in the wrong. Primerica reps are just marketers and advertisers, nothing else. We are the Billy Mays of Financial products (rip Billy). did billy mays go on tv and advertise the cheapest watever he was trying to sell. no. if you did rearch, his products were actually a lot mor and less quality than other products that do the same thing. but no one knows, cuz Billy Mays needs to get paid and he promotes what he was contracted to market.
read this, it's interesting...
http://chriswondra.com/2007/11/24/primerica-mortgage-a-consumer-report/
First off I do not sell Cash Value policies, never have! I was with Primerica and I was brainwashed exactly like a Primerica reps are. What is said is even though I know the truth that Cash Value isn't always a bad idea I can not bring myself to sell it! Cash Value has it's place period!!! I would say for 99% of Americans it is a BS product and sold to generate commission, not benefit the client.
Primerica is destroying families, period! When compared to what an educated consumer could own their own it is a scam. If Primerica didn't brainwash their goons into believing they are an army of God it would be fine, but this is not the case.
The greatest proof of destroying families is with the $MART loan. Any educated person sooner or later realizes that the $MART loan was a bad choice. How is it Primerica (loans provided my Citimortgage) can offer a misleading high interest rate 20yr loan, sold as a magical 30yr loan while Citimortgage offers a real 20yr loan for 1 - 2.5% less than $mart. Huh? Explain that one.
And before the Kool-Aide drinker start getting excited about the Chirs Wonder block, read it carefully. He refinanced his $MART loan this year! He gave the Primerica rep a chance to come out and convince him the $MART loan was better and Primerica failed..... Why? Because he is educated now from the people on his blog. Primerica has NO, NO, NO business with him and that make me very happy!
Once you get past the cult speeches, the crappy life insurance, the misleading $mart loan, the heavily load mutual funds, the weekly meetings, the constant recruiting, and so on your down to one point.
Primerica is an ingenious business model that take idiots like you & me and convince us that we should not only buy more expensive products, but sell it to our friends and families. Why? So we can become RVPs and make millions of dollars!
Still waiting on the number PFSers. I was you at one time and I drank to sweet kool-aide for a decade. Sooner or later you will wake up and realize you have been a fool, just like I did!
"We do what's right 100% of the time" - SURE!!! it should be "We do what's right 100% of the time (for Primerica)"
uh ok? im not sure if you totally got my whole point...my point was to point out that primerica is a marketing company. they market the products of the companies they have a contract with. that does not mean they have the best products.
Your basically saying everything that considers them the best is a total scam LOL thats how much I know you don't know anything about marketing even though you probably sit on your couch all day and watch commercials.
Nike says they have the best running shoe, the best basketball shoe etc. If you wear jordans you can play like jordan and thats why these sneakers cost $150. wait a minute $150? doesnt it cost only $5 to make these shoes? why do new balance running shoes only cost 1/2 that? nike must be running a scam!!! o man ..
Its advertising!!!! if primerica were to inform their clients of the better products out there, how will the business survive?
if nike told everyone their running shoe wasnt the best..who would buy their running shoes. and if you actually reseached, nike running shoes are way below par in performance against new balance.
so are you saying nike is a scam for telling people they have the best running shoe?
so please save your complaining... people are trying to make a living here. I bet the car you drive isnt the best value for its performance...i bet the clothes you wear doesnt have the best value for its material...i bet the shoes, lights, everything in your life isnt the best value for what it is. Its because you got convinced by advertisers and friends that its good...just like primerica convinces its clients that their products are good. And that is what makes a good MARKETING company.
Thank you thank you thank you for posting this! I just got a hit on my resume today by this place and I was SO thrilled b/c the email seemed legit, informative, and even mentioned things ABOUT ME (so I knew it wasn't some mass email). You saved me a lot of grief. It's a SHAME what these people do in such hard times as these...
Just wanted to give my input. Primerica is 100% not a scam. I was with them for over a year and yes it is a little cult like in the offices with all the nice nice. But bottom line is that it is legit. They tell you up front what you have to do, (at least the office I was with did).
It is not for everyone. But if you are willing to prospect and invite alot of people and train them. It may be for you.
I am a pretty shy person so I didn't have much success. But I did learn many good things while I was with them. Primerica protects families, (in terms of education on home loans). They also do investments too. So there is plenty to offer if you are willing to put in the work. You get what you put in.
Hope this may help someone who may see this.
No offense previous poster, but it is statements like this, Primerica protects families, (in terms of education on home loans)" that allows Primerica reps to continue to take advantage of people.
1. Primerica reps are not properly trained. They are brainwashed to sell very subpar products to people while claiming that they are the best products. A perfect example it the $MART loan. The sell it is a special powered 30yr mortgage when it is in fact a very high interest rate 20yr mortgage (that normally take longer than 20yrs to pay off!)
2. Ad for educating families, please do not mislead education with sales technique. If I tell people I am not a salesperson, but I am a educator (I used this line alot in PFS) you get people to believe it. They do not educate they skew the facts and sell people very expensive products while making them believe it is the best for their family.
See the real issue with Primerica is how they sell 99% of the crap they sell to the recruits and the recruits friends & family. Why do they do this? Because it is a very easy sale and normally friends and families will not shop around.
Look at the new product Debt Watchers Primerica just released. It is a total scam. You pay $25 a month for someone to monitor your credit, tell you how to improve your score, and then establish a plan to pay off that debt faster. This product is a total joke, but the company will make a ton of money on it! How will they do that? The RVPs will sell this crappy expensive product to every old & new teammate. It is a built in success story using the brainwashed agents who are already in the pipeline! So sad.
Primerica isn't a scam, but I am disgusted how they operate. Fake interview calls, over priced products, taking advantage of warm markets of recruits friends & families!
Keep lying to people and ripping them off Primerica reps! Your integrity isn't worth missing the next award at the fast start school!
Enjoy the kool-aide!
For clients or pending clients... Shop around! You will be surprised what you find. True financial preofessionals, better & cheaper products, and no one harrassing you to go to a meeting.
See you at the top! LMAO!
26 YEAR OLD SINGLE MOTHER OF 4BOYS FROM CLEVELAND OHIO!!!!! After working numerous jobs in my time and always having problems. No sitter, sick kids, always something or another standing in my way. Of course when I got that same phone call I was EXTREMELY skeptical!!!
However I finally I'm making great money and actually feeling good about what I do! Our job is to free people of financial burdens and believe me we do a great job of it. Not to mention the fact that I don't have a schedule so I'm always available to my children. I never have to worry about calling off because they're sick, or forgetting to request off a doctor's appointment or even a birthday!! When I can't find a sitter it's no problem to pack them up and take them with me.
MY ADVICE TO ALL THAT READ THIS BLOG?? If your interested in CREATING a fulfilling life for yourself this is a great opportunity!! No matter what you're doing now you've created a name for yourself by showing ambition and putting in the footwork. NOTHING IS JUST GOING TO FALL IN YOUR LAP!!!! But unlike the other jobs, The income is awesome, the schedule is upon your availability, and the possibilities are endless!!! I am extremely thankful for the GOD-GIVEN gift of PRIMERICA!!!!
I am very happy that you are doing so well, but please understand that your success is not due to Primerica, but your own hardwork! In reality you could go work for another brokerage house and still set your own schedule, offer better products to your clients, develop and downline, and make more money. The entry level street commission is 85% from the carriers and another 15% from the brokerage house. You can make 100% of selling better & cheaper term insurance to your clients. Make 2 times as much offering better mutual funds, and make 5 times the commission offering real loans not the deceptive $mart loan.
Your RVP is simply using us for your warm market & efforts and paying you a fraction of your real worth. Do yourself and your kids a favor and look around at other companies! You will make more income, offer superior products compared to PFS, and still set your own schedule & build a downline!
If you are a person considering Primerica as a career or as a client. SHOP AROUND!
No job, no licenses. All I do it repeat catch phrases I heard at a seminar. Having to hassle my friends into buying something I can’t afford…..uuugghhh….I’m supposed to save people thousand$$$ ...recruiting????....YO HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. Quit praying on the weak minded!
At the end of the day it's MLM!
The folks making the most money are the ones holding the seminars, the get a way's! If you do the math hundred go to the seminars which you have to pay for & if you dont go you are told that you will not succeed at the business. Do the math for the folks that attend the seminars the person racks in thousands on these seminars.
I'm so glad you posted this. I had the exact same experience today, and I had a feeling it was a scam as soon as I hung up the phone and thought I should do a little investigation.
hello!! allow me to narrate to you my experience with primerica. right now im so pissed and mad at myself but glad i found this blog since it allowed me to expand my knowledge concerning Primerica. i found this blog too late though. i fell into this Primerica crap as many of you did. i just came back from one of those "job interview" and as many, found it very suspicious, but at the same time very promising. At this moment im at a very bad financial situation having to pay for my own college tuition and all my personal expenses, so you can imagine how vulnerable i was to fall into this legal scam. I feel as if they have insulted my intelligence, i even paid the $99 dollars and the other $25,(i obviously called the recruiter to cancel the process)
it all started when this random guy approaches me like a ghost at my job. And told me if i wanted to work in a better place , and i said sure since i hate my job, he was very friendly and charismatic, i actually liked they guy, so i accepted the offer, he gave me the address of the office which was a very neat place and gave me his number but didn't go into detail about the job, form that moment the fishy smell was already in my nose.
the next day (today) i went to the interview, we had a long conversation, he was asking me about my life and i was asking him about his, it was a great conversation where i felt we were becoming friends. this conversation lasted for about 2 hours which made me trust him even more. soon he would begin telling me about this great opportunity called primerica, the crap about being my own boss and about being rich at the age of 23 (im 19 now), he told me about the commissions and bonuses first which seemed very promising having in account my current situation, then he started telling me about all details of my job, he told me about all the insurances policies, mortgages and everything they offer, leaving for last the 99 and 25 i had to pay. anyways to make the long story short i felt into the whole scam and and gave him my bank account info which by the way had only 120 dollars which i was saving to buy a gift for my gf's birthday. later that day he made me fill a list of all my friends and family members that would like to be part of this great opportunity and eagerly made call them, one by one to recruit them. ( he didnt even wait until i was completely recruited). i asked him why he was so eager to get more people, and he said that they would be my team mates that would help me succeed and more BS. the fishy smell was getting stronger and stronger by the minute. he even made me watch a bunch of videos about premerica.
now after doing my own research and finding out that all the services that they offer are more expensive than any other bank or financial service company out there, which would only worsen the families' situations, and after reading so many testimonials i assure you that even though this company is legal and even though it is possible to make 6 figures in 2 years, it also requires to give up your dignity if you have one. have in mind that any success you accomplish with this company will be based on lying to your clients who will probably be your own family and close friends. so think about it and do your research and if you are the kind of person that would do anything to be financial free even if it means breaking friendship bonds then go ahead, but if you really want to help people than stay away from Primerica.
I'm a primerica agent. I've worked as a bartender, had to pay $50 for my bartending license, $40 for food handlers card. Opened a music production company, about $250 to incorporate. Looked at opening a bar with my brother but, it cost $1,000s of dollars in licensing before you get even to the lease. I spend $50 a year for the Opportunity to go to Sam's Club and buy food in bulk. Sometimes opportunities cost something. The question is what do you get for what you pay? People make bad decision when their based on fear. Losing 15min over coffee in your neighborhood is a little mistake. If this is all new to you, go to a bookstore and browse a book on Direct Sales. It's a different business model where you can win. Didn't make money with the music company, the music industry is not a scam. 80% of all new businesses fail. Did I say all? All. I'm in the process of becoming part of the 20% that succeed. Are you?
Primerica might be a pyramid scheme for lack of a better word, but the people that I have seen in my communities have greatly benefited from it. When you go to a meeting, it feels like you're with family, and not rivals. Primerica is a GREAT way to earn extra cash without having to leave your old job. You have reliable friends and family right? Then they could be under your team. You don't see your family as rivals I hope. Primerica can be wonderful when you have a family team. Plus, Primerica stands for lowering people's rates on home, auto and life insurance. You're doing an overall general good in my opinion. Just because the person on top is benefiting from your services doesn't mean that they're corrupt right? After all, isn't that the basis of any company?
Kevin & Previous poster,
I agree with you that Primerica is not a scam in the sense that the blog is based. Primerica is not a scam!
That being said let's look at it. I had over 10yr with Primerica and I lead the leader bulletin, spoke at convention & fast start school, won almost every trip in over 10yrs, went on EPNtv, and was the top earner in my area for over 8 yrs! I am not someone who is bragging I'm just stating the fact I am not one of these people who have no idea what they are talking about.
Here are the issues and why Primerica is labeled as a scam or rip off by so many people.
1. Recruiting tactics - these interviews call or cold prospecting where you neglect to tell someone Primerica is a MLM business & not a job opportunity. This is wrong! I trained so many reps on prospecting and we avoid (this was done at the ATL conventions too) admitting it is a MLM at all costs.
2. When you find do recruit someone the focus is on selling them & their family products asap. You are brainwashed into thinking it is training, but the truth is your trainer/RVP is just making money off you. Period!
3. You are convinced you need. POL -$25 mo, Full Service GoSolo $17.95 mo, then the crappy products... Life, Investments, Prepaid legal, $mart if you own a home, and now the Debtwatchers scam!
4. You get little to no training. You will hear from your RVP "training happens at the KT (kitchen table)!" but this is total BS. You are being trained to sell Primerica crap. You are not trained, but merely brainwashed to believe you are doing the right thing.
5. Products are a joke. Life is some of the most expensive in the industry, mortgages are misleading and ridiculously high rates, investments are heavily loaded, PPL is more expensive than if you got it directly from Prepaid legal.
6. Pay stinks! You may not believe this but the average street commission for a newly licensed life agent is 85%! You are at a 25% and an RVP is at 95%. You don't get paid on ratings (scam!)and you don't get IBR increases anymore (scam). I have a friend who just wrote a case on a 48 as an RVP and got paid 40%! LOL! Yeah this is the dream!
7. The FNA is a joke. It is a sales tool not a financial plan. Just look at the first page of the disclosures!
8. You will be attending meetings like crazy. If you don't attend you will be a looser or a quitter. Welcome to the business cult!
See Primerica is great for Primerica, but not for you. Your RVP only makes money if you stay around and bring people and business to them. You are a drone in his army. All he/she has to do is keep you drinking the kool-aid and they make more money.
When I left Primerica I did so for the better of my clients. I offer better products all the way around compared to Primerica. I can now truly say I do what's right 100% of the time.
I promise you if you want to succeed in Primerica you have to be willing to exploit people. Tape into their markets. Sell people crap when you know there is better stuff out there. If you think these Amyway & Monavie people are freaks wait until you get a months of brainwashing from Primerica! Don't believe me?
Shop around. Look at other term companies you will see how expensive Primerica is. Take your $MART loan to a credit union or bank. It's nothing more than a very high interest rate 20yr. A total rip off! Mutual funds are not bad, but insanely loaded!
Primerica is not a scam, just a company selling expensive products to the recruits, recruits family & friends! This is their business model!
I know because I was one of the biggest kool aid drinker you have ever met! Thank God I learned the truth!
Primerica is a scam?? Do you think the person who called wasn't very good and didn't know what he was doing? Why not get the facts from someone who has been in the business for 10+ years?
It has been very interesting reading all the comments regarding PFS. It is obvious that there are individuals involved with the company that are recruiting in a way that makes PFS look like a scam. When I was recruited, I knew from the beginning the business structure because my family has been in the insurance industry for over 30 years. The RVP that recruited me never told me what type of money I could make. He did tell me that through production and recruiting people to build my office, I would be promoted. It is the same structure for other positions within the securities industry, insurance, real estate, etc. It is a career just as my bank job was for 10 years. However, because of health issues having my last child I had to leave my job at the bank and had nothing to take with me. When you build a book of business through a business structure such as PFS, your production continues even when you may have to take time off. YES it is a lot of hard work. YES it takes personal investment - because you are self employed! It takes the same investment and risk that the owner of the company that you work 9-5 for. I love my contract with PFS because I can't blame my lack of income on anyone but myself.
Another thing I wanted to commit on was the PFS University. I have never heard of that. Thus far my total cost has been $99 for my background check and to get my life license. I received a check back from the company for $69 because I already had my life license. I paid over $400 back in 1998 to get my license. I do pay $25 a month for the software I use, but ask any captive agent for Farmers Insurance Group, State Farm or any AFLAC agent what they pay for the use of their companies software. You are talking thousands a year. And I just paid $7.50 to go to a builders summit which was optional. So lets see, that is 37.50 plus $300 a year for the software. Tiny investment to have control over my time. Hopefully someone with PFS will see what has been written in many of these blogs and work on changing the recruiting practices of these offices. When I recruit I tell people from the beginning, if you are not comfortable with sales and being self-employed, this is not for you. Good luck to all who are looking for a job. Keep your chins up, this recession will end just like all the others. Hopefully this recession has taught us to plan for the future and stop depending on credit to live the standard of living we feel we must keep up with.
Look people... primerica is a joke. To begin; it is true my friend's brother is just under 30 and makes just under a million a year. It is also true that his older brother started at the same time and did not make any money and is now working some joke job for 40k a year because rather than bettering himself through education or legitamate work he threw 8 years of his life into primerica and never made anything. Further the youngest brother who is my friend has been there 4 years. He dropped out of college to focus entirely on primerica and has not even made more than a total of 1k in the 4 years he has been there. It is not from a lack of trying.
The structure of the business is getting some dopey kid to come to the meeting and join. Then the sponsor of this new tard kid convinces this kid to get his family to buy life insurance from they often can't afford. The kid makes a one time commission of a hundred dollars for each sale and the sponsor makes a little more. Problem is that once that kid has sold insurance to all of the family and the excitement that their kid is finally doing something with his life wears off, the sales dry up and the kid often quits if he hasn't been brainwashed yet into staying for 4 years like my friend.
ITs not like you can go door to door selling insurance or stocks because who the heck is going to take you seriously. So then your focus turns to recruiting others so you can get some dopey kid to sell to his family. The problem is that if you are come from a good area and have respectible friends, your friends aren't as dumb as you are and are unwilling to join and thus you can't make any more money.
You have to have the personality of not giving a huck what others think about you. You have to have no shame. It is very popular among hispanics. They have lots of family, cousins, brothers, nephews, who are doing nothing with their life and are not so intelligent so it is easier to trick into joining. If you are a respectible person and have respectible friends, stay away!
Just goto one of these meetings as I have. It is creepy how cultish they are. They play these videos where they show people at what could be mistaken for a clan rally... thousands of people clapping on que to motivational speakers. YEs it is true that some make a killing. But is also true that 99& do not and they rely on these people for some quick sales commission. Please do not waste your time. It pains me to see my friend who comes from a good family and had all the educational opportunities in the world throw his years away not making a penny. I mean what happens to someone like that. Do they wake up at age 30 and realize wow, I need to make a steady income and if I had gone to college and worked a nice job for this time I would be making the money I wanted to make back then by now.
Yeah dude, it is a pyramid scheme...
But if you didn't think you were the smartest guy that ever lived, you would realize there is nothing wrong with that and that you're just a dumb ass that has to listen to your mom.
But don't ignore me for my rude comments. I work for Primerica right and it is working great for me.
Since Primerica is a multi level marking you become your own regional vice president within time, and you can very quickly, and over that period of time you gain a wealthy income from several different sources just bby doing your job which is selling term life insurance. All you do is show people their finances and tell them how to save money and their debt payments and show them how to invest the money that they saved into their retirement plan so they can retire and actually know what to do with their finances. It's a great company (a crusade, if you will) that will be known as the savior of the middle and lower-class american finances.
I have to laugh when I hear Primerica reps spewing this crap like the previous posters. I trained guys just like this when I was with Primerica and I can assure you that they are brainwashed. See that is how people like myself and other RVPs built our business. How & why did we do that? Simple:
We went out and did cold prospecting to every person we could find. We flattered them at work with praise then swooped in for the recuitment speech. We posted job ads and call resumes exactly what happened to the original blogger. And the reason we did this was to get them in recruit them (get the IBA money), then immediately get into their warm market so we could sell them the expensive products Primerica has. We made money and hopefully recruited a few more people to continue the process. We tell recruits they need to be "coachable" and as long as they do what we tell them they will be RVPs one day to and be wealthy. This is done millions of times!
When I joined Primerica in the mid 90s there were 100,000 reps and we were recruiting around 20,000 (the company) recruits per month. How many reps are there almost 20 yrs later? Well 100,000... Why? Huge turnover rate. They get you in "the business", sell you/your family/ your friends expensive crappy products, then move on to the next person.
Luckily I had a friend wake me up one day and realize the only person making money in Primerica was the "big guys". We kept holding meetings, going to conventions, and so on, but we were brainwashed. We believed Primerica products were the best. We found out they are very very very far from the best. I would almost classify them as some of the worse. The pay is horrendous compared to the rest of the financial world. And regardless of what these PFS agents say on here you will be in a cult. Just try to think freely. Primerica loves ignorant reps!
"It's a great company (a crusade, if you will) that will be known as the savior of the middle and lower-class american finances." - This is almost laughable if your were hurting so many with your horrible advice!
All I can say with Primerica is shop around! You will always find a better option for your family.
Rock on Primerica Cult Members!
I found this blog very amusing....as i work for Primerica! IT IS NOT A SCAM! Its a real business, if you have entrepreneurial mindset...and knowledge about money then you will for sure succeed! IT IS NOT A PYRAMID! If you have the idea that Primerica is a scam try talking to someone that has been in the business for a while! Get MORE INFO ABOUT THE COMPANY! PRIMERICA DOES WHATS RIGHT FOR THE CLIENTS AND THE COMPANY 100% of the TIME!! CHECK OUT THE BBB. THIS COMPANY IS RATED "A+"!!!! SO BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO TELL PEOPLE ITS A SCAM GET YOUR FACTS RIGHT! JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING IS POSTED ONLINE DOESNT MEAN ITS CORRECT! if you want to beLIEve the Lies go for it! This company is STRONG AND SOLID! But is also not for everyone! But before you take your shots at us PROUD PIRMERICANS, please dont be iggnorant with your comments and thoughts! Thank you!
I've heard of Primerica. I even received a call from them today for a potential interview. I returned the call stating that it's not an opportunity for me at this time.
Being an entrepreneurial person, I am aware what it takes to start a business. If you don't have business cards, sales training, computers, certifications, you WILL have to spend money up front. Not to mention, you'll need to market a new "unknown" name for a product or business. What Primerica offers is a "known" name. For that, just like franchising a "subway" shop, or a "minuteman press" you will have to pay. You pay for the recognized name, logo, training etc. Given that it's 100% sales, means that ALL expenses come out of your pocket and are tax deductible. It also means you need to be creative, disciplined and self motivated. Not to mention prepared to pay our current daily, weekly, and monthly expenses on top of the "Start up" cost to begin a Primerca business.
It's not cheap to start a business, but if you look at the rewards, the tax incentives, and the potential commission profits, you can indeed make a viable, legal, legitimate business from your own efforts.
Working a full time job, with a stated pay scale, benefits, etc. has it's enticements. It means you know where, when, and how much your next paycheck will be... at least until your company does a layoff.
I'm fortunate to currently be employed. I've started more than one business in my time - in different markets, that were profitable and not "known" business names. It costed quite a bit up front, for equipment and self generated marketing materials. My business worked, but as I looked at the long range it was not sustainable as a sole income. Because of task volume. aka work processing. I did both create work and process the work. I did a great turnkey reputable service, and like anything else it took quite a bit to keep it going. The most important thing I learned is that I liked being in business for myself and having a long range business plan is foremost to stay that way.
Primerica can be the right vehicle for the right person. It offers a name, training, marketing information, and has a business model that IS sustainable for the RIGHT person, at the right time in their life. If you need a paycheck... as in check-to-check, are not in the mindset of sales, taking rejection, or need a structured environment, Primerica is in no way for you. Neither is any other business that you have to start from scratch (like I did and will do again).
If you're in sales already, and you have a stash of cash, Primerica may be the option you need to take advantage of.
Best of luck to all on this message. Much success whether you're an employee or working for yourself.
To the previous poster @ 4:15 (2 posts above this one)
Like you I worked with Primerica, but unlike you I put over 10 yrs on the clock. I was you at one time and went on blogs fighting for PFS because I know what I did was right 100% of the time. I made money that kept me at the top of the leaders bulletin and as a part-timer now one in my state could touch me. So I know probably more than you about Primerica and the inner working of the company and products. I am not ignorant when it comes to Primerica.
One day I woke up and someone showed me that what I did was not right 100% of the time! I fought them for a while, but since we were very good friends he finally won me over and I took my 3 best $MART loans, 3 best mutual funds, and 3 best life cases and we did a comparison. Guess what? Primerica wasn't even close to the best & I was shocked. Then to add insult to injury Primerica start cutting raps pay. I have a close friend who is a RVP and just wrote a 20yr case and his pay was cut from 95% to under 45%. How is that right?
If you believe so much in Primerica lets do a real comparison. Post your best 3 life cases... Age, Term, type, face amount, premium... You will be shocked how expensive Primerica is!
If you would like to do the same with $MART I will beat anything the solution center sends you!
My whole mission is to educate people how expensive Primerica is. Why? Because I drank their kool-aide for over a decade and thought I was doing the best thing. I was misled and I'm pissed about it.
If you are a client SHOP AROUND!
I work with the company and a friend of mine who I introduced to the business saw this blog and now has doubts about it the company.
I think it is very sad to see how a person who was very excited one moment become discouraged the next, because of a blog like this, which offers a one-sided personal view with no true evidence or facts.
When I first saw the company I was very skeptical as well. Who wouldn't be? A company that pays you for doing the right thing for individual people and families. Who wants to be apart of that scam, right?
The bottom line is, Primerica offers an opportunity for people to do something great with their lives and it really isn't for everybody. The company doesn't promise success, it guarantees it if you listen, learn and actually work and follow their proven system.
I truly believe there isn't anyone in the business that can motivate you to become successful, you have to do that on your own. Primerica is a vehicle and a system for breeding success, whether it be monetary or personal.
And to all the people who are "against" Primerica for some reason, if there is a better opportunity out there, then please let us know. Otherwise, get all your facts before making a judgment and ruining the potential for someone else to become successful.
Thank you.
Previous poster,
I'm sorry you have not seen the light yet, but maybe your friend will avoid the nightmares you will face in Primerica. I was part of the company for a very long time and by everyone's definition I was very successful. Why did I leave the company? I learned the truth.
The facts are very simple:
1. You are in a sales business! Not a crusade! If Primerica did what was truly right I would still be there and loving every minute of it Primerica uses an almost cult mentality to recruit people and sell their crappy products.
2. You do not own your own business. That is the facts! I guarntee that in your opp meetings or discussion with your friend you make it seem like you own the business. This is an absolute truth! Even as a RVP you do not have ownership!! You must earn it by some VERY VERY VERY strict guidlines. (Yes even ringwears are not guaranteed to own their business!)
3. Products are every expensive. Term rates are very high, Mortgages are very misleading, mutual funds are heavily loaded.
4. Compensation (PAY) is horrible. PFS reps are paid a fraction of the the rest of the industry. Just check out other companies!
See if you wanted to take the challenge post your 3 most recent life cases (Age, Term, Face Amount, Type (NT, Tab, Preferred), and Premium. I will do the same.
As for your $MART loan do the same thing. (Loan Amount, LTV, Rate, Payment with acceleration (biweekly payment), and expected payoff date)
See if you truly care about your clients you will learn quickly Primerica is nothing more than a system to sell expensive products to the recruit & the recruit families!
I look forward to you taking the challenge!
I just think that as a recent graduate looking for a job, scheme or not, I can not rely on a commission based job. It may be great for some people, but I think the reason it is not good for 90% of people is because they need something reliable. I have a lot of bills and I can not afford to making so much one week, and then a different amount the next. I want a constant to budget my finances around. I believe that's the real reason people don't go "outside of the box" as one person put it. Especially in this economy, not many can afford too.
oh my god..they are selling these things at a higher price..oh my god that is so wrong...oh my god they are recruting people to sell these things ..oh my god...the smart loan isn't really "smart"? oh my god..they waste 1 hr of your life to go to meetings..oh my god....this is the worst thing that can ever happen in life...this is worse than planes crashing and people getting shot... and people selling drugs on the street..and husbands cheating on wives...THIS IS THE WORST THING EVER..."it ruins families" ..i guess Jon and Kate had Primerica Life Insurance..i bet thats y it ruined their family...i feel sorry for those 8 kids...oh my god..that is so horrible...
go call the fkin wambulance..wahwahwahwah... go tell everyone in your local stores that walmart is cheaper and they are getting scammed for their money...go tell the people in the banks that give 1% interest that they are getting scammed for their money cuz the bank down the street is giving 2%...that seems to be the big thing with you guys..complaining and crying..admit it..everyone in here can give a rats ass if someone is getting screwed or not..they just care about themselves ..so stop trying to pretend you actually care about other people saving money. all you really want is the attention by complaining all day. you want to know a secret? no one likes to hear anyone complain... maybe its you guys who need the koolaid so you can actually smile one day...its a long boring sad life living in a world of negativity..enjoy yourselves and stop complaining. "ah i hate the sun..its too hot....ah i hate the rain" ahh i bet you are exactly those people who complain about both sun n rain.
Go fight your crusade you moron! THe fact is you are not a financial professional & believe you are! That is the sad fact.
If 1 person learns the truth this entire blog is worth it. As for caring about people.... I personally care that I am in some ways getting back at the cult who brainwashed me to lie to so many families. Someday you will wake up and realize you too have been played the fool and drank the Primerica kool-aid too long.
Is your client better of having $500k for $50 a month with Primerica or $1 mil for $50 a month? That is what we are talking about.
You are the exact reason why Primerica is a joke. You don't understand the impact you have on peoples lives.
Keep listening to your RVP, keep chasing your ring, and drinking the kool-aide.
I will continue to tell the truth everytime. I will not allow Primerica lies to go posted unchallenged.
Thanks for this blog. It saved me a 1 hour drive each way to a seminar. I'm looking for a real job!
i love kool-aide. ooooo-yeahhhh. first of all i know im a salesman and not a financial advisor. 2nd of all, i do have a college degree from Rutgers U. in accounting, I graduated with a 3.5 GPA, and have worked in both Tax and Audit for a CPA firm for 3 years. so it'd pretty funny how you judge me even though you never met me. I probably know more than you and im only 24 years old. doesn't that suck huh....
Here's the facts...IT'S FUCKIN LIFE INSURANCE. its $50 a month. impact? I understand impact and I understand you don't realize that you are getting screwed by many other things if you think getting Primerica life insurance is screwing you. Like I said before, if you really go around to different grocery stores one is cheaper than the other in some things and you can probably save more than $100 a month if you do your shopping right. Same goes for gas stations. so are you telling me spending money for Primerica Life Insurance is any different than those other two?
Sure there are better insurances out there. as there are better cars, better computers, better everything. If everyone had the best out there how are the other companies in competition surviving. So here's another question, you tell me what Life Insurance people should get. Plain and Simple. Give me the BEST life insurance out there. I bet you will never find it.
As a side note, you must be wondering why I left accounting. I left because accounting was too boring to do for the rest of my life. I had the support I needed to leave so I left and did not work for 2 years after that. Is Primerica the thing for me the rest of my life. probably not. But it's a motivating environment like any high profile sales position and it's something I've never done yet. Don't knock something til you try it. that's all im saying.
Just my input and time spent as a Primerica client.
My wife and I had a 25yr Policy with Primerica written 5 yrs ago with $500,000 on me and $500,000 on my wife. My premium was $140 per month.
Last year I found out I could get $1.3 on me and $1mil on my wife with Genworth for the $91.00.
So to answer your what does $50 a month matter. Well in my case $800k/$500k.
See previous poster you are missing the point. You are representing a company that misrepresents its self. The chant in Primerica is "We do what's right 100% of the time", but the truth isn't anywhere near the truth.
Now since you are such a motivated sales person why don't you wise up and realize Primerica has the worse compensation of ANY, ANY, ANY company in the financial services industry. As a matter of fact I know of 5 RVPs (personal friends) who are seriously considering leaving the company with the most recent changes to the life compensation. See the days of RVPs making 95% are over. Now with the new bands even RVPs are struggling to get 50%. Those are the facts. Run your quick quotes and you will see. The more coverage you sell the less your commission pay is.
The average street compensation is 85%-90%. When you figure in a bonus you can easily get 100% - 115%! What's great about working for a real non-captive brokerage house is you will provide the best products for your clients, but you make more than your RVP, SVP, and even NSD!
And before you start with the override system - Please understand that you can become a GA (general agent) with any brokerage house and then designed your agency how ever you wish.
If you like Primerica's system copy it! You will still make more money and you will be doing what is best for your clients.
question. do these brokerage houses have the same motivational environment that Primerica offers? It was not the money/compensation plan that made me join. It was the environment I was in. Everyone is motivated and pushing each other to do better. If you tell me that these brokerage houses has that type of environment ill go there in a heartbeat. But i really do believe that it won't. It will be another job like i had in accounting. waking up in the morning dreading the day of my eyes hurting from looking at computer screens and papers all day.
Do these brokerage houses provide the same amount of networking possibilities that Primerica offers? Meeting people is what I crave bcuz you never know if that one person you meet will change your life. I basically retired from the financial industry at 24 because i knew this life wasn't for me. im out for something bigger. and that is why i said Primerica is probably not gonna be in my life years down the road. but it definitely is a good start to meet the people you need to meet to get to that place you need to go.
Bottom line. primerica is not the best. but who is? The fact is that this environment pushes you to better your life, motivates you to stop being lazy, pushes you to go after your dreams. and if you call me crazy for going after my dreams im calling you crazy for not going after yours. you only have one life to live, so y not take advantage of it. i know im going to. I quit accounting for that one reason alone. I did not want to die knowing all I did with my life was be an accountant.
LOL oh and btw, if you really believe primerica is the only or one of the few companies that misrepresents itself, boy are you blind. Every single commercial/ad is misrepresenting the company that paid for it. Its called advertising. thats what primerica is, a marketing company. imagine id primerica said "we do whats right sometimes or never" ? do you think they would still be in business? please answer that. If they changed their motto, would you all of a sudden say ok atleast Primerica changed their motto, they must be a better company. LOL look at every single company's motto in the world and tell me if it truly represents who they are...is a bmw really an ultimate driving machine? or did they just make bmw buyers believe they are..cuz personally i know bmws have a lot of electrical problems. does Avis rent a car really "Try Harder"...Is Disneyland really "the happiest place on earth"...does mcdonald's really "love to see you smile" or do they just want your money? if you can really prove me wrong on this one ill give you respect.
My husband and I listened to the first spiel last night. We are supposed to go to a meeting on Thursday but now I'm not sure I want to even hear it. We both heard the same thing in between the lines. "MLM" or pyramid. And while I agree that it is still a legit company, it is definitely not for everyone which is why they shouldn't go around recruiting everyone that crosses their path. The fine print under the estimated earnings chart reads, "MOST REPRESENTATIVES do not achieve these leadership levels...." Meaning that most reps do not earn this kind of money. What's more is that "in order to become a District Leader....you must.....achieve certain sales levels." So in order to earn at the lowest level, you have to sell a whole lot of stuff first. Primerica folks tout the be your own boss aspect of this business. Believe me, there are easier ways to be your own boss without focusing on trying to get other people into your business. Just because we don't want to join Primerica, doesn't mean we lack the drive or initiative to have our own business. We're just not interested in THAT kind of business. Which is not really your own, by the way.
The problem with Primerica is their deceptive recruiting tactics. Look at all of the complaints on here and all over the net. There is a huge deception of Primerica people contacting people about their resumes posted on-line. Primerica reps rarely mention Primerica in their recruiting call and never mention this is not a job, but an opportunity.
Primerica reps do the exact same thing when they are out there prospecting. This is a major issue & unethical.
Add to this how they use you to go see your friends to sell their products and you have a huge issue there.
My visit to Primerica included being asked to spend $99 to join, $25 monthly for their internet system, then the guy who invited me to the meeting did the FNA.
$84 for Life Insurance
$25 for legal plan
A loan at 8.25%
Roll my old 401k
I told him I wanted to think about everything and he was very kind and patient. Then after a couple days he began harassing me. I decided to shop around.
same coverage at state farm $38 per month.
Loan at my credit union 5.125%
He recommended Legg Mason funds and after some research I found out how bad they were. My Vanguard funds are better, accotding to morningstar and not loaded. Legg Mason funds have a big expense on them.
All I can say is if I did not do my homework Primerica would have screwed me all over.
If you don't want to make your own decisions Primerica might work for you, but they love ignorant people.
wow...it's funny. As I read the comments, I notice there are 2 people writing here...people who have been contacted by Primerica and employees of Primerica. It's not hard to tell which comments are written by employees. Regarding the business strategy of Primerica...if you have to come out of pocket for ANY job up front is a scam. There isn't a single fortune 500 company that requires it's employees to attend an internal school...training I understand, but Primerica University....COME ON. You also have to attend seminars. I have been in sales for 5 years and never had to shell out a dime on seminars OR training. The company I worked for, INVESTED money in me to make me a better salesmen...they didn't force me to pay for training. What kind of loyalty does that create? You Primerica salespeople can keep pushing your wares but you are alienating ALL SALESMEN with your bullish tactics. I've never been to a seminar (and I have been to plenty) that taught me anything I didn't already know. Go look at the requirements for similar work at other reputable businesses like Morgan Stanley or Edward Jones etc...you would NEVER have to pay for training (except your series 6). But these companies also have higher requirements for employees than Primerica. When I was called to interview with Primerica, I told the gentleman that I was trained in graphic design and web design and that I was happy at my job...he says great you sound like a wonderful candidate for a position here at Primerica...WHA?!?!? So he would have me leave a job I enjoyed with stable income to go to a commission only job that I had to come out of pocket for just to be able to work...it just doesn't jive. If you are ruthless, it seems like a good position...but I got out of mortgage consulting for that very reason. I didn't want to steal homeowners money because of my own personal greed. I will be cancelling my interview today (just happen to get a phone call from them while I wrote this)
How is Primerica from a consumer standpoint? For instance, if we are looking to refinance our mortgage? Never mind the salespoerson mentality and such. I was approched by a Primerica guy. nice enough, but made it very clear that he needs me much more than I need him.
thats funny. i remember me having to pay over 25 grand to get a job and i know a whole shit load of people who even paid over 60 grand for their jobs. they paid and it wasn't even guaranteed..they had to be approved by interviewers to even get those jobs.
yes if you weren't witty enough to understand that, i am talking about college. People have to pay to get jobs so i have no idea what you are talkin about that people should not have to pay to get a job. Primerica gives non college educated people a chance to improve their lives beyond minimum wage without having to shell out thousands.
and you are not employees of primerica, you are independent reps. you might say y pay $100? ill pay $100 anyday if i can write off basically every expense I have (gas, car, computers, even food)...can you do that mr.employee? i don't think so. so you see, i am an accountant( or was) i know the benefits of owning a business even though you think its not your own business. as long as uncle sam sees it as your own business you can write off almost anything and everything. hence, no outrageous taxes even though you are in the higher tax brackets. I even wrote off furniture and tv's i bought for my house as office expense...boy its great.
and if you say why don't you open up any business if you want to write something off. LOL I did before i joined primerica. and you have to pay to register your business $125. I had a corp so i had to pay annual reporting fees + their are minimum taxes that need to be paid. That doesnt even include all the money i shelled out for my own software, ad materials, website servers etc. You see, when you witness every side of the spectrum you can actually weigh the negatives and positives. I was an employee, I was in business on my own, and now I am a Primerica business owner. and from what I see this business has actually been the most beneficial out of all.
and if you think those companies that pay for your training and such are just doing it because they care about you ..think again..they need those added costs and expenses so they can write it off against their revenue so they won't take a huge hit on fed and state taxes.
So this is the case, would you rather let them write it off against their revenue...or you write it off against your revenue? thats what i thought.
how little you know about how the world works.
Yes i am a Primerican...Primerica is a joke eh? you just got schooled by one. don't stereotype, not everyone in Primerica is dumb.
pacobell63,
The Primerica $MART loan is a 30yr loan that is sold to you as a mortgage with "special powers". By using Primerica's equity builder the 30yr loan will be paid off in approx 20yr. The $mart loan has an extreme high rate (around 8% right now) compared to the rest of the industry, but the Primerica rep will convince you that the rate is not important. Primerica agents are very enthusiastic about the $MART loan and truly believe the $MART loan is the best.
I know all of this because I was one of the top producers for Primerica's $MART loan in the early - mid 2000s.
The truth is the $MART loan is NEVER, NEVER, NEVER the best option for your family. If you qualify for the $MART loan you can easily qualify for a conventional loan. $MART is Primerica's most misleading product!
Don't take my word for it. Here is what you need to look at if you want to compare loans to the $MART loan.
1. Look at the monthly payment. (In the $MART loans case take the biweekly payment (with acceleration) and multiple it by 26 payment then divide by 12 months. This is your "real" monthly payment.
2. Look at your exact debt free date. (Typically 20yr 8 month - 22 yr X months).
Now if you want to compare apples to apples go to your bank or a mortgage broker and ask for a conventional (if you have the right LTV) 20 yr loan. Rates are around 5.25% - 5.5% right now.
100% of the time you will be better off going with a conventional loan compared to the $MART loan. Even if you have to go FHA and pay PMI you are still better off.
Remember shop around. If you decide to let the Primerica rep run a $MART quote then I suggest you go to your bank, a credit union, and a mortgage broker for comparisons.
Again I will say that the $MART loan is NEVER the best option for your family.
I stumbled upon Primerica first as a client and now I am a representative. I appreciate that there are really hard workers out there that believe in the 9 - 5 job and that they believe that they can retire financially independent at 65. However, I have to take some offense to the people that slam what I am doing because I respect them for what they want to do. I haven't done anything personally to slam you. I do not make people do anything that they don't want to do, I was as much a skeptic as the next guy, but if I actually put the work into it, I make money.
As for fees...yes I paid $99 for start up fee, that included my insurance course that actually costs $1500+ where I am from and that $99 also included my license fees for the first year. The only additional fee I had to pay, was to take my license (that has to be paid to the province), my backgroud check which gets reiumbursed, and there is a fee for your on-line support($28 dollars/month). Which is a tax deduction...what else is a tax deduation...my house, my car, my gas, my utilities, my cell phone bill, any new office equipement (if I want to upgrade), the list goes on. And hey, I can do this part-time if I want, still get the tax deduction and keep a 'normal' job if I choose. Wow, I spent really...$199 that I used as a tax deduction. Really it was a win, win situation. In the end if I choose not to persue Primerica in my future at least I got a great education for what I consider pennies.
You seem like a great person, but you are missing the point. If you are looking for an education Primerica DOES NOT provide it! They will teach you how to sell there horrible products and make you believe they are the best. That is not education!
The life products are horrible.
The mortgage is extremely misleading.
The mutual funds are heavily loaded.
Tax deductions are just another sales tool used by RVPs to recruit people! Yes you can get some write offs, but you can do the same thing by opening ANY home based business. Just pay for an occupational license and your done.
You might not like to hear this, but one day you will realize you have been brainwashed by Primerica and you will have the same zeal to tell the people the truth as I do.
Primerica sucks and if it weren't for all of us how got addicted to the kool aid they would be out of business.
Art Williams has to be embarrassed about how his once great company has become everything he hated. The salesforce is no longer King at Primerica... Now you are screwed at every term. (Not to mention the crappy products the clients buy)
MLM isn't a pyramid scheme - almost as annoying, but not the same. MLM sells a product or service for a higher price than you could find on your own to pay for commissions to the representatives above you.
"Tax deductions are just another sales tool used by RVPs to recruit people! Yes you can get some write offs, but you can do the same thing by opening ANY home based business. Just pay for an occupational license and your done. " - previous poster
yes they are another sales tool to recruit. but the fact is that its true. Like your friend told you the steak was better than chicken at a certain restaurant, would you say it was another sales tool used by your friend? what's fact is fact. you get write offs. Open another home-based business? LOL you see how much you'll spend opening up that. all the work you have to pull in getting clients to believe in your product, the software you need to buy, and don't forget about all the financial reporting you have to do. we'll see what costs more...: i say this because I was business owner..i know the dedication both physically and financially it takes to even get your business started. Especially without the support of anyone, you have to work from scratch what works or not. and believe me, someone in the same industry will not help you because you are their competition. In primerica, every single person has helped me understand how to run the business because if i make money they make money, we are not in competition together.
and yea i know what's coming next "blah blah blah koolaid..blah blah blah brainwashed"...but you know what...facts are facts..brainwashed or not. I know im right... what's your proof? besides saying koolaid...you show me a business where it costs less and requires less effort..and i'll kneel at your feet
It's impossible to argue with someone who doesn't understand how Primerica really works.
If you don't care about offering the best products to your clients or making the most compensation for yourself I am curious why you are here arguing about Primerica.
As for you looking at tax deductions as the reason for joining Primerica it is almost laughable. I used to run the opp meetings and say exactly the same thing.... Write off your IBA cost, POL, Cell phone, gas, etc.. The truth is that very few people make enough money in Primerica to even make it worth their time.
If your such a go getter I would again suggest you look at companies where you can not only offer real financial products (and not be captive), but make more money for your family. When I left Primerica I considered going to a Primerica spin off that was a lot like the old AL Williams, but I decided to leave the MLM aspect all together go independent and become a real professional. If you are seriously looking for a place where you can get away from the stigma of this MLM joke look into Capital Choice. It is everything Primerica used to be before they started screwing their clients and agents.
If you are considering Primerica as a career or as a client all I suggest you do is shop around and compare. I am some one who has spent a large portion of my adult life moving up the ranks in Primerica. I am not someone who knows very little about the company. (Like 99% of the complainers & Primerica reps posting)
Dang! Primerica is such a joke. I've read the posts and they never talk facts. Now I just read some person talking about tax deductions. WTF?
I almost joined Primerica and I thank God everyday that I didn't. They did do a Financial Needs Plan on me and I bought life insurance. I took this plan to my State Farm agent and he gave me a plan for half the price for the same coverage. I called the VP who tried to recruit me and he was such a jerk. He told me state farm doesn't like to pay out their death benefits! What a liar!
The past 6 weeks I have been dealing with Primerica is a nightmare! It all started with a call very similar to the blogs example.
These idiots are so geared towards recruiting people so they can become millionaires they don't understand how bad their company is. My advice is run away, hang up, or tell them to F off.
go and see whos rated better
http://insurance.freeadvice.com/reviews/index.htm
state farm vs. primerica LOL
theres the facts. and i bet the only comeback you can come up with is "oh that must be a scam i bet primerica reps rated that"
its you nonprimericans that provide no facts to why you hate primerica so much.
Facts:
1. Primerica preaches term invest the diff. is that the best for families. yes!
2. Primerica is not the cheapest. but who is. i still nevr got the answer who is the cheapest. I know their are CHEAPER ones out there. so are you saying state farm is cheaper than any other ins co out there..and if they arent, why aren't you complaining about them ripping people off.
3. Primerica is a marketing company. you get trained to market services. hence become good salesmen. maybe even great ones. just like billy mays.
4. Primerica's motto doesn't reflect their business. Who does? its marketing, getting people to believe them. turn on the tv right now and watch every single commercial and tell me if those companies aren't trying to get you to get their products through marketing tactics
5. Recruiting. you do not have to recruit if u don't want to. you can just sell. they just tell you in order to be making more than 1k a month you have to have overrrides
6. My favorite one. you should not have to pay to get a job. Then why are people in college right now? if they don't hvave to pay for a job?...its cuz companies won't even look at your resume if you don't have at least a bachelors degree. so there you go, you just paid 30grand for a job.
I can go on if you want...im the only one stating facts.
The only reasonable asnwer I got was the company Capitl Choice. It looks like the same company but I have to look more into depth with it since it only started 4 years ago...new companies never show enough info to make a clear decision. so if anyone wants to share their experience with them its fine.
but ill stick to a company thats been around for 32 years.
go and see whos rated better
http://insurance.freeadvice.com/reviews/index.htm
state farm vs. primerica LOL
theres the facts. and i bet the only comeback you can come up with is "oh that must be a scam i bet primerica reps rated that"
its you nonprimericans that provide no facts to why you hate primerica so much.
Facts:
1. Primerica preaches term invest the diff. is that the best for families. yes!
2. Primerica is not the cheapest. but who is. i still nevr got the answer who is the cheapest. I know their are CHEAPER ones out there. so are you saying state farm is cheaper than any other ins co out there..and if they arent, why aren't you complaining about them ripping people off.
3. Primerica is a marketing company. you get trained to market services. hence become good salesmen. maybe even great ones. just like billy mays.
4. Primerica's motto doesn't reflect their business. Who does? its marketing, getting people to believe them. turn on the tv right now and watch every single commercial and tell me if those companies aren't trying to get you to get their products through marketing tactics
5. Recruiting. you do not have to recruit if u don't want to. you can just sell. they just tell you in order to be making more than 1k a month you have to have overrrides
6. My favorite one. you should not have to pay to get a job. Then why are people in college right now? if they don't hvave to pay for a job?...its cuz companies won't even look at your resume if you don't have at least a bachelors degree. so there you go, you just paid 30grand for a job.
I can go on if you want...im the only one stating facts.
The only reasonable asnwer I got was the company Capitl Choice. It looks like the same company but I have to look more into depth with it since it only started 4 years ago...new companies never show enough info to make a clear decision. so if anyone wants to share their experience with them its fine.
but ill stick to a company thats been around for 32 years.
whoa those comments under state farm are scary. So many people were denied. most of them were from home insurances and auto but imagine if they don't pay those small claims, you think they would never pay those big claims that life insurance policies have.
"After 9/11 did anybody know that Primerica was the only insurance company that paid every single death claim. Technically by law insurance companies don't have to pay claims for insureds that die as a result of war. This falls into one of the four major parts of the insurance policy under the exclusion. The specific exclusion is referred to as War Exclusion. Unfortunately 9/11 was declared an act of war, which meant insurance companies didn't have to pay the death claims of those who were insured and lost their lives in the 9/11 disaster. However though as I said in the beginning, Primerica paid every single death claim. This is not to say that other insurance companies didn't pay any death claims. For those who don't know, the reason why War can void a clients contract if he/she dies in one is because generally in war there are a high number of casualties and having too many casualties could result in a insurance company possibly having to go out of business."
go research it. it's true. so go ahead and go cheaper and not get paid when a family member dies. i bet those people were happy they had primerica insurance.
FACT AFTER FACT AFTER FACT... I'LL BE WAITING FOR YOUR COMEBACKS.
im fighting this to the end because i can. i don't have that 9-5 boss looking over my shoulder. and yea i work from home. and i work maybe 3 hours a day on Primerica..and work on my startup advertising company ....and go to school for nursing as well even though i have a degree in accounting already...why? because i can. that's why.
Addressing your "facts":
1. Primerica preaches BTID which I personal agree with, but you can not believe that 1 product fits all mentality. In 3 yrs I have written close to $300k in premium and only $10k in permanent insurance. I do think BTID the difference is the way to go, but there are cases where your client will be better suited with a permanent insurance.
2.You are 100% correct. It is not just price that gets to me. It is the uneducated Primerica reps who spew lies about how great Primerica is to make up for the cost difference. You mentioned it in the 9-11 statement which I will address later. (Needless to say you fell for the same lies I did)
3. Bill Mays? Come on! Primerica's model does not teach you to become great salesman. They stack the deck by using the recruits warm market. When you are seeing Uncle Bob chances are very slim he will shop around. The system is what gives you success. You use your family & friends to market crappy products too. Because you have no true education, except what Primerica teaches you, you believe what you are doing is right. Look at the $MART loan. It is horrible for the client 100% of the time! How can you justify selling that to the people you care about?
4. Primerica's motto is "Help people become debt free and financially independent" not "we do what's right 100% of the time". The latter is a brainwashing technique used by your RVP to instill a belief you are providing the best possible service. Why? So the reps will continue to sell subpar products to their own family, relatives, and friends.
5. Recruiting - You are so far off base here. Are you really that new in Primerica? If you do not recruit you will get no where! Recruiting is 90% of what Primerica preaches. Not knowledgeable agents, RECRUITING. Recruiting = easy sales and the new recruit wants to become a millionaire so he/she buys the crappy products. Where did you get the $1k a month? I love how you create numbers!
6. Pay for a job... I agree with you. I have no idea what the other poster was talking.. I will argue though that RVPs will pressure you (even at the conventions) to get POL $25mo, Full Service GoSolo $20mo, Life Ins (if you are selling it you should own it) $15 - sky's the limit per month, $mart if you own a home, IRA (which I'm think is good), PPLP (pre-paid legal) $25mo, and now Debtwatchers $25mo. That is some pretty serious business expenses for a company where the average part-time rep writes $800 a yr in premium. (Based on Primerica's own numbers.. if you were an RVP you would know this)
I will address your 9-11 lie in the next post.
Unlike you I was in Primerica during the 9-11 attacks. As a matter of fact at the time the towers fell I was sitting at a clients table selling a Primerica life policy. In the coming days I was sitting in front of the TV in the office watching EPNtv as John Addison announced that if any family called about a claim from the 9-11 attacks we would not wait on a death certificate, but issue the claim and deal with the crooks later. He also mentioned in the speech that Primerica does not have and never will have a war clause. The RVPs leeched onto this and started the rumor that other insurance companies wouldn't pay. 6 weeks later John Addison himself came back on EPNtv and announced that NO companies to his knowledge refused to pay claims due to a war clause.
By the way the war clause can only be invoked by an attack by a recognized military force of a known country! What you are looking for is a terrorist clause or an act of nature clause. Those are the clauses that could have lead to rejected policies.
To further prove you are wrong 1 week after the attacks U.S. House Financial Services Committee sent a letter to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners encouraging them to not invoke act of war or terrorism exclusions on life insurance policies where they did exist. No insurance companies rejected claims based on any War/Terrorist/Act of Nature clause.
One more scare tactic Primerica agents us, and you yourself use, is that Primerica is the only company that will pay. PFS agents (including myself) are trained to misled clients to buy more expensive products because they are worried about the "cheaper" company not paying. This is so sad and another reason why I left the company.
If you are an intelligent guy, which you seem like you are, realize that you are being spoon fed crap by your new Primerica buddies. Stop defending a company that cares less about you. Capital Choice is a good option for real go getters. You own the business from the get go (Unlike Primerica lies about owning your own business), you make more money, it is still the MLM stuff people like for overrides, you actually get investment trailers from the beginning (unlike Primerica ripping off all reps below the RL level. Did you know that? You make no trailers EVER on any investments you write while below the RL level?), and so on.
Like you I was kept in a bubble by Primerica thinking I was in the best opportunity for myself. In fact Primerica is a joke. Not only in Products, but in pay, business ownership, and most importantly professionalism. Some day you will wake you and realize you have been played fool just like I did. If you were making the income I was making when I left Primerica you would have been happy. It was difficult leaving a company since I was so close to my 2nd diamond, but I knew in the long run I would be better off. Thank God I did.
Stop the lies and misleading people. Primerica is a joke in the financial world and will always be so until they stop brainwashing their reps into believing they are an Army sent by Jesus to save the world.
Finally a great comeback. This might have been the best comeback thus far.
However:
1. Primerica focuses its efforts on middle america. Its 100% the way to go when dealing with middle america. Not only Primerica says it but every respected financial advisor says it e.g. Suze Orman. watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vnN9liFWaE
2. Primerica always sells to the client if it is BETTER than what they are currently doing. I have never told a client to do something worse than what they were doing. So are you going to cut my head off for giving you something better than what you are currently using?
it like u trying to chop my head of for telling you to use the carwash A because it is better than washing it yourself. Even though carwash B is the best but I didn’t tell you about carwash B.
3. Motto’s i already thought i proved what i tried to prove. Bottom line is that mottos are marketing tactics. not representation of a company. its ridiculous how people do not understand the concept of marketing.
4. Talking about marketing. we do not sell the cheapest because we are not contracted to sell the cheapest. we market the products with the companies that we have contracts with. yes people that is what a marketing company does.
I used to promote nightclubs in college. Did I promote the best clubs? nope. I promoted the parties and nightclubs that contracted me to promote and the places that were willing to pay me. get it? thats what marketing is.
Primerica has contracts with Legg Mason, American Funds etc because they are the ones paying Primerica.
5. Yes recruiting gets you EASIER sales. but no one is holding a gun to your head. I first got into my sales by selling to the jehovahs witnesses that came to my door every 2 weeks. Its funny how i first hated them ringing my doorbell but they ended up giving me a whole shitload of referrals that gave me basically every sale i made. you just have to target the people who know ppl.
6. that average parttimer income is so skewed. If you really understood that number youd understand. everybody that comes into Primerica is a parttimer. even the ones that pay to join but don’t even show up but they keep paying which makes no sense. like a gym membership for most ppl. they don’t take advantage of it. there are more parttimers that do not work than that do work so it makes all part timers look bad. can you agree?
7. You can say what you want about insurance companies not paying. Just look at comments from advice forums, even look at the one i posted before a couple of posts ago. State farm has so many unpaid claims for example. so yea its not an uncommon thing for insurance companies not to pay. It happens more frequently than you think.
But i now respect you for your great comeback. capital choice i will look into seriously because it seems almost the same but you say its better and i respect your advice because you have been apart of both and can tell me the difference. What is the initial startup payment and any other payment..what do u get etc. like give me the rundown.
I’m just really going against the ppl who call Primerica a scam n blah blah that didnt even join primerica or joined but never worked that talked crap about primerica. Don’t knock something until you try it. and yea going to some recruit meeting is not trying it.
It seems like we are finding some common ground finally! I am glad you understand that I am not some joker that went to an meeting or two and paid $199 (now $99) to join the company then quit.
I was the top part-timer in my area for over 10yrs! Not trying to trying to blow my own horn, but just stating facts. I was the first part-timer to get the watch in my county in Primerica's history. When I got to RVP I quickly destroyed the "dinosaur" RVPs in my state and always led the leaders bulletin. No one could touch my baseshop in $MART. The reason I tell you this is so you understand I am not some idiot who didn't understand the business. I loved Primerica! I loved the meetings & I loved the people. One day I realized that the love was being returned. I was shocked as compensation got cut while the clients costs remained the same. As I learned about the real financial world I woke up. Capital choice had been trying to recruit me for awhile and I sat down with them. They offered me a position equivalent to an RVP and I was ready to go. I then did some more research and decided for my family I was better off going independent. I ran my own Primerica office as a district leader up so I felt very confident I could do it. Worse case would be I went to Capital choice if I failed. Needless to say I am still independent with 38 agents in my agency. I don't hate Primerica I hate the lies that I believed in Primerica.
I am not an expert on Capital Choice, but PFS Rvps will tell you they are the loosers who couldn't make it in Primerica. I used to tell people that too!!! Once you open up you will see they are running a real financial company. You own your business from day 1, you have tons of investment options including Fee based investing (which is huge!), multiple life carriers, better compensation, you can get promoted without recruiting if you desire, Annuities that blow Prime Elite away, and you can do real mortgages no just the $MART loan. (Loans that you price by the way. If you are doing a loan for a family member you can op to cut your commission to help them out.) Also their version of a FNA will blow you away! Only downfall is with Securities you will be paying your own E&O, but since you own the clients & get trailers (it's disgusting Primerica took that away from their reps below RL) it is a wash.
Not to pick apart your responses, but I have to point some stuff out.
1. Suze Orman will agree with Primerica on some issues, like BTID, but when it comes to the investments she is opposed to loaded funds. So if your clients listen to Suze Orman they will not want to invest with you. She is also a ultra-conservative investment planner and alot of money goes into bonds/cds/non-equities even for younger people. Needless to say she only fufills Primerica BTID philosophy. Just so you know.
2. Abosultely note! But when someone has term I have heard Jim Meyer, Hector Lamarque, Jim Penn, & even John Addison say that "if you don't have Primerica Life you are going to get ripped off" so when reps lie (about the war clause, about terminal illness riders, about paying claims) that is wrong. I had a agent confrontation with a Primerica NSD last week at a clients house. He had been in the company for almost 30yrs. He started his lies tying to conserve the business. I took his policy and my policy out and slammed him. He tried to tell me that Genworth would pay the death claim, they had a war clause, they had forced conversion, and no guarantee insurability at the end of the term. He lied to them. I showed them all in both policies and that shut him down. I have NEVER lost against a Primerica policy in 3 yrs! That has to say something!
3. Agreed! But when the agents don't understand it is a marketing technique and thinks they are sent from God it gets very scary!
4. Cheapest doesn't mean it's the best. I totally agree with you, but why can't the be like they were when it was Al Williams. It was a true competitive company that kicked everyone butt. It was great for the consumer & great for the agent! Primerica doesn't even care about the consumer or agent any more. Why? They are selling to recruits and recruits families! Look at the joke they are calling Debtwatchers - it is a rip off and it will still make tons of money because reps will buy it because they are told you need to own it to sell it. RVPs make a mint that way.
5. You are a great salesman. Imagine what impact you can have when you know 100% of the time you will provide the absolute best product and at costs that your competition can not beat!
6. Your response is exactly what I said as an RVP to overcome the pay objection when I got it from potential recruits. The truth is alittle disarming though. The average “active” district leader is good for $1500 - $2000 per month in premium. The problem is every RVP I know had about 20 – 30 districts and we were lucky to get the same rep to average that kind of bonusable premium. I clustered in an office with 4 other RVPs and we all have $15k - $25k baseshops. Even there our average part-timer was making less than $8k a year. (of course there were a couple go getters, but we are talking about active distict leaders). If you don’t believe me go to the POL competition score board – your state – district leaders – ytd cashflow – then ytd last month. You will be shocked. Although 1 or 2 people will hit a big annuity sale most YTD incomes are horrible when compared to the time spent in meetings & KTs. I’m not saying you are that person & I know I wasn’t. I never made less than $2500 per month in my entire career in Primerica and in my first year I made $42k as a district leader, but that is an exception not the norm. I had a huge market and I understood sales. I am not talking about people like you I am talking about the average person who joins Primerica.
7. I know you understand the 2 yr incontestability clause. Do not think for one second that big companies are not paying claims. I had a client who I sold a policy on Friday and she died that Sunday. I was scared that Primerica would not pay, but after they reviewed the application they paid. I had a very similar thing happen with a client who had Banner, guess what they pay. I can not believe that any reputable company is denying clamins unless fraud was involved. These are just scare tactics used in this industry (not just Primerica). It is disgusting. Agent need to compete on a fair playing field & don't lie to get business.
I think you are a very smart guy and if you are open you can make a great career and great money in this industry. We are not that different it just took me over 10yr to learn the truth. Don't fall for the BS, don't fall for the "convention talk".
There is a rumor that Glenn Williams is getting drilled for the recent compensation cuts at the RVP levels for life. Watch you will be seeing a mass Exodus of Reps to companies that are not screwing over their sales force.
I went for an interview, but I was not fooled... they seemed so eager to have me and I am a young college student but I know how business scams work...
I walked in and they quickly greeted me with cookies and coffee (as if i was some celebrity) the guy was giving me a brief detail about the company, and then he interrupted himself and said... "You're Hired." I responded quickly by saying you don't even know me yet...
I stood up and said thank you, but no thanks, this is a business scam. I quickly walked out and ended it.
lol theres another one. some guy that talks about something he doesn't know. read the previous 10 comments "last poster".
and to the ex-primerican rvp guy. thank you for your insight. i am open minded and i do look at every side of everything. that is why I am going to look into capital choice. am i going to quit primerica? well i don' know that yet. loyalty comes into play when you developed all the friendships that i made in this, all the parties i went to with these guys, and just the great people i met. I mean i even stayed at Jim Meyers beach house in FL when i went down there. that's how nice these guys are.
Truthfully, like i keep mentioning i got bigger plans. I love advertising, i love creating campaigns and coming up with the best tactics to influence people. i opened up my advertising/marketing company before i even joined primerica. and i initially joined primerica for one reason...to network..find clients, find investors, find my advertising team. not to make millions and billions from it. but I saw that primerica was something worth working on and that is why i am defending it.
so now i sort of filled you in why i do not think like the typical primerican "we were sent by god" bs. I totally understand its a marketing company and these are the tactics they pull like any other marketing company does. You have to motivate your team or else they won't work.
I however have gotten quite alot from my time in Primerica. All the motivational tactics and sales techniques you learn are priceless...no class in college ever taught me that. I knew of the insurance, retirement, debt, and mutual fund even before i was in primerica from my time at ernst n young. Because of primerica i think i am 100x better of a motivational speaker and salesman than i ever was. Because of that i almost have a 70% success rate at getting clients for my advertising business. which is far better than what my success rate was before.
So yea, Primerica definitely helped. and i know you cannot deny primerica basically giving you the confidence n courage you have to go independent and start a business from scratch. Primerica may not be the savior of your life but it gives you the skills you need to take your life to the next level.
I agree about the last poster before you! It is said that some crappy office did this and now he is able to complain about Primerica. Although I agree with him about the horrible recruiting technique the Primerica used on him!
Funny you mention Jimmy. I was there actually there the day he bought his CL55 AMG and when he had his open house at his new house on the river in Jax. I know exactly what you mean about relationship, that was the hardest decision I had to ever make because of great people like Jimmy & Tammy. He is not only a huge success story, but such a dynamic speaker it is easy to get you motivated. When I made that decision to leave Primerica he personally called my cell and talked about staying. After a long conversation he personally agreed with my concerns of the negative changes in the company.
My point is this - I do agree if it were not for Primerica I would have finished school as a CPA and I would be hating my life. So I am grateful for that.
Like I have mention so many times my issues are with those agents who slam financial professionals with lies about superior products. When I run across Primerica reps like yourself it is very easy to be friendly, but when I run across the crusaders I have to destroy them. I'm sure in your RVPs baseshop you know the people I am talking about and they get under your skin as much as mine! LOL.
Just continue to learn and question everything. Life is full of stepping stones and we never know where they are going to lead us. If we have integrity in what we do that makes all of the difference.
I wish you the best of luck on your advertising business.
good luck to you as well although i see you are succeeding what you set out to do. who knows maybe one day we might cross paths without even knowing it. lol
I SUGGEST EVERYONE WHO GOES ON THIS BLOG TO READ THE LAST SEVERAL COMMENTS. I WOULD HATE TO SEE THESE LAST SEVERAL COMMENTS BEFORE THIS GET BURIED IN THIS COMMENT FORM BECAUSE IT TRULY GIVES YOU THE WHOLE TRUTH BEHIND THE GOOD AND BAD.
my experience with primerica is very different from the person's who started this blog, but i wanted to share it with everyone. approximately 6 months ago my nephew joined primerica and called to see if we could help him with his training. although we did not feel comfortable discussing our finances with our nephew we agreed to at least hear the presentation. when he showed up he brought his vice president with him and they young man seemed very nice. after completing the appointment he thanked us and left. i was very impressed with the career my nephew has chosen. 2 weeks later we got a call from his vice president telling us he understood our reluctance to talk about financial issues with someone so you and so closely related. He offered to come over and review our financial situation and provide a free financial plan that was valued at almost $1500. we agreed to see him.
the meeting with him went really well and he collected tons of information. He took with him our mortgage, life insurance (health & auto too), all of our investments, and asked us to sign some basic forms to give him permission to do a comparison. my husband was very uneasy about this young man, but i had a good feeling and since we were spending no money and he was not high pressure we would see what he could do.
5 days later he returned with our financial plan. he began with our investment. we currently have money in t.rowe price and are very happy with their funds. although i know nothing about how they work my husband is very knowledgeable and enjoys watching them. the vice president wanted us to sign forms to move our investments right then, but my husband told him he would research the recommended funds. (they were Vank Campen & Leg Mason funds) next he began to talk about our mortgage. we have no debt outside of our mortgage and are working to pay it off before we turn 60. we have less than 9 yrs on our loan and the current rate is 4.875%. the vice president told us that the primerica loan was the best and could pay off our home faster than anyone else. we were excited until we say the rate was almost 8%, the closing costs were extremely expensive, and the annual cost was significantly more than our current loan. again we told him we would think about it and workout our numbers.
my husband is an engineer by trade and numbers are his thing. the final discussion was about life insurance. we currently have prudential term life on each of us. the vice president told us that prudential was no good. that they rarely pay out their claims and that they have a war clause and no terminal illness clause. he told us that primerica was the best term insurance in the country because of art wilkins built the company that way. the primerica policy was $77 more per month than our prudential but i told my husband i didnt care because i wanted to know we could get the claim if either of us die. again my husband told him we needed to talk about it. lastly he asked us to attend a seminar to help our nephew at an office in town. we told him we didnt want to join, but he insisted that was not his intention he was going to teach us about money. we agreed to come that thursday night. during this entire time my husband was taking notes and when the guy left he told me he felt weird about him. i love people so i told him to stop being a pain and this might help us. i was ready to sign that night.
well 2 days later we went to the education seminar. it was like going to a very exciting church to me. people were clapping and dancing and the atmosphere was filled with excitement. once the vice president began to talk things got really weird. there was no education it was only about primerica was the best. people were nodding their heads and saying amen and "yea!". they talked about huge impact they have on people and they are the only company for the middle class. then the recruiting came on heavily. they said only loosers had jobs and that primerica was the top ranked company in the world. then they hit everyone up for $99 and then more money for internet support per month. they passed out an application to everyone and told us to fill it out. we explained we weren't interested and the response was what's not to be interested in. you're a winner right? we thanked him and left. it was like being in a religious cult meeting.
my husband dug deeply into his notes and the financial plan the vice president left for you over the next couple days. he found out that the investments were very poor on performance and had huge expense charges. they were ranked by something called morningstar as 1 - 3 stars while our t.rowe stuff was 4 - 5 stars and had no expense fees. then he went into the mortgage. i can not relay all of the specifics he went into with me, since i dont really understand, but if we did the primerica loan it would have been the dumbest mistake. it would have cost us more money monthly, we would have paid on the loan longer, and the closing costs were very high. finally we looked into the life insurance. we actually call prudential and asked them about the not paying claims, war and terminal illness clause, the customer service rep took our name and had a marketing vp call us back. we were told on what pages of our policy to look at to prove about the war clause and the illness clause. then at the suggestion of the prudential marketing vp we called the states insurance office to verify the primerica claims. the person we spoke with told us that primerica is known to mislead people to buy their insurance.
everything this primerica vice president did was not good for my family. if we would have went with his advice we would have been ripped off.
2 days later the vice president called. we confronted him on what we learned and at first he tried to dance around it, finally though he got upset and told us we were always going to be sheep and that primerica was our only option to get straighten out. then he my husband we must return the financial plan! how funny!
my advice is to watch yourself and anyone who gets caught up with these guys. i am sure this is not every primerica office, but what they are selling is not good. i asked my nephew to come over so we could explain everything to him, but he told us that he was going to be successful in primerica with or without us and not to come begging for money when he is a vice president.
sad to say it, but it really does seem like a cult to me.
I'm not a PFS fan and I believe that clients will always be better suited shopping around, but this guy is not your average RVP.
I am an licensed agent for Priamerica. So far, I've made about $3,000 in my first month on comissions.. Just selling term insurance.
It's a good investment/side job.. I am also an independent contractor and graphic designer. One thing that did turn me off....
..The so called 'seminars' are not seminars to give you tips on making money... they are seminars to 'motivate' you. Also, many... lower class, hood rats.. (No offense to these people...) tend to be there in large groups, flailing their flags, tshirts, and team colors and shouting "Hooohohooho~!" like... a rowdy crowd of improper children. To me, a business is to be professional. That was not, at all.
I came to the conclusion... That, I can use my license, to rise above the lower levels... and become a district along with my other businesses. This way, if the Prianmerica thing doesn't work out I'll have at least made money off of it... where as those hoodrats will still be flagging at the seminars wishing to make money and not making money.
Its not a scam, its just not your usual job. its better as a 'part time' investment....
What a crock, I worked for Primerica for 4 months. Yea they paid to get my license, but actually wanted me to call people and set appointments. I found out that I was not into that, I need people to call me. And whats with the $25 per month web service virtual office fee. They told me that if I worked, I could own my own business. Whoever heard of a business owner having to pay a monthly $25 fee. I am now working for my uncle in his State Farm office. People call me. Much better arrangement. My uncle does not have any kids. He told me I was a natural and that in a few years he would bring me in as a partner, and someday maybe own the business. Thanks Primerica you showed me what I did not want to do.
your not into calling people? you need people to call you? you won't survive as a partner or business owner in anything.
your lucky your uncle is spoon feeding you. not everyone has that.
Yes, Primerica is the new name for A.L. Williams. Several years ago I was hunting for a way to make extra money in additoin to my regular job. I decided to try out A.L. williams/Primerica. I went to their meetings and they were like a cross between a cheerleading squad and a religous revival tent meeting. They never trained me in selling any product. The fellow who sponsored me was working as a janitor in a church and when I cam to his training meeting he just asked me to help him put out or take down chairs in the sanctuary. That is all we did. Other than that, all they wanted from me was the names and telephone numbers of any and all my family and friends. I am sure that some people made some money with Al.L. Williams / Primerica, but I found the whole thing a waste of my time and I found myself with people who seemed very desperate and not on the up and up. So, I stopped my involvement.
For anybody defending Primerica, how much are you making with them? I actually walked out of the orientation meeting, this is honestly not for me. I like making the difference in people's lives, but not selling insurance and not out of greed. I think I'll stick with my teaching job and keep my nights open for other opportunities. Thanks, but no thanks and good luck.
I am not a defending Primerica, but I will tell you I made alot of money there even part-time. My 1st year in Primerica I made almost $30k part-time and at a district contract. Once I got promoted to the higher contracts I made $50k a year very easily. As a RVP it was also very easy to make $100k. The reason I left is I learned the truth how bad the products were I had to leave and go independent.
Now that I am looking in on Primerica I am embarrassed how I was so brainwashed. My issues with Primerica is the recruiting tactics and the reps (a very large majority of them) truly believe they provide the best products and then they go around and slam real financial professionals. The truth is very simple Primerica reps are not trained professionals, but are trained to sell Primerica products.
hey there,
really great blog you got there. I, too am someone who was almost sucked into the scam that is primerica. I thought it was the greatest business in the world, that is, until I did my research. When I found out, I was mad. I asked myself, "how do these people get away with this? something's gotta be done!" since then, I've been doing research up the yin-yang about businesses like primerica (which I've properly labeled "SCAMerica") and other businesses like this, which is how I came along this blog. If you think this is bad, watch out for a business called Pre-paid legal services. same concept, same idea, same bullcrap. hopefully, with more research, something can finally be done about these scams.
oh, by the way, anyone interested in learning more about companies like SCAMerica, visit my blog at grindsmygearsblog.blogspot.com
To the lady who joined with her hubby I just wanted to say that of all the blogs that I have read you hit the nail on the head. We are all just trying to survive out here. This may not be for everyone but nobody wants to miss out on the chance to make a difference in the opportunity to live a better life. So if some people want to take the PFS route then thank God we live in a free country that allow people to chase there dreams and if they find there is no Wizard at the end of the yellow brick rode then so be it. I know for me that everything I chased didn't turn out the way I hoped for i.e. my first marriage but I am much better for the experience. So in closing to those who want to try PFS go for it, and never let anyone stop you from chasing your dream. Better to know than to wonder what if.
Hello all! Just wanted to give my two sense on the Primerica debate. I have two very close friends in the business and am not exactly on board with the company, but that being said, I don't think it is a scam.Every job has a chance of failure that comes with it. One of the reasons people think badly about it is because some, not all, people from Primerica basically tell everyone that does not join they are an idiot. They look down on people who get a degree and get a job, saying they are "selling out" to work for "the man". I personally think this is wrong. I'm going to school to become a teacher and I certainly don't look down on people who don't want to do my job. So, my advice to any Primerica business owners is to let your collegues know it is not affective to slam what other people do for a living. It is not for everyone! Be respectful of what other people and it will come back to you.
Thanks!!!
Hey everyone, I haven't read all the posts so this might have been said already. I'm not posting to defend Primerica. I did Primerica stuff for a while, and I will say that just like any organization, there are good and bad people. I did that when I was young, and now that I have a degree in Finance and own my own business, I do question the legitimacy of who they bequeath the title "personal financial analyst" or whatever they're calling it these days. Anyway, my point is that your "public service announcement" about something you never even went to check out for yourself is kind of ridiculous and irresponsible. Just reading some stuff on the internet is not anything close to doing complete research. I assume you're young since you let your Mom talk you out of going to check out an opportunity to work, so no worries, you'll learn about research eventually. I suggest College, it's good for that sort of thing.
Primerica definitely has it's good parts and uses, as well as it's not so great stuff, like it's pyramid structure and their lame motivational meetings, but all in all, it's not a scam. You just have to understand what you're getting yourself into when you start working with them.
By the way, for full disclosure I should say that the way I came across this blog was by doing a simple google search for Primerica (not Primerica scam). I just got married and it's time to look for life insurance. I'm pretty sure I want to go with Primerica because even though I tried it out and it wasn't for me, I still believe in their product.
Previous poster,
Congratulations in completing your finance degree and owning your own business. I was part of Primerica for a very long time (over 10yrs) and I was madly in love with Primerica. One day I woke up and realized how poor their products are and even worse how poorly they pay their agents. I left Primerica and went independent to not only provide better services for my clients, but better compensation for my family.
My advice to you is look else where in addition to Primerica life insurance. Primerica is one of the most expensive life carriers in the country and their uneducated reps mislead clients with rhetoric they learn at their opp meetings. Check Banner, Genworth, ING, and even State Farm or Alstate.
Primerica reps love to lie about other companies not paying death claims, war clause, terminal illness riders, and stuff like that. All of it is a lie. You can get the same coverage with other carriers for a fraction of the cost with Primerica. I replaced my $500k Primerica life policy on my wife & I ($500k each paying $140 per month 20yr term) with a policy from ING 20yr Term, $1mil each, for $91 per month. And this was when I was 8 yrs older.
Primerica is a very successful company because it sells it's crappy & expensive products to recruits, recruit's families, and recruit's friends! Those people do not shop around and get ripped off. You seem intelligent enough to realize that Primerica reps are not financial professionals, but nothing more than Amway salesman who peddle an expensive MLM product that happens to be Life Insurance, Mortgages, and investments.
Primerica is never the best option for a family!
Primerica is definately a scam. I just came from one of their "pre-interviews." I am currently looking for work and last week I get a phone call from a woman who shall remain nameless, and she tells me that there is a management position open with her company. I say.. ok.. I can take an hour out of my time in order to go find out about this company that is "new" to my area. I take the 25 minute drive to the SHITTY hotel where we had our meeting and find out that in order for me to work for them they want..get this...$1600 in order for me to get started. I thought I was going to be offered an office job, managing employees in some bogus tasks that they had to complete, not being told that "Oh, you can make over $300,000 a year but you have to do these 800 crazy steps and have a little luck...So anyway.. thats my rant about Primerica... and I think its a scam and a waste of time and money.. so dont even bother...If you want to get into something where you can be paid by commission...look up your nearest AFLAC office. They are actually decent people.
I'm not a defender of Primerica, but their recruiting tactics are horrible. I think you might have misunderstood what they meant by the $1600 to start. Primerica reps love to mislead people by mentioning the "true cost" of getting licensed, but the truth is not what they claim. Every state determines the cost of their life license & mortgage license. As for investments that can vary based on the type of license you are required to get S-6 and/or S-63, then S-26.
The cost of joining Primerica is:
$99 one time for your IBA
$25mo for POL (primerica online)(PFS reps love to talk about getting your securities license paid for, but the truth is a very small percentage of reps get their licenses paid for)
Additional costs (not required, but you will be pushed into these products by your trainer or RVP)
$20 mo Full Service GoSolo
$25 mo Primerica Legal Protection Program
$25 mo Debtwatchers
$15 - $X.XX per month for life insurance
New recruits are the life blood of an RVPs baseshop. They not only provide a new market to go sell stuff to, but they are also easy sales for the trainer/RVP.
You will be told that you should own it if you sell it. Or if you truly believe in Primerica products you will own them. Or my favorite - "When you are sitting with a client you can pull out your Primerica life policy and show them you own it too, so by buying a Primerica policy you will actually close more sales!"
I do not like to defend Primerica, but at the same time I will not allow people to make untrue statements about the company.
The truth is all that needs to be put on the table to shine a light on Primerica.
Hello to anyone trying to make a buck. I got a call from a Primerica person today and am checking out the company. I've decided to sell the rep's number for two dollars per person. This truly is the American dream! You too can make millions with Primerica!!! Just send me two bucks and I'll give you the last number you'll ever need to call about a job! give me a call!
952-454-6753
"Primerica is awesome! I have been with them for 2 yrs and I made $800 in 2008, and so far this year I have made almost $1000. All I have to do is go to one 2hr opp meeting on Tuesday and another 2 hr training meeting on Saturday." - This is a statement I heard today
"Primerica does not offer the best insurance, the best investments, or best mortgages, but it does offer hope. Once I hire enough people and build my business it won't matter how much I know about finances or how good the products are, all that will matter is over rides" - Same person
"Primerica is the best financial services company in the world. So we don't need your $99 and $25 a month. You are proving to us you are serious about coming to work. Also if you are serious about building a big Primerica business and being a ring wearer you need to own the products. What's $25 for online support, $75 for life insurance, $100 for an investment when you have a chance at a six figure income?"
After reading all the comment I can see that there are many people living in a dream world. I was in Real Estate for over 10 years and it was commission and NO base pay I either sank or swim. I have looked into Primerica and it is the same as Real Estate, Insurance Saleman, Car Sales man etc..its commission so if you are unable to sale or do not like it the Primerica is not for you. I know that you can make money, my brother has been at it for 5 years and makes approx 750K a year and he works less then 40 hours a week. BUT he understands and knows that in order to maintain that and more he has to sale JUST like a Real estate Agent. So for all of you it IS NOT A SCAM it is a job offer and ligit.
Except your brother making $750k with Primerica is selling subpar products to clients who have no knowledge of the crap that they are buying. Also he is taking people who has little to no true training in finances and putting them in a position where they can mislead people into making poor decisions!
These facts can not be disputed! There is never a case where Primerica is a better option for the clients. Primerica has an ingenious system when the recruits continue to feed the machine! It generates it's own clients in the recruit & the recruit's family & friends.
If you have no issues selling crappy products and releasing uneducated reps into the general public join Primerica. I made a lot of money with Primerica, but unlike most RVPs I could not trade my integrity for money. I went independent and built a business that offers better products, better pay, and now I can truly say I do what's right for my clients 100% of the time.
I'm sorry I really don't care what you guys says.... Primerica is a pyramid scam. Yes it is commission based, but with every sale you make, you get X amount and your trainer/recruiter gets X*2.. his adivsor/trainer gets X*4 and so on, so you are left making very little until you refer more people... THIS IS A PYRAMID SCEME... how do I know this... I went to an interview and the recruiter told me in not so many words (of course) that this is how it worked... DO NOT GET INVOLVED.
google the definition of a pyramid scheme you idiot. you should only talk about things you know about.
Primerica is not a pyramid scheme!
It is however a horrible option for clients & the joke of the financial professional world. Uneducated & selling products they have been brainwashed into believing is the best.
If you want to join a classic MLM cult join Primerica.
WOW... There are some extremely ignorant people in this world and too many to count in this forum including ex or current life insurance agents for different companies, (have fun screwing ppl over and COLD calling your clients, what a dream job). Plain and simple Primerica does whats right 100% of the time. Other companys can do what we do but choose not too cause they are the real hungry ones that are afraid to lose their jobs. Primerica as a company is ROCK solid. People have their opinions but what we preach is what the wealthiest ppl in the world do. Jus go pick up a magazine about money simple as that. Most of these ppl that post this BS is ex life insurance agents that jus cant stand knowin what their doin is wrong and what we're doin is right. This company gives ppl a chance to change their lives for the better. Its not a JOB it is your OWN BUSINESS. And for our business to succeed we must talk to as many ppl as possible in a short amount of time. So sorry if we wasted all you lazy ppls time cause you dont have any ambition and are comfortable knowing that you will never work for more than minimum wage nor ever retire, you wasted out time as well. Its sad that someone has given you an opportunity like no other and you are afraid that you might actually become something one day. ANYONE can be in this business, NOT EVERYONE will succeed. I paid a one time fee for a $100 which covers all my licensing cost which could accumulate to over $600 with a company that your head will always be under their thumb. $25 a month for my office. And when i go to seminars they are $10 bucks. I made that back plus more on my first training appointment. WOW i have my own business now and its paid for, zero overhead and ppl are my inventory.What a scam right.Now i can train and become an expert at what we do and make a lot of money cause i'm a HARD worker and thats what it takes and 99% of ppl dont have what it takes so be careful who yall call losers. We have 64 millionaires, over 2500 ppl makin $100 grand or more, over 5000 ppl makin 50 grand or more with over 100,000 licensed reps, largest sales force in North America, over 30,000 licensed security reps(second is Merrill Lynch with 12,000). DEFT FREE since 1977. Who can touch that, NOBODY!!!!! but really i've wasted too much of my time so good to all that will never get a raise or a promotion, who will live a miserable life and will stay comfortable till they die and too some of yall when i see yall in the driveway, yes i would like fries with that. Primerica is not the answer to everything or for everyone but dont bash somethin you know nothin about
To the greenie who posted before this post.
I am sure I have spent not only more time in Primerica than you, but also there is a very good chance I have spent more time in "the trenches" than your RVP. I led the leaders bulletin, I won pretty much every contest, spoke on EPN, spoke at a convention, flew across the country speaking at fast start school, and by everyone's standards I was a successful VP easily making 6 figures. Why did I go into this? To make sure people know you have no idea what you are talking about.
I was like you at one time and I thought I was doing the best job for my clients & myself. I thought I owned my own business. Then one days I learned the truth.
Primerica is far from the best! As a matter of fact it has some of the crappiest products in the industry!
Face it you are trained and brainwashed to believe Primerica is the best. Why? So you will sell their crap to your friends and families. I made it to a position in Primerica that you will probably only dream about. One day you will learn the truth and feel like a total moron for defending the Primerica cult.
If you want proof let's use some real numbers. Post your 3 most recent life cases (Age, Class, Face Amount, Term, and Premium) you will see how bad Primerica really is. Please do the same thing with $MART (Loan amount, LTV, rate, biwkly payment, acceleration, and pay off time).
Of course I have been saying this on here for over 1 yr and now one has stepped up to the challenge.
Enjoy your kool aide!
If you are considering Primerica as a career or a client I suggest you shop around. Primerica is NEVER, NEVER, NEVER the best option for a family! Just wait to see what the Primerica rep has to post!
You have many things correct.
First Yes we do recruit, but so does any other business.
Second, Most good offices stay away from Monster and resume sites since those people are looking for a job. Once in a while they will find someone, but for the most offices they do not do that. The good offices use warm referrals.
Third, Multi-Level Marketing is not a Pyramid. Pyramids are illegal. Primerica is in the most regulated field in the Country and is going to get more regulated in the future. So please do not call it a pyramid. A Job is more of a pyramid than Primerica, because at least in Primerica you can reach ownership/RVP. How many people can do that in corporate America.
Fourth, You never even tried it out. How can you call it a scam. I mean did you investigate it further than what is out there on the web? I mean there are people who start something and then quit. You never even started it.
Fifth, Something you might know since 99.9% of all the complainers her are agents of the competition. I use that word loosely since no other company only sells term insurance. They sell it at a loss leader but never only sell term. They sell it to get your name and harrass you, but never just term only. (And for those companies that sell Cash value, It seems the only people who thinks that it is good are those who sell it. Very similar to drug dealers.)
Another Primerica reps who has no concept of the real financial world. (As either a client or a professional) You take the lies you are told in your opp meeting and spread them on here trying to defend a company you know nothing about. I have fought in Primerica's trenches and I drank the sweet kool-aide for a very long time until I learned the truth. Here is a breakdown of everything you said.
1. Yes you recruit and other businesses recruit. But Primerica's recruiting tactics are horrible. Other companies do no go into malls and places like that to recruit people. Why don't you call it what it is... You are prospecting for recruits. Why? So you can sell them crappy products and get into their warm market to sell crappy products.
2. You are misinformed. I would say that a solid 80% of Primerica office use resume sites to get prospects. This was a tactic that was taught at the last convention for RVPs.
3. I agree Primerica is not a pyramid scheme, but stop doing the Chris Howard overcoming objection of trying to sell us that every job is a pyramid. Unless you are brainwashed to believe it (like I was)
3.B. - You said, "A Job is more of a pyramid than Primerica, because at least in Primerica you can reach ownership/RVP." - This is a lie. You do not have ownership as a RVP! Learn the facts. Also just because you are an RVP with a ring you do not have ownership. You must meet the minimum requirements for ownership and that is basically becoming a SVP. (although some RVPs do obtain it). Most of the 1 diamond ring wearers do not own their code (solution) number.
4. I totally agree that most people do not have the right to complain about Primerica if they do not join or own their crappy products. But they can and do complain about the recruiting tactics! When you prospect someone do you tell them it is a MLM financial company? I mean that's the truth! I bet you dont!
5. 99.9% are agents of the competition. I used to say that when I was with Primerica. The truth is I have almost 20 life companies that provide better & cheaper products for the client, every mortgage company is better than $MART (that's right 100% of the time the client is better not doing $mart), and atleast a dozen fund families that are better than Primerica Shareholder Services.
5.B. - you said, "I use that word loosely since no other company only sells term insurance." - Try SBLI, Westcoast, Protective, just to name a few. All of which are equivalent to Primerica and up to 60% cheaper!
So what now? Go to your RVP and ask for way to overcome the facts.
If you are considering Primerica know the facts.
1. Primerica reps are selling very expensive products. (Life, Mortgages, and Investments) You can find better and cheaper products 100% of the tim.
2. The FNA is not a financial plan. It is a sales tool to sell you the expensive products.
3. Primerica is a MLM just like Amway. They want you to join to sell their expensive products to your family and friends. (Your warm market)
4. Primerica compensation is minuscule compared to the rest of the industry. (yes even the RVP level)
5. Facts go out the window with Primerica sense you are brainwashed there. As you can see PFS reps NEVER use real numbers! Who needs facts when they can brainwash you to buy & sell to your friends & family.
i went to a briefing for primamerica today. i was very different than the people that were there. as the speaker asked questions about us i seemed to be the only one answering eg.he ask who here has 100,000. dollars i raised my hand,no one else did. he asked who owns a house , again i raised my hand, i have 4 rental houses,no one else did in fact i was the only well informed person there. everyone else were babies well they were all in their twenties. anyhow, after the briefing we went individually to an interview. there i asked the question,how long before i am independent with all these licenses,especially the mortgage license. he stuttered a bit then said it is a certification now a license, i would be using their mortgage license. he did say the other licenses, you would be able to take with you to other jobs. however what i find to be interesting is that the training they offer is just so opague or obscured. many of the reps or agents dont even know what they are talking about. that is the issue that i have with primerica. many still dont understand the mortgage process or the investment process they are robots programmed with what they have to say to the clients time in and time out. i paid my 99.00 i wil take the training but i promise you this there will be a law suit if they dont keep to the promise of financial freedom, especially when i give 200 percent of myself, i know what i am capable ofbut hopefully it is everything they say. i know with many buinesses you always have some rotten apples ,i think that is what has happened to many that have tried this company and got goose bumps or raised hairs of the unethical practices of some greedy people, out for themselves. i will give primerica the benefit of the doubt. i will definitely go in there to help families and do my research and raise questions.
Here are some questions then:
1) Why is Primerica term so expensive compared to the rest of the term industry? When Art Williams started Primerica he was super competitive, but now Primerica is one of the most expensive?
2) Why are commissions so low? If you sell a Primerica life policy and the client is rated, why do you not get a commission on the rating? The client is spending that amount of money? (They will lie about reserves) Every other company will pay your comp based on the premium paid by the client. Also why does the company charge the writing life agent a $25 penalty if the company denies the coverage? (doesn't sound like alot, but it can & will add up.. You will also be charged the $25 for not taken & lapsed apps). Also why does the compensation get cut when the clients bands coverage. An RVP can make 95% on one policy, but when that coverage goes into the new bad the comp get cut to 40%? (yeah that's an RVP imagine what it looks like for reps). By the way the client only saves a couple dollars!
3) Why will you not receive trails on any investment you do until you reach the level of Regional leader? I mean NEVER!
4)Why is the $MART loan such a joke? Compare a $MART loan to a 20yr conventional loan! The $MART loan looses 100% of the time.
5) Look how much is charged to the client for a $MART loan and look at how little the pay is. I wonder why?
6) You might be able to take your licenses to another company, but you signed a 2 yr no compete clause so you do not own your business. You can not take those clients when/if you go to a real financial firm
7) Why does Primerica offices sell the FNA as a "game plan" when it clearly states on the disclosure page it is not a financial plan? It is merely a sales tool to sell expensive products to families.
8) As a licensed FINRA rep with a B/D why can I not invest my own money at NAV? Every other company allows Registered Reps to do this (& their immediate family)
9) Why is there so little technical training on products? (Because you would learn that every Primerica product is VERY expensive! I mean every product. They love to compare term to Cash Value, but term to term is a blood bath for Primerica.) (Of course they lie about war clause, not paying death claims, IBR, terminal illness riders, banding, etc... don't fall for it... Primerica is not special.. check out Banner, ING, Genworth, Westcoast, Transamerica, even State Farm & Alstate term!)
10) Why are the mutual funds so heavily loaded & under preforming?
I could go on and on, but if you joined Primerica and you have any intelligence you will see in a couple months they are full of hot air. Their products are horrible, but they are very profitable because they sell to recruits warm market! Primerica loves people who do not ask questions or want to learn!
I just recruited a week ago and i an so pissed off this is what i signed up for.The guy told me to give him all the contacts in my phone i thought he was joking but he is going to call these people and try to recruit them i don't know what the fuck to do it sounds good but everyone i talk to they said it suck and i should cut my loses and leave now can you give me some feed back on what to do and the worst part i got my friends involved i am so screwed
the problem with this blog is that it's misleading. The same thing you accuse Primerca, you do yourself, you mislead the reader. you cannot give an accurate assessment of Primerica if you never actually joined the organization.
So your insight on the company is based on you never actually interacting with them other than the initial phone call so you are not qualified to tell us this about Primerica. What you really wanted was a 9 to 5 and they were not that company. Most of us, like myself, would rather work for others and there is no problem with that. But you shouldn't spread misinformation about a company you do not know nothing about, it's misleading and fraudulent. Anyway, good luck on your job search.
Previous poster,
There is ton of accurate information on the last couple pages of this blog that use facts to prove Primerica is not a good option for the client or for a career. Of course Primerica reps can't deal with facts so they continue to spread the "false gospel" of their opp meetings.
I just interviewed at primerica it seemed to good to be true, I had the to the exact letter the same experience as you. I am glad I researched some more. I will NOT be going to my second interview tomorrow.
Welcome to Primerica! Granted all of them are not this clueless, but the reality is that because Primerica offers very little training you get agents just like this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3aCCoHxZSI
This is why I am able to beat Primerica 100% of the time. They have horribly expensive & misleading products!
So i have been to 2 interviews with the company, and they seem soo eager to get me in. When i told my fiance that i had to pay a fee before starting, he automatically started researching, and this is what we found. if a company is googled, and the word scam pops up,isnt that a sign? please help, because it sounds really good and the people seem very professional and very friendly... but i need a job NOW and cant afford to wait or waist money with a scam.
they are very eager to have you join so they can get into your "warm market" to sell them horrible products so they can make money! You will get no money for these sales and if you are lucky they will give you the cost of coming into the company as a scholarship. (Why wouldn't they? They can make a couple thousand off your contacts and pay your $100 - $200. Great deal for your recruiter)
I was with Primerica for a long time and I knew recruiting was the life blood for me to make money. I needed new recruits so I could get into their markets. EVERY Primerica rep does the same thing. If you stick around and can get into recruiting you can make decent money too, but expect a long hard road getting there. Most people quit in the first couple months do to lack of training and the fact their markets are used up. (During training when you make little to no money!)
If you are looking to make money now you are definitely in the wrong place. It will take you a minimum of 30 days to get life licensed and more likely 60 days or more. (Depending on your state) You will be attending meetings twice a week (1 opp meeting and 1 training meeting - and I use that term very loosely) and you will be asked to bring as many people as possible. The reason they do this is to get more recruits into the system so they can find more people to sell their products to.
Simply put Primerica has uneducated reps compared to the rest of the industry, uses the multi-level aspect to get tons of people excited about becoming millionaires when all they care about is selling to your market, and finally the products are horrendous. You will not see it in their meetings or trainings because they don't compare apples to apples. They compare term to cash value, mutual funds to bank accounts, and $mart loans to 30yr loans. NOT A SINGLE of these are fair comparisons. If they did compare term to term, mutual funds to mutual funds, and $mart to 20yr conventional loans you would see what kind of joke Primerica is!
Primerica reps are going to reply with all kinds of BS and try to over come every item I listed, but when it comes down to it they will not post a single fact. In all fairness none of the PFSers on here are successful in Primerica so they don't even know their company is a joke. RVPs know damn well how bad Primerica really is, but all they have to do is keep hiring greenies and they can make $100k a yr not selling the horrible products, but recruiting and having their cult members sell it for them! Don't take my word for it do a comparison and take real numbers to your Primerica trainer. He/She will act like a lost child and call people like me whiners and losers! Of course they will not address the issues that Primerica is one of the most expensive companies when it comes to loaded investments, term life insurance, and mortgages.
I'm so glad I read this. I got a call from a Primerica lady and she left me a voicemail, with info. on job opportunities in my area - but was not clear with the name of the company. When I did not call back, she called me the following day & I spoke with her. She told me it was in relation to Citi Corp. and how a Money 101 class would help people in college. She did not make it clear where she got my resume, only saying she got it from my school (which is impossible). I informed her that my major is Education, not Finances & that I am not a good math student. She said I didn't need math skills. I scheduled an interview, and went. It was interesting - she wanted to know a lot about my personal life & what my parents and siblings did for a living. She was taken a-back when I said my father sold Life Insurance. She wanted to know through what company, and how long he'd been doing it. She was very focused on showing me how to make millions - although I was very bored because I don't care to make millions, I just wanted a job. After the interview, she wanted me to come back for a seminar type thing a few days later. She asked if I could bring neighbors or had any friends to bring... because advertising their business comes from word of mouth. When I said I was new to the area, she seemed upset, but told me to bring my Fiance. I called my father to tell him about my interview, and he told me DO NOT WORK THERE ... THAT IS A BAD COMPANY ... THERE WERE INVOLVED IN A LOT OF LAWSUITS. He would know, being that he has his own insurance company & has worked in insurance since High School. He told me to go to the seminar to just check it out, see for myself why this wasn't a good company. Talking to my fiance about it today, he decided to look up Primerica and found a lot of information about it, because he said he's heard of something like it before (with the recreuiting people). Today is the day of my seminar and I'm reading this blog. Everyone's comments are so similar to my experiences with this company. I do not think it's a scam, however, I do not think recreuiting family and friends is a good way to make a living. I canceled my admission to the seminar.
I am a licensed real estate agent with the state of CT. We operate under the state Dept. of Consumer Protection. We are independent contractors. Is independent contracting for everyone? Certainly not. I had to wait until my kids were almost grown in order to make this work for me. you wanna talk about up front fees and start up costs? You spend the whole first year in the business robbing Peter to pay Paul just to get on the map. But once you do, there is nothing like it. FREEDOM!!! I sold property for the past 7 yrs and when the bottom fell out I had to get a real job. Yes, that means going back to running like a hamster in a treadmill for the almighty and ever elusive dollar.
I went to the Primerica orientation today and was very impressed with their model. For my real estate license I had to pay for the course, pay for the test, pay for the license and the errors and omissions insurance, MLS fees, technology fees and all of my living expenses and gas. Does that sound like a scam to you? After one year I was selling 27 properties per year and making my own schedule. I got up whenever I wasn't tired anymore, went to the gym five days a week and made almost six figures.
Primerica asks for $99. That's it. They educate you and pay for the tests that will equip you to be a financial advisor. You can take theses credentials anywhere. No noncompete clauses. Nothing. Worst case scenario you spent $99 and end up with three licenses.
Maybe the reason they are willing to look at everyone at entry level is because you have to sift through a lot of sand to find the gold nugget.
Is it for everyone? NO. Their ideal candidate is a motivated self starter that has the burning desire, courage and energy to achieve success without having to depend on someone else for a paycheck. Someone who realizes what a fool's game that is and is something of a pioneer at heart. It can work if you have discipline and are stubborn enough to get through that first year. Keep your day job and do it part time at first. It took a whole year with real estate but the rewards were priceless. I suspect the same is true in this industry. This opportunity got my attention. I'm going for it. I'll let you know how I do. I've already got three people willing to let me look at their finances and see how I can save them money.
Scam? I don't think so. They're the only ones offering a simple interest mortgage that will cut thousands off your interest payments and get it paid off years earlier.
I understand how their pitch might intimidate people who have no background in finance or real estate. But if you want to know more about how they can save you money, just call them ask for a rep. Tell them you don't want to be recruited you just want to save money. They will help you, I promise.
Gail in CT
Gail,
I know exactly how you feel and when I joined Primerica I felt the exact same way. When I joined it was $199 for the IBA, and I still joined that night! I loved it. I quickly excelled to the top part-time position quickly. In my first 6 months with Primerica I made almost $25k part time. I recruited tons of people, ran meetings, won trips, etc. The one day 11 yrs later the truth hit me.
Primerica is not what you think. First it is an absolute lie that you own your own business. You do not own it as an RVP either. So all of the work you have disappears if you decide to go with another company.
The products are horrible! The life insurance is very expensive, the loans are very misleading & expensive, and the mutual funds are heavily loaded. How does Primerica RVPs and agents deal with these fact? They just lie to you and make up reasons why the better companies really aren't better.
You will alienate friends and family. How will you feel telling them you are doing what is best, but in reality you are selling them some of the worse term policies, the absolute worst mortgage, and the most heavily load mutual funds.
Compensation is the lowest in the finance industry. If you are a go getter you can walk into an insurance brokerage house and make 50% - 85% from the beginning! And yes you can hire & train people to get overrides.
You are joining a business cult. If you don't believe me look at the way they treat people it is very cult like! You will be brainwashed to believe that people who don't join are losers, people who quit are losers, and that people like me are just the competition pissed because Primerica is replacing my policies.
Let me make this very clear. I have NEVER NEVER NEVER seen a Primerica policy that I couldn't beat. EVERY EVERY EVERY $mart loan I have seen has been a bad move for the client.
What does it say about peoples integrity when they knowingly sell this horrible products to the people they claim to care so much about? When I learned I left that month! Yes it took me 11yrs, but I left. Now I am shinning a real light on Primerica.
Thank you so much for posting. My husband just got this call on his phone. They have been playing phone tag. He hadn't applied at any "Primerica" so we googled, and your site came up first. Pretty sad, but once again...thank you.
If you get an interview with Primerica you should definitely be grateful. How many companies are knocking down your door to give you an opportunity to own your own office? All this money people are saying they spend, well that must have been awhile ago because I paid for my IBA-independent business application-and I paid $50upfront for my life license which Primerica gave me back when I passed my exam, that's it. I think people who have a job mentality should definitely stay away from Primerica. Some people like having limits to what money they can make, I don't.
previous poster is way off base.
Cost of an IBA is $99 upfront
Monthly cost $25 mo
State test fee (reimbursed when you pass your test) $35 - $185 (depends on your state)
As for being grateful Primerica reps will do ANYTHING to get people in, so I don't think grateful is the right word. Maybe sucker is the right one. They will go through your warm market selling their products to your family.
As for own your own business you are completely wrong! You DO NOT, DO NOT own your own business in Primerica until you become an RVP and they qualify. EVEN AS A RVP YOU DO NOT OWN YOUR BUSINESS! OWNERSHIP IS SOMETHING THAT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE. READ THE IBA IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME!
The difference between broke and success is effort and a NEED for a change but most people are afraid of change which is why most are broke. People are afraid of what they don't know. So instead of being afraid and modest, naive, and losing your money, why not help a cause and do good in this world. That's why i do it and I am successful. Because it is to help the middle market that might not survive the outcome of the economy when it gets strong. With the constant rise of inflation - and you are excited for a 3% raise at work - you are not making more - you are making less. WHy aren't people uinderstanding this?!?!?!? I feel soory for the ones that are getting ripped off without knowing. And when banks screw people over becuase they dont care. Well Primerica cares. And we want to help the middle inclome families that may not be investing in their future, or properly insuring their lives so that they don't leave their families behind with a monthly reminder of bills.
This is why. Be inspired by change. Don't back down or shy away from it.
The difference between broke and success is effort and a NEED for a change but most people are afraid of change which is why most are broke. People are afraid of what they don't know. So instead of being afraid and modest, naive, and losing your money, why not help a cause and do good in this world. That's why i do it and I am successful. Because it is to help the middle market that might not survive the outcome of the economy when it gets strong. With the constant rise of inflation - and you are excited for a 3% raise at work - you are not making more - you are making less. WHy aren't people uinderstanding this?!?!?!? I feel soory for the ones that are getting ripped off without knowing. And when banks screw people over becuase they dont care. Well Primerica cares. And we want to help the middle inclome families that may not be investing in their future, or properly insuring their lives so that they don't leave their families behind with a monthly reminder of bills.
This is why. Be inspired by change. Don't back down or shy away from it.
Here is some interesting and accurate information for those who are considering Primerica as a client or as a career. I was with Primerica for many years and left a few years ago to work for a real “insurance brokerage” house.
All of these quotes were run today (4/26/2009). I have a friend who is leaving Primerica and he provided all of the Primerica quotes for me. Both positive & negative arguments on this website seem to lack the numbers for people to decide, so I decided to provide the numbers. In some cases Primerica is not the most expensive & in other cases they are. What is important is that People know what they are getting into.
Don’t let the Primerica people start this – “We are financial coaches not sales man crap.” If you deal with a financial planner or advisor they will do everything Primerica agent will do with more experience and better products. None of this “We provide a FNA crap either”. Primerica is not the only game in town and there are DOZENS of companies that will help families out with better products and education.
All quoted premiums are monthly. No waiver of premium.
30yr old Male $250k 30yr term
Preferred Non-Tobacco
SBLI $19.79
American General $20.13
Banner $20.56
Genworth $21.00
Transamerica $21.44
Metlife $21.51
West Coast $21.66
Prudential $22.28
AXA Equitable $23.54
Primerica $26.60
Standard Non-Tobacco
SBLI $36.98
Transamerica $37.41
Banner $37.84
Primerica $38West Coast $38.06
Genworth $39.38
AXA Equitable $39.57
MetLife $39.74
Standard Non-Tobacco
Transamerica $58.41
SBLI $61.12
American General $63.44
ING $63.44
AXA Equitable $64.15
Primerica $66.03Prudential $67.73
MetLife $71.00
40yr old Male $250k 30yr term
Preferred Non-Tobacco
SBLI $29.15
ING $30.19
MetLife $30.51
Banner $30.84
American General $31.06
Genworth $31.28
West Coast $33.03
Prudential $33.98
Transamerica $34.34
Primerica $38
Standard Non-Tobacco
SBLI $53.51
MetLife $57.51
Primerica $59.62AXA Equitable $59.66
Transamerica $59.72
West Coast $59.72
Banner $61.69
American General $61.91
Genworth $61.91
Prudential $65.25
Standard Non-Tobacco
SBLI $110.71
Transamerica $111.34
AXA Equitable $111.60
ING $115.06
American General $115.94
MetLife $120.29
Banner $124.69
Prudential $127.53
Primerica $130.15
50yr old Male $250k 20yr term
Preferred Non-Tobacco
SBLI $43.72
Banner $45.06
American General $45.28
Genworth $45.28
Transamerica $46.38
ING $46.81
West Coast $47.03
AXA Equitable $47.05
Prudential $48.38
Primerica $60.09
Standard Non-Tobacco
SBLI $78.30
West Coast $79.63
Transamerica $79.84
Banner $81.16
AXA Equitable $81.68
American General $83.13
Genworth $83.78
Primerica $98.33
Standard Non-Tobacco
Transamerica $163.85
AXA Equitable $164.82
Prudential $176.63
American General $182.22
SBLI $184.66
Banner $185.28
ING $186.16
Genworth $194.03
MetLife $200.39
Primerica $227.53
60yr old Male $250k 20yr term
Preferred Non-Tobacco
SBLI $111.80
AXA Equitable $113.52
ING $113.53
Banner $115.94
American General $116.16
Genworth $116.38
Transamerica $119.22
West Coast $119.66
Prudential $126.00
Primerica $148.68
Standard Non-Tobacco
SBLI $209.89
AXA Equitable $210.78
West Coast $211.97
Transamerica $222.03
Primerica $227.08American General $239.09
Banner $241.50
Genworth $241.72
ING $248.06
MetLife $255.74
Standard Non-Tobacco
AXA Equitable $365.54
Transamerica $367.28
American General $387.63
Prudential $400.50
Banner $438.16
MetLife $454.41
Genworth $479.72
Primerica $490.44
Now Primericans please tell me how you can say you do what is right 100% of the time when the proof is right in front of you. I drank the sweet kool aide with Primerica longer than most ex-Primerica reps on this forum. The truth is your client is ALWAYS, I would say I am 100% accurate sating that, going with another carrier when it comes to protection. Any seasoned & educated financial professional can break apart each product sold by Primerica.
Why do you think so many ex-Primerica agents are so upset when they leave? The rhetoric your RVPs spew is that we are cry babies, quitters, losers, whiners, etc.. The truth is that we feel like we are ashamed that we sold this crap to our family & friends. The numbers don’t lie!
PRIMERICA IS THE BIGGEST SCAM EVER!!!
Primerica may not be a scam, but rather a sales business model and entrepreneurial opportunity for those who can front the cash, BUT... I still find the recruiting methods dishonest and shady. Why hide the fact that there are startup costs until the point where the applicant is already filling out paperwork, wasting their time driving across town to meet someone for an interview?! It is dishonest. Especially in this economy, where so many people are out of work and just looking for any job to make ends meet. I am in this boat, and I went to a job fair recently where I met one of these recruiters. He said it was fine that I had no previous sales experience, and that the company would train me. He conveniently neglected to mention that I would be paying for this training. I am struggling to pay my rent and put food on my table, why on earth would I pay to start working for a commission-based job that I may not see a return on before my rent is due?!
Hey...I've learned that some primerica offices suck....but mine doesn't. And my team within my office doesn't. I know two things....I quit bed bath and beyond, and I ain't goin back. The motivation to put some miles between bed bath n beyond and I have driven me to become division leader in my first month....guess how I did it....not from refering my friends...I didn't know anyone....I prospected my ass of...I got someone with the same motivation as me, he will make money for me, as does a realestate broker off of agents he hires(I mean the agent does have bills, utility rent, everything forhis office) I taught him how to fish, I didn't give him a fish...as I ate, he ate...we built ourselves together and have looked out for eachother. With that and the fact that I love actually helping families, primerica was for me...
This is most important...when concidering this business, you must first know what you are investing time in this business for...if you want to work, just for the money to survive and live pretty comfortabley from...you can CHOOSE to help families without trying to recruit...if u want to retire (after years of hard work ofcourse) and you want to be wealthy for years to come, for you, your family, whoever...you can CHOOSE to recruit. My regional vice president was straight up...he saidu get this if u do this and u get this if u do this...whatever works for wat u believe to be your future, I can help you there, or in any other way u will need...so its sadother rvps preach the wrong thing, but iam speaking on my experience....its your decision, no one will slit your throat if your against it.....this isjust my experience, and I'm doing well...I wish you luck
Elli,
Congrats on improving yourself and getting to division so quickly. Like you I joined Primerica and blew past my upline in a couple months. It was a great feeling to have success so quickly! I did eventually leave Primerica when I learned the products, pay, and recruiting tactics did not fit me anymore.
My advice to you, take it or leave it, is to use Primerica as a stepping stone. Sooner or later you will get past all of the hype and learn that you Primerica does not offer the best options for your clients and definitely does not offer the best options for your family. I loved my Primerica family, but I learned quickly that if you asked to many questions and challenged the flawed products the family I loved so much turned against me.
Just get past the hype and realize you are selling some of the most expensive term insurance, some of the most expensive mutual funds, the most misleading mortgages, and doing so while receiving a fraction of the pay you should get.
Just shop around you will be shocked how bad Primerica products & pay really is.
Good luck to you and all the thousands of IT professionals looking for work, so they can have limited income be under appreciated and under paid, dependent and be told the rest of your life what you are going to do for your company while they do nothing for you except hold you back....
I received a call from the so called "owner" of the branch. The conversation and questions seemed a little strange to me, but I went with it. I asked about the types of positions he was looking to fill, but he was vague. I appeared that he was more concerned about getting me in for an interview. When I asked him to give me more info about hte company, he referred me to the web site. INTERVIEWER BEWARE! Something is not right here.
hey the person that contacted you probably just saw that you needed a job and wanted to get you in for an interview to tell you about the company and see if you wanted ot join..it is not a scam. Usually when theyre scams people wouldn't want to meet up with you face to face of give you their cell phone number or give you locations of any office. It is a lot about recruiting and that just really smart for whoever though up of this whole way of working. A lot of companies work the same way, but i can tell you up front primerica is not a scam I've been working with primerica for a while now and have been learning a lot on how to help out families financially and what ou did instead of going and learning about it and then making a decision. You missed out on a great opportunity, but I mean you can still go and call the guy cuz i mean this is a really great opportunity to make money and learn a lot along the way and possibly help out your family financially also.ALso informing your friends.. i meant with all the bad loans given out and poeple loosing their houses well this was all because people were very uninformed and took loans from people that just wanted to make money.. primerica helps to make sure people aren't getting ripped off. And make sure they dont have indurance policies that are a bunch of trash.. like the cash value ones... Primerica's not a scam is the point lol.. It's a way to make good money by helping people out.
Wow previous poster you must be a really green Primerica rep to believe the crap you just posted!
First the reason Primerica recruits is to find markets to sell their expensive & crappy products to. Primerica brainwashes you reps to believe you are offering the best products when in fact it is some of the most expensive in the financial industry.
Primerica's term life is significantly more expensive than most other term companies.
Primerica $MART loan is the most misleading loan I have ever seen. They sell a high rate 20yr mortgage as a 30yr mortgage with magical powers.
The investments are heavily loaded.
Recruiting tactics are horrible.
As for "Primerica's not a scam is the point lol.. It's a way to make good money by helping people out." - I agree with you that it isn't a scam, but your are not making good money (commissions with Primerica is a joke compared to the rest of the industry.. even as a RVP) and you are not helping people you are misleading people!
Just shop around and you will be blown away! You can get better products, better pay, and most importantly real training. Something Primerica will NEVER give you. They will only train you to sell their crappy expensive products to your family.
Well first off I wouldnt have just relyed on the internet to decide my future and like you said dont always believe what you read on the internet. Im not sure how things are run where your from but just like any business there are always going to be a few bad seeds, in oklahoma things arent run like that. you arent picked from a website, most likely this person has met you and thought you were sharp or a great people person and thats what this business is..a people business.
to hit on a few other posts yes its a legit company been in business for over 32 yrs and is the largest marketer of financial services in the world, never heard the term wholly but primerica is the marketing division for citi
another member mentioned his mother falling prey to primerica and they recruited her to suck her money. well primerica doesnt suck your money, in oklahoma its $99 to start, that pays for the licensing class to help you pass your test which is a 2 day class 8-5 and for your background check, cant have criminals handling your finances. the company pays for the licenses and training. also the recruiter doesnt get paid at all by number of people they recruit infact if that person doesnt do anything they dont get paid. same as a car dealership the salesmen dont sell cars they managers and the dealership dont get paid. simple as that, the company has events and trips that you can go on, none of which are required but if your mom went broke sounds like a personal problem because if she worked in primerica and gave effort to it, that profit would way out weigh the cost of a few seminars. well thats my 2 cents and yes i work with primerica
I spoke with a Primerica person the other day...and i mentioned that i heard the 20yr conventional loan i thought was better..then he went on to explain and show numbers how you actually pay more interest taking the loan at 5% with the conventional loan than at 7% with the smart loan...he said that was because the payments you send in automatically get applied to your principal amount because thats how "our" bank works to help families when conventional loans by the regular banks they do not apply to your payment to the principal til the end of the month which in turn causes you to pay more interest...please explain how this primerica person was misleading me because what he showed me made a lot of sense.
I have a policy by ING and the primerica spokesperson told me after the policy expires it converts to cash value or you have to buy a whole new policy..meaning you can't renew it without taking more medical tests etc....is that true? and he said with primerica you don't have to worry about that....yes I am also curious amount the smart loan...the primerica spokesperson told me the same thing.
THANKS just got a call today and already scheduled an appointment before I stumbled across this. whether or not it is a scam, it appears to be borderline. also at least there is enough info to tell me that I woudl not be suited for this type of situation I cannot sell crap and have no interest what-so-ever. Besides I am wary of any "job offer" that the person gives their cell phone, and gives a phone number different than the one they called with.
Now to come up with some excuse and a good straight to voicemail time.
thanks. regardless of what people feel and think.
If I have to pay ANY money up front besides gas and some professional clothes, its not for me! since I am looking for a job because I have no money!!
This is to answer the questions about the $MART loan and the ING life insurance. Just so you know I spent over 13 yrs with Primerica and I am not one of these guys that know nothing about Primerica. I was one of the top reps in my area and lead the leaders bulletin for years for $mart, life, recruits, cash flow, & investments. So I know what I am talking about.
First ING. It is hard for me to accurately answer the questions about your ING policy without seeing it, but let’s assume you currently own a ING term policy. When this policy is done (say 10, 15, 20yrs, depending on the term) you will be buying the next term at your new age. So lets say you’re 20yrs old and you bought a 20yr term policy. When you turn 40 (20yrs later) you will be buying a new policy at the new age of 40 yrs old. So it will be more expensive. You will no medical exams or questions if you keep the same coverage or less. You do not have to prove “insurability”! As for converting to “cash value” that is your option along the way, BUT NOT required! (EVER!) – So my question is does all of this sound bad? Well guess what Primerica’s life policy is EXACTLY the same way. (except for the option to covert to permanent insurance) Do not let them lie to you. ING is ALWAYS cheaper and better than Primerica life! So don’t let them lie to you about how Primerica is so great and everyone else sucks! (Also don’t let them lie to you about not paying death claims, war clause, only Primerica has a terminal illness clause, and when the 9-11 attacks happened only Primerica paid out… All of these things are lies!) My suggestion if you are looking for more coverage for the same monthly premium or paying less for the same coverage I would contact a broker who sells – Genworth, West Coast, Transamerica, or Banner just to name a few. All of them are the same as Primerica except much cheaper!
$mart loan. – The smart loan is very misleading. The Primerica reps love to use the terms “simple interest daily balance” & “true biweekly payments”, but the truth is the $MART loan NEVER makes sense! Primerica reps love to sell the $mart loan as a magical 30yr loan that is paid off in 20.5 – 23yrs, but it is so untrue. Yes the fact that they actually apply the biweekly payments every two weeks is amazing, but because the rate is so ridiculous it doesn’t work. If Primerica could offer the $mart loan at an average rate there wouldn’t be mortgage company on the planet that could beat it, but that’s not the case.
Here is how a $mart loan works.
You start with a 30yr loan 80% LTV
Loan amount of $100,000 at 7% would be $677mo.
When converted to biweekly is would be $338.50
There are 26 biweekly periods per year so ($338.50 x 26 biweekly payment) $8801 in total payments per year (without acceleration)
By paying bi-weekly (or using the equity builder) you make 26 payments per year.
Doing this your loan will be paid off in 20.5 – 23yr. (without adding any extra money to principal)
Sounds fantastic. You get to save 7 – almost 10yrs basically making 1 extra payment per year!
Here is the problem
You can go get a conventional 20yr loan 80% LTV
Current rates are around 5.5%
Loan amount of $100,000 at 5.5% would be $578 per month
$578 x 12 months = $6,936 per year
You will actually pay less money per year and you will pay off your loan faster than the $mart loan.
If you accelerate the loan (or add more money to principal you will still be better off 100% of the time going with a 20yr conventional loan!)
See Primerica reps compare the $mart loan to a 30 yrs loan and that is not a fair comparison. It is an apple to oranges comparison. Who in their right mind would spend $1800 more per year on a $mart loan that takes longer to pay off than a 20yr conventional?
Now the other kicker. Primerica loans have close to the maximum allotted closing costs permitted by state laws! As a Primerica rep what the closing costs are, you will be shocked! If you go to your credit union, bank or mortgage broker you can get into a 20yr conventional loan for very little closing costs. I would not pay more than 1% for origination or “discount” points. And maybe, MAYBE, agree to a .5% mortgage broker fee. Also make sure you are getting the “par” rate not the rate after the YSP “yield spread premium”.
My advice is VERY simple! Take a $mart proposal (Tell the Primerica agent you want the conditional loan worksheet & the TIL (truth in lending)) and then go to your bank and ask them to do a 20yr conventional loan. If I were you I would look up a local mortgage brokerage and do the same thing. Take those 3 different sources and compare the following. (Just make sure you are comparing a 20yr loan to the $mart loan!)
1. What program will I be out of debt the fastest with? (make sure if you add money to principal on the $mart you do the same with the other 2 proposals)
2. What is my annual cost?
3. What is my total cost of the whole life of the loan?
I can guarantee that Primerica $mart loan will not be the best option.
If you have no desire to shop around then Primerica is perfect for you, but just so you know the difference between the loan example mentioned above is an over $40,000 difference. Is you’re Primerica guy really worth spending an extra $40,000?
Hello all out there,
I work for Primerica now and I am doing great. It is not a get rich quick by any means.
That being said when you work for Primerica you are and independent contractor hired by the company. So you are a 1099 employee.
They give you a chance not to only help others but build yourself a business. Sucess with this company leads to a good life selling very legitimate programs that are affordable and things everyone could use.
They have a great support team and help you along the way more then any company I have been with.
It is not fir everyone but if you have a strong work ethic and want to help people in their lives this is for you.
Thank for this post!! I was stopped by a guy in the grocery store...he asked if I knew anybody looking for jobs...I told him I did and I was...he then went on to tell me his brand new office down the street was looking to hire people for all positions...I started asking him about the business and he said it was too much to tell in the grocery store so he would call me to set up an appointment with his manager...I was skeptical but still gave him the number...he called the next day (which was today) to set up the appointment...he pretty much gave me the same spill...minus the resume part and we scheduled an appointment...he gave me the address and the "manager/supervisor's" info...Since he never even told me the name of the company I googled the address and figured it out...I have been in pyramid schemes before, I have been a telemarketer and I could tell this was a shady ordeal...if it wasn't then they would be able to tell people outright and not have to trick people to coming to there stupid meetings to get you to buy there "kits" so you can "work" for companies like this...I'm for sure NOT going to this "interview"...lol
The poster that posted at 11:40pm (two posts above this one) is an example of some of the great people at Primerica. See these new reps & non-rvps see Primerica as a great company, but the truth is a whole different world. Here is a breakdown of what was said in that post.
"They give you a chance not to only help others but build yourself a business. Sucess with this company leads to a good life selling very legitimate programs that are affordable and things everyone could use."
First you do not own your business and very few of the total reps in Primerica actually own their solution number. As for selling very legitimate & affordable this is the furthest from the truth! Primerica products are some of the most expensive and sold by the most untrained reps in the industry.
"They have a great support team and help you along the way more then any company I have been with."
Primerica RVPs and trainers are like vultures. When you join they are your best friends, and like family to you. As long as you bring people or take them to see your family & friends they are happy. Once you stop they will drop you in a second. Since Primerica's products are so crappy they need the recruits and they warm market to keep selling products. It is a known fact in Primerica that if you want more sales get more recruits.
Primerica isn't a scam, but it is a joke! The RVPs brainwash their reps into believing they are the best and could care less for the client or the new recruits. It is nothing more than a financial Amway.
Although I no longer work with Primerica, I served with the company for eight years, five of which were at the Regional Manager level. I found it to be a great company that was always fair in its compensation plan and rewarded me in proportion to my productivity. No, it is not "a job". If you want a job, go somewhere else. Here is an opportunity to build an agency within a very reputable company as you might expect in any number of sales or framchise fields. One need not be afraid of its legitimacy, but you do need to be prepared to work part time until you can transition into full time work. Those who prefer salary and benefits to an independent opportunity will have to make adjustments.
My husband and I agreed to listen to the pitch to help a family member who was getting started. Of course they weren't going to try to sell us anything, she just needed to hear the pitch one more time to get certified. Yea right, so we reluctantly agreed for her. They depend on people wanting to help out friends and family.
Anyway after 3 meetings in which they wasted over 8 hours of my time, they finally lower the boom. They want to sell me life insurance that is more than double what I'm currently paying. Well I'm no idiot and as much as I want to help a family member, I politely say "no thank you". This guy goes on for over an hour insulting me in my own home about how i'm putting my family at risk, and so forth and so on.
What I found funny about the whole thing is they try to sell you on all their services but their mortgage rate sucked, their life insurance rate sucked and once I wasn't willing to pay their outragous prices, they were no longer interested in helping me with debt management or any of the other things they promised in the initial meeting.
I finally told the man that he was insulting and asked him to leave. He left but they continued to call me. After I wouldn't return the phone calls, they left a 15 minute message on my answering machine about how I was doing my friends and family an injustice for not giving them their phone numbers.
Stay away!!! Don't work for them and don't agree to allow any of them to come into your home. You'll end up being harrassed or paying entirely too much for their so-called services. I'm just glad I knew enough about what they were talking about to know they were trying to sucker me in.
Dude, first of all, nachos do rule! Second, There are plenty of hard working Americans out there in Primerica that are helping families get out of debt, securing futures for people, and providing opportunities for those being laid off in today's economy. I'll leave you with this: The only true source of information comes from the source itself (not some blog you found in a search engine). Don't rely on Google... Go to the interview and see for yourself... Not all the interviewers are going to be the same... Duh! How many McDonald's have you been to nationwide? Is each individual one the best service & food, or could some of them be better ? How many relationships have you been in? Was each one the same, or did you decide to commit to the one that was right for you both? All that to say... What works for you might not work for others. What doesn't work for you might be perfect for someone else. Stop slamming and criticizing... Start helping and speaking truth. If I were you, I'd go to the interview and if you think it's a scam, then tell them to their face. What are you afraid of? If you acutally gave a shit about people, you would take the time. Instead you result to your natural selfish human nature, which says, "There doesn't seem to be anything in it for ME, so it's not worth my time." If that's how you live life, that's wrong, my friends... And it makes you worse than any scammer. Best of luck to all of you.
B,
Your company, Primerica, claims to be champions of the middle class, but the truth is that they are preying on the middle class.
Primerica RVPs recruit for 1 reason. They are looking for new warm markets to get into and sell Primerica's expensive products to. If Primerica truly gave a crap about the clients they would offer more competitive products like they did in the days of Art Williams!
Primerica now has some of the most expensive term in the country. How do Primerica reps deal with this, they compare PFS term to cash value! Such a scam. When they compare it to other term policies they explain the cost difference by lying about death claims, war clauses, 9-11 payouts, for conversion to cash value, uninsurability at the end of the term, etc...
Primerica mortgages are a huge scam. They compare the $mart program to a 30yr loan! What a joke. The smart loan is a very high interest rate 20yr loan that takes more than 20 yrs to pay off. The $MART loan is always the worst option for a family! Period!
Primerica investments are heavily loaded and preform horrible!
These are the reasons RVPs recruit so they can sell this crap to your family & friends!
You have no clue how the products your peddle in Primerica work because they do not train you!
Wake up & if you want to be a true financial professional get away from these clowns!
PS - I was with Primerica for a very long time before I wised up and left the company.
I can not believe this person had the audacity to even post his opinion..let alone call Primerica a scam when he didn't even join the company! He has no idea about the company because he never has attended a meeting for crying out loud he didn't even make it to the interview! For anyone who is thinking about joining Primerica...please check it out for yourself. It is an opportunity that can provide you true financial freedom. No games. No gimmicks. You just have to work hard which you are either going to do for yourself or someone else. Period. Either you will work to make someone else wealthy or you will make yourself wealthy. Most people are not willing to put in the effort to DO for themselves. People should be glad there are no discriminations or certain "quailifications" to join (except no felonies allowed). You can be male, female, black, white and everything inbetween. It doesn't matter about size,age, religion or background. As long as YOU want to win at life and is willing to work that is all that matters. Wishing everyone much success. P.S. If you want to do something special with your life STOP listening to broke people.
BQ
You said, "P.S. If you want to do something special with your life STOP listening to broke people."
What is the average income of a Primerica rep? Not the RVPs, Not the SNSDs, but everyone?
Don't be fooled by these Primerica drones. Yes there is a chance to make alot of money in Primerica, but the majority of people will make next to nothing compared to what they spend on licensing, fast start schools, pocket pcs for turbo apps, gosolo, pol, conventions, and even the most basic business costs.
The reason Primerica recruits is to have a market to sell their horrible products to. They are among the most expensive term, most misleading and lying mortgages, highest loaded mutual funds in the industry. The pay is also the absolute worst in the industry too! Thess idiotic Primerica reps come on this blog talking in circles. Let's see proof about Primerica's product.
All I am saying if you are thinking about becoming a client shop around! You will be glad you did. You are being sold a product by a Primerica rep that has no clue what he or she is doing!
If you want to buy term shop around.
If you want to consolidate debt looking into a 20yr conventional loan.
If you want to invest find a no load fund. Go to morningstar.com and you will see how expensive and underpreforming the funds your Primerica rep is compared to other funds.
If you are thinking about working for Primerica I suggest you find a company where you are not a captive agent. I considered Capital Choice, but I opted to go independent. My suggestion is all Primerica reps and potential recruits look around. You will offer better products for the clients, better pay for your family, you can still build a downline, and most importantly you can really OWN YOUR OWN BUSINESS from the get go!
This is why Primerica RVPs lie so much about other companies. They don't want you to know the truth!
I am in no way associated with Primerica, but there are two things that I would like to point out: 1) It is a legitimate business opportunity. A relative of mine recently affiliated with Primerica and, with no previous experience, is making relatively good money; and 2) a multi-level marketing business (or network marketing business) is not a scheme or pyramid. Pyramids are actually illegal! The MLM is simply a business concept that can be a succesful way of marketing products or services. There may be abuses in the industry, just like in any other industry, but we should not demonize it unfairly. Like anything else, one must do a good research on the company and the products/services being marketed.
I write this for the benefit of those who are seeking a true source of income and may be discouraged to consider network marketing business, whether it's Primerica or not based on erronous information.
Previous Poster,
Since you have no association with Primerica you bring nothing to the table. You are no different then these people who went to a meeting then come here to complain. Your family member is making "good money", but no mention what that might be or how many hours they are working for that "good money"
Like all MLMs they prey on the recruits market to sell expensive products. It is no different than Amway or Monavie. They sell the hype and hope that maybe someday you can be a millionaire if you recruit enough people. The real reason MLMs do this is to sell their crappy products.
Primerica is no different. They sell very expensive term, horrible loans, and heavily loaded mutual funds. They ONLY reason the company is still in business is because they sell these products to recruits families. In the old day with AL Williams the company truly had the best products, but not now!
Is Primerica a scam, no. Is Primerica a rip off, yes. They claim to be champions of the middle class, but they are really just ripping them off.
Also the recruits (or PFS reps) are being paid a small fraction of the true commission! Everything about Primerica is a joke. Including the inexperienced reps that pass themselves off as financial experts!
Wake up!
oh my god, thank you so much for ur info..i just got an interview tomorrow with them and somehow i felt like i needed information about them....WOW...THANKS
Primerica is a MLM. But it isn't a pyrimid scheme. A pyrimid scheme is where you get money for bringing someone into the business. They do ask you for a $99
dollar fee for mandatory backround check and filing fees. If you pay the fee you get special online services to get your insurance lincenses. Once you finish your school you get all your money back. School is only 32 hrs online or you can go to a Primerica university for four 8hr days. And what is with some people saying that people are being brainwashed to believe that they can be a multi-millionaire. Wjat kind of friend are you to believe that they couldn't make millions of dollars. Thats just pretty sucky. The company sells all kinds of insurance but focuses on selling Term life insurance. They do not sell cash value witch is a huge rip off. You spend more money on a policy to get less when you die and have to pay money just to get some of your money back. They use Term life to get a higher policy for a lower price. Then Primerica teaches you how to invest the diffrence so you can end up with much more money. They don't charge you any extra for these services. I hope all those who thinks this is a scam would reconsider. All companies with cash value are just looking to rip you off. If you don't belive me just youtube Dave Ramsey about Term Life and see for yourself. Or go to this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvjir8yxPUI
I know this is an older post, but THANK YOU!!! I just got this call yesterday and was preparing to go to the interview today. I'm canceling it. I was afraid it wasn't right. She just worked so hard to get me into her office when normally it's the other way around.
THANK YOU!!! -Missy, Cleveland OH
Alexander,
You are brainwashed if you truly believe Primerica doesn't charge extra! Primerica is some of the most expensive insurance on the market. At Primerica your RVP shows you cash value prices to show you how cheaper Primerica is, but there is no way he will show you how expensive Primerica is compared to other term policies. Also using Dave Ramsey or Suze Orman is funny too! They both say you should find the cheapest term insurance. No matter what you have been brainwashed to believe Primerica term is nothing special.
Face it man you have no idea who financial products really work. Your opp meetings are full of hype, lies, and brainwashing but are very short on facts.
It doesn't matter if it is life, mortgages, or investments Primerica offers the most expensive, most misleading, and most under preforming products on the market!
And before you say I'm an agent from another company who is just upset with Primerica. Grow up! I worked with Primerica for over a decade and I was one of the most successful reps in my state. I left Primerica when I learned the truth!
I have never found a Primerica life policy I have not been able to beat...... NEVER!
In response to Anonymous 9:09....you can not look at what the average person is making in Primerica who is not in leadership. Why? Because as I stated before most people don't have the intestional fortitude it takes to succeed in the business. Your income level is based on Personal Performance. How many people do you know start something then quit before the ink dries on the paper? Now if you are actively working your business then Yes, you can earn 2-3,000 per month at least...and you can do it on your own schedule. As far as shopping around goes... yes, I do agree with you. People have every right to shop around to see what is best for their family. However, there is just one problem. Most people don't. They always "intend" to get their finances in order but most put if off until it's too late. Once your loved one is dead or your house is gone or your saying "Welcome to Walmart" at 65 it's a little too late. Most people are not like us...You don't know how many families I have seen who don't have anything at all and is ignorant about ins, retirement..etc. Some insurance is better than nothing at all. If you are waiting on people to shop around...then good luck. Alot of people will be SOL!
Oh, and please note...people can slam Primerica and other MLMs all day but I haven't read not one comment offering anyone to make an unlimited amount of income or financial freedom. Anyone can say Primerica is the worse but can they offer something better? Probably not...most people (90%) are working jobs to get ahead. Living paycheck to paycheck. No thanks. Been there, done that and I am not going back.
BQ,
Again you return to what you have been told on EPN, Opp Meetings, Fast Start School, etc.... Primerica really is a joke and when the facts present themselves Primerica looses 100% of the time.
Primerica offers a system that rapes your warm market selling expensive and misleading products to your family & friends. Your only job is to get recruits to do the exact same thing! This cycle continues to repeat itself until you realize you are being taken advantage off and not providing the best products to your clients or best compensation to your family.
Before Primerica was Primerica Art Williams built AL Williams into a powerhouse. The way he did it was using the same basic system they have now, but he provided competitive products and competitive pay for AL Williams agents. Those days are over! Primerica products are horrible and the pay is a joke. (Even at the RVP levels)
If you are truly open minded why not go look at companies where you can really own your business from the beginning, you offer better products and options for your clients, and you make more money. If you like the MLM aspect of Primerica there are many companies that will offer you the same ability to build an agency!
So let's make this clear. You make more money than you do at Primerica. You can offer much better products than you do at Primerica. You can own your agency from day 1, unlike Primerica where ownership is very, very, very difficult. You can still build a downline to receive overrides.
Companies like HBW & Capital Choice offer everything Primerica offers, but with the benefits listed above. I opted to become an independent General Agent and build my own agency, but I review both companies above and they blew Primerica away. Your RVP will disagree, but I'm telling you are better off working for them than drinking the kool aide at Primerica.
Trust me I spend a large part of my adult life working & loving Primerica. The truth about Primerica hit me like a ton of bricks!
Thank you for all of this information on primerica. I am also glad im not wasting my time. I had suspected there was somthing wrong with this company from the start. The lady that called my girlfriend wouldn't even tell her who "reffered" her. I believe everything i read in these blogs...be aware of scams...i would rather work 9-5 then cheat people and friends.
Just read the article, made perfect sense now that I reflect on the phone call I got. First off I got the phone call at work of all places and this is how he closed, “oh by the way, bring a resume with you if you have one”, hahaha so funny now that I think of that. After some debating (hitting the 6 footer and have some really funny laughs), I have decided to do the interview. And unlike the first guy, my mommy isn’t one to tell me “no no”. So I’m going to get some sweet audio of it, haha. Stay tuned….
Here is the rhetoric you will hear at the interview:
1. We are looking for sharp people to train into a management position and eventually open up their own Primerica office. Average first year compensation for an RVP is $120,000.
2. We don't want sales people, we want people who can go out and help families.
3. Don't worry if you don't have experience in finances we will provide all of the training.
4. We are unlike any other company, we do what's right 100% of the time.
Great questions:
1. Where did you get my name? (You will never get a straight answer from this question) Truth - Primerica reps go to malls and other businesses and collect names to call. Also another technique is to call a business and get the name of the person answering the phone. There is there "referral" secret.
2. What exactly does it take to get ownership? When can I get it. Truth - you do not own your business even as an RVP! You must get to RVP and qualify. It is very difficult.
3. When I do investments do I get trailers? if they say yes that's a lie! Truth - ANY investment sales you write prior to Regional Manager you will NEVER receive a trailer, ever!
4. How does Primerica product compare to the rest of the financial industry? Truth - Primerica products are some of the most expensive products in the industry.
5. What happens to my clients if I want to leave Primerica in the next year or two? Truth - Primerica does not allow you to take the clients, so all of your hard work goes out the door!
Well I didn' read through every comment to your rant, but you really need to reconsider you comments. First off you didn't even bother to go and see what Primerica is about. You allowed something you saw online and you mother pressure you not to follow through. I would love to have you come to our Office and just see how we work. There have been others like you and there will be more after you. So you got your 15 minutes of fame. Primerica is a company that changes peoples lives for the good. Even if you are struggling pay check to pay check we can help you and perhaps hire you. We are on a crusade to help the middle class that is left out. I have helped families get out of "balloon payment mortgages" that they didn't even realize they had. I saved one family over $200 a month on an interest only loan and reduce it to 16years. We are NOT a scam. Unlike other companies who claim to do the same thing, we have 0 debt that's right zero. We paid over 5 billion to our workforce last year. We aren't downsizing, rightsizing we are expanding. So in closing if you would reconsider Primerica as an opportunity for yourself or others you can contact my office at 330-953-0100.
I forgot to mention Primerica is NOT a multi-level anything. It is illegal to multi-level marketing with securities/investments.
Also it was founded over 30 years ago by teachers.
Myrna Peachock
You have little knowledge of Primerica yourself. I spent more time wearing a Primerica jersey than most people posting on this page and I can tell you the company is not what you think! They products are horrible, pay is a joke, loans are very misleading, and the agents are uneducated.
How do you feel about Primerica offering some of the most expensive term insurance in the industry, the most misleading loan in the country, and some of the most highly loaded & under preforming mutual funds in the industry? All while paying their agents a fraction of what real financial professional should make?
If you would like to actually talk facts post your 3 most recent life policies (face amount, term, premium, age, and type) & your 3 most recent $mart loans (loan balance, biwkly payment, rate, ltv, at term with equity builder) and I will prove to you Primerica is a joke.
As for Primerica not being a MLM grow the hell up. You will not come on this page and lie! Drink your Kool aide and shut up with lies! Go to your local mall and get names for prospecting, but save those of us who know how to do research! Primerica isn't a scam, but it is a very expensive company filled with people who act like they are in a cult!
I wouldn't say that this is a scam and I wouldn't recommend working for this company either. Not only do you have to pay $99 for a state background check, you also have to pay $25 / month for an online account. This means that in order to work you have to pay money up front. However, they wouldn't tell you that, instead they say that they'll return you the $99 after your security clearance. Anyhow, after being tricked into attending one of these presentation, I can tell that these people don't have that much education or any real skill. People buy into this opportunity for a chance to get rich quick, but be careful of what you get yourself into. It's probably a bigger headache than you think.
I have a completely different personal experience with Primerica. Yes I read lots of negative articles about Primerica, so I checked it for myself. Remember, internet is not regulated , means anyone can post comments as they wish. I just don't believe what I read on the Internet, I come to a conclusion that all is untrue about Primerica. I even convinced that those comments and blogs are originating from the competitors who are scared that their scams will be revealed and continue offering Whole Life and Universal Life insurance. That's a genuine SCAM!! Buy term and invest the difference that's the way to go. Hope this will be an eye opener as it happened to me many years ago. I am not a part of Primerica but I am sick and tired of lies that is spreading like wild fire over the Internet. Probably I should join Primerica and share my personal experience from having Whole Life which is a big rip off and switched to Term many years ago.
Sure you're not with Primerica. Your post screams Primerica Rep over coming the Whole Life objection. This is why I hate Primerica reps! They are so full of misinformation and half truths it is sick!
I worked with Primerica for 12+ yrs and I sold more Primerica policies than any one this blog. I loved the company, but then I wised up.
This is not about Whole Life vs Term. This is about Primerica being some of the most expensive term policies in the industry. Writing some of the most misleading loans, ever. And carrying some of the most heavily load mutual funds! (which are also horribly under preforming)
Primerica reps are inexperience as financial planners, but they are trained to sell their crap well. You know the Primerica policy you own now can be replaced with another term policy for 2 to 3 times the coverage for the same premium you are paying now or you could cut your premiums in half.
Primerica is a joke. Look at the fake interview calls all of the offices are doing. Face it Primerica is the Amway for finances selling expensive products to their family & friends.
Take your tired "I'm a client" crap and drink your Kool-aide. The facts speak for themselves!
Primerica claims to be the champions for the middle class, but they are ripping them off right in front of their faces!
If you have Primerica term shop around Banner, Genworth, State Farm, AlState, ING, American General, West Coast, Metlife, Hartford, and so on offer term at 50 - 70% cheaper costs compared to Primerica. (For the exact same thing!)
If you are considering a $mart loan, don't do it. They mislead you by comparing a $mart loan to a 30yr loan. This is such a lie! Compare it to a 20yr loan and you will beat the $mart loan EVERY time! $mart is never the best option!
If you are considering Primerica Shareholder Services for investments. Look around. (Vanguard or T Rowe Price is a good start). Primerica has huge loads on their investments.
If your Primerica rep tries you have me as a financial coach, laugh. I have known some of the wealthiest people in Primerica and they know next to nothing about finances! The truth is Primerica is all about recruiting people to become wealthier, why? Because that opens up a new warm market to sell their crap to!
Let's wait to hear the Primerica reps call me a liar, but not provide any facts!
Thank you so much. I actually sat through that very same presentation yesterday and was offered an interview later that week (how convenient). It's at 9:00 tomorrow, and I was also debating whether or not this company was legit. After reading this and getting some advice from my old man (and Clark Howard's website) I've decided to cancel my interview as well. Thanks again, very helpful post.
I think that the ideal way to start Primerica, because of the total commision pay scale would be to start it part time while working your regular job. This is the way my uncle does it. He's been doing it for 2 years as part time and he made 21,000 last year with Primerica not counting his regular 9 to 5. I can see how tough it would be if you started Primerica without any other income.
What people are missing is that you are selling expensive & poor quality financial products to the people you care most about! Primerica reps will argue the point, but they will not provide the facts to back up what they are saying! That's the truth.
100% of the time you can get term life insurance for 50 - 70% less premium.
100% of the time you can get a better mortgage!
100% of the time you can find better preforming mutual funds without such a huge load!
Regardless of what Primerica reps say they are far from financial experts and are trained to sell you their products, not do what is best for your family!
Primerica is just like anyother job that works off commission. The money you CAN make is a direct reflection of how willing you are to put forth an effort. I for one, am doing just fine with Primerica, and I think that it is mostly because I could see what the RVP was trying to tell me. It wasnt that I could make millions overnight, or that I would be Debt free and Financially independent by the end of the FY. It was that there are families in America that need help. Help that I can now offer to them.
Multi-Level Marketing Companies are not Pyramid Schmes!!!!Get you facts straight! If they were pyramid schmes, then Nordstroms, Maceys and every company in the world would be a pyramid scheme. You're just mad because you haven't been lucky enough to get involved in a good Multi-Level Marketing Company to make decent money. Multi-Level Marketing, Pyramid Schme, definitely NOT, and anyone who thinks they are definitely has not done very good research, and left their brains at the door!!!
I can not believe how rediculously stupid people are. Anyone who says multi-level marketing companies are pyramids have definitely not done any research of any kind!!! To say it's a scam because you have to pay a small fee up front is even more stupid. It cost more to become a realtor than to become a primerica leader. I've been involved in a multi-level marketing company for years. It cost me $25 to get started, no requirements to sell unless I wanted to, and buy at least $1 worth of products every year to keep current. People just have very closed minds about the business world. Primerica is not a scam or a scheme it's a real company with good people. Just like every company in the world it probably has it's bad eggs also. Wise up people and do your research and quit believing every negative comment unhappy and unsatisfied people put out about multi-level marketing!!!!1
I love how these Primerica reps keep beating the same drum. Let's make it simple.
Primerica is not a scam & MLMs are not pyramid schemes!
That being said Primerica is a company that take very uneducated people and make them believe they are capable of helping people with finances. How do they do that? They teach them to sell Primerica products and convince them that Primerica is the only company who is helping middle income Americans. This is so far from the truth.
When you join Primerica you will receive little to no actual training. You will be taught to sell products to your family and bring those same people to join your new Primerica business.
No one is mentioning:
1) Primerica term is extremely expensive! You can get the same coverage other term insurance for 50 - 70% less cost.
2) Primerica loans are horrible. 100% of the time you are better of going with a 20yr conventional loan. (Primerica reps love misleading people, but you will always get a lower payment, spend less money on interest, and pay off your house faster going with a 20yr conventional bs $mart)
3) Primerica Mutual funds are heavily loaded and under preforming.
4) You will be marketing these horrible products to your friends & family.
5) You will be going to meetings after meetings after meetings.
6) You will get little training except for selling Primerica crap & and how to recruit more people so you can sell to their friends & families.
7) Primerica pay is horrendous! Starting pay at Primerica is 25%, max part-time income is 75%, and RVPs are 95%. Starting pay for an insurance agent on the street is 85% and goes up to 115%.
8) You do not own your business. Something they will not tell you. Primerica owns everything! When you get to RVP you can then qualify for ownership, but a large portion of RVPs do not even own their own business! Just because someone wears a $100k ring doesn't mean they own their business.
9) The FNA they love to tell you is so great is nothing more than a sales tool to sell you Primerica products. They try market it as a plan, but look on the disclosure page it says - "This is not a financial plan".
10) Primerica reps (even RVPs) are not professionals. The level of RVP is not a professional title, but a sales title. It is no different than Monavie or Amway.
11) Recruiting tactics are horrible. Look at all of the lies they tell you just to get you to an interview or meeting. If the company is so great why lie & beg to get you to join?
Primerica reps will NEVER use facts! Face it if you want the truth shop around Primerica will NEVER, NEVER, NEVER be the best option.
Hi!
Thanks a lot for the information. You saved my time.
What does anyone think if I told them that I was going to go ahead and work for Primerica, but strictly to get sponsored to take the Series 6 and 63?
Iv been to the seminars and I also got the impression that it was structured like a pyramid scheme. I like the idea that they run with that goes on and on about how they help the middle class get out of debt and invest the savings and to be quite honest I wouldn't mind having a job like that, but Im also very aware of they re questionable business structure.
So Im looking at it two ways; get the licenses and use this as an experience.
Any objections or advice on my direction?
If you do join Primerica expect little to no training! I can say this because I was with Primerica for over a decade and obtained my S6 & S63 license. If I did not seek out knowledgeable people I would have learned nothing. You will learn to sell Legg Mason products (although you can sell other fund families too), you will learn to sell over priced term life insurance, and peddle horribly misleading mortgages.
As for sponsorship - Primerica reps love to tell you they will cover your investment license, but look carefully. You need to get to the District leader contract and do a certain amount of premium. Basically you will need to hire atleast 3 people, get one of those 3 people licensed, do $2500 in premium, and then help your licensed new rep get 3 people to get to Srep.
Primerica is an amazing business structure, but not for you. They hire new recruits so they can sell their crappy product to that recruits market. Join if you want to, but realize you are joining what is as close to a cult in business that you will ever see.
Primerica reps refuse to look at facts. They continue to rant & rave about being the champions for the middle class, but they sell some of the worse products in the industry. When Art Williams ran the company they were an amazing company, not it is just another gigantic company ripping off people. They big problem is they use your relationship with your family & friends to sell those horrible products.
When I left Primerica I looked at other companies like Primerica but that offered better products, pay, and most importantly you owned the business from the beginning. I chose to go independent, but I had a ton of experience. Look at Capital Choice or HBW. These companies do everything Primerica does, but offers better products for your clients, better pay for yourself, and you own your book of business out the gate. Primerica RVPs don't want you to know this and love to bad mouth these companies!
Join the Primerica cult if you want, but do so knowing their sole purpose is to keep you uninformed and recruiting/selling family & friends to their "crusade". (What a joke!)
hey Ken, this is Moe.
I don't know how you knew I was a "religous" guy. to tell you the truth I'm not. I just know Jesus is my personal savior. Hahaha you just think I'm this dumb nigga, huh? So while you where at "Tech"(sure) you where thinking about what kind of people can I target, ummm? well I will go after the black ones there not educated usally. Well KEN let me tell you something, this "PERSON" that you tryed to get is educated and yea my parents are rich I wouldn't doudt it if there richer then yours. And they have tought me well, so in other words Ken I think I'll keep this 99 dallors in my packet, not the bank(lol). hahahahaha Golf community in leesburg, stupid....Damn dude I was made for greatness not scamness. I shake the dust of my feet to you.
to all the people who think this is a pyramid scam or whatever. Think about any business structure. everyone works under someone making them money.
it doesnt take a genius to do this. i used to work a normal job myself and then found primerica. it was different and you do need to pay for a few things but what you get out of it is imensly larger than say working at a subway(which i did). call primerica a scam, but realize your also calling every subway, mcdonalds, burger king, etc owner a scamed. because by joining primerica your simply doing the same thing they did.
payed a little money and were given a business to run, at first out of there own pocket, until you put enough into it where its gonna pay you for the rest of your career.
what you pay for in primerica is your own branch. your given a 1099 business ownership when you agree.
its real people, but only as real as your willing to take it. Its the first company to have a mjority of its employees(fellow ownwers) to be under the age of 30 making 6 digits a year. call any of them and theyll tell you this is not a get rich quick scam, if anything its the opposite. its going to takle a few years to go anywhere with it. but its a opportunity thats proven itself a million times over and if your too close minded to realize what it offers and that no ones trying to scam anyone but help then stick to you minimum wage jobs or your 6 digit income that leaves you no time to have a family or wrecked the one you had.
Because ive had enough of it.
enjoy,
ikis=)
You're so far off base with your Primerica lies! You do not have ownership with Primerica until you get to RVP AND THEN you must qualify! VERY few people in Primerica have ownership rights!
I love you are also lying about the majority of people of people making 6 figures are under 30. Another lie.
Keep selling your over priced products! Keep ripping the people you call friends & family. Also keep running around like you are a financial professional when you are really have no clue that you're doing!
Have another Kool Aide on me!
See you at the top!
If its such a big company-then way is there a fee in order to get into the company? Red flag when a fee is mentioned. Getting licensed to sell insurance is more than just that $99 bs. When I sold cars it was $200 for the fingerprinting, background check, dmv stuff... Primerica is a Pyramid scheme 1 recruits 2 - 2 recruits 4 and it goes on and on. When asked what they sell they avoid the question - If they cant even answer that simple question then thats a red flag. When stated that they were looking for managers for a supposed 150 NEW offices they were opening up in the area that also was a red flag--What company opens that many locations in this economy just like that? Further more if they have the cash to open that many locations why again is there that $99 fee? And what on my resume was soooooo fantastic that they wanted to hire me at a managerial level?
Anywho Primerica=Pyramid Scheme and to those that work there - a little something to make note of - If you tell enough lies you may start to believe them....
BTW those that relate Primerica to Car sales is incorrectly informed - car sales generally is base(min wage) + Commission(avg 20%) and when commission exceeds base then it is purely commission(ie commission totals exceed what you would make with base pay in a 40 hour week).
I got involved with primerica about 6 months ago, I love it. I make an extra 1500 to 2500 a month part-time and I don't recruit anybody unless they ask me how I got started doing this or if they say that they would like to make extra income. You don't have to recruit to make money but if you want to build a business then you have too, makes sense doesn't it. If you want to fly solo go ahead,you dont have to recruit. When I got started, my main focus was to learn the business and the products, get licensed and go help families, that was it. I didn't worry about recruiting. If I had to rely only on recruiting, I wouldn't do this business. When I hear all these dumb ass people bashing primerica about cultlike,scam and recruiting,I just laugh because your 9-5 job which stands for (just over broke) recruited your stupid ass. Think about it, you go thru alot shit in one day to race to that 9-5 job to make someone else rich, especially if you have kids that go to school. There is no risk to get involved with primerica, wow you have to pay 99 dollars for your state license, OMG that's a big risk! You keep your present job and work primerica part-time until your at a point where you can fire your boss, OMG that's a big risk! Don't let what other people do or say control your decisions, if you feel you can do it, try it. You only know what you know because of what you know! For all those idiots who talk crap about primerica and never got involved or licensed, you are a bunch of lazy losers that want everything handed to you (pan handlers) is what I call you. You have nothing going for you so you post negative stuff because your life sucks or maybe it's because your comfortable with your boss putting vaseline on your booty hole everyday!!!! LOL!!!!!!
Previous Poster,
You have been with the company for 6 months I was with the company for over a decade. I would think I know more about Primerica than you know & will probably know. I ran those meetings you are attending, I was on EPN (PrimericaTv), I ran training, and I even spoke at fast start schools & conventions.
Here are the facts.
- You are selling expensive products to your family & friends. You could take your license somewhere else and provide better products for your clients!
- Primerica compensation is a joke. If you are making $1500 - $2000 a month you could be making $3000 - $4000 a month.
- You do not own your Primerica business. You can own your book of business right away with other companies.
- You get ZERO ($0) trailers for ever on any investments you do. You are screwed until you get to Regional Leader.
- You are marketing a very misleading loan to people you care the most about.
- Most Primerica office, ran by RVPs not the home office, are ran very cultish! I hate to say that, but I have seen people go to meeting while parents are dying, kids are being born, the spouse is in the hospital. I'm not saying every office is like that, but the majority of office I have ever seen tell their reps they need to make sacrifices to be successful. You need to missing games, bday parties, and stuff like that. We always told our reps there are only 2 meeting you need to attend, "The meetings you want to go to and the meetings you don't want to".
- Not getting paid on insurance ratings is a joke.
- Paying a $25 fee for each lapse, NTO, and denied policy is a joke.
- Recent commission changes to the life product is ridiculous. You actually make less money doing what is best for your client.
What you have yet to learn is your RVP or field trainer is the one "putting the vaseline on your booty hole everyday". Facts speak for themselves.
Thought this was a great blog....
My mother is a Regional Vice President in Primerica. They worked very hard to get to that level. She really loves what she does, offering financial advice & direction to SO many families that need it. You would not believe how many people have nothing set up for the future, for their kids future, or even for the present moment if something were to happen. She makes a good living and is passionate about helping people get their finances organized. I would recommend Primerica to anyone who is great with numbers and who is a "people" person.
Myles,
I agree you must work very hard to get to RVP, but I must correct you on your statements. First all Primerica reps are salesman, not financial advisers. This is one of the main issues I had with Primerica. Just because you pass a test and so a couple sales you are not a financial profession. Primerica reps are very uneducated when it comes to the financial industry and the clients pay the price for that. Primerica claims to be the fight for the middle class, but their life insurance is very expensive, their mortgages are uncompetitive, and their mutual funds are heavily loaded.
If a client has no desire to seek out better options than Primerica is great for them, but when Primerica reps claim Primerica is the best that's a lie. The client 100% of the time can find better and cheaper products for their families. Also the Primerica reps can find a company that isn't captive, offers better products and better pay.
To the previous poster who was with primerica for a decade. Everbody has choices in their life so let me explain this to you. I go to meetings when I want to, I recruit when I want to, I don't have to do nothing if I don't want to. I don't let anyone tell me what I have to do to be successful I already know. If you or an RVP told me that I have to attend every meeting even if I had a family member in the hospital dying, I would slap the shit out of the person who said it and tell them to get lost. By the way, you mention that you did EPN TV,spoke at opp night and trainings but you didn't say what you were and why you quit, and what are you doing now? Were you an RVP or a wannabe, just curious!. Show me proof of something better i'm open minded. If you quit to do something better show me a website or some info on it. Don't send me walmarts home page lol!. I got into this business for one thing and one thing only, to make extra money part-time by helping people. I don't worry about recruiting and making every meeting,I could careless. I'm doing exactly what I set myself up to do and I am successful. I don't recruit but I have 15 people that came in because of me, by showing them i'm making money. Guess what, their making money too, I don't have a field trainer by the way, I field train. So once again, show me something better or go get the vaseline and clock in tomorrow morning at your 9-5 gardening position at Kmart. Hope to hear something from you soon.
Wow, I can't believe how ignorant many people are. You are bashing Primerica wrongly and making it difficult for people to make their own positive decision in joining a company that has been very fair with anyone who wants to built financial stability and time for themselves and their family.
I have worked in the unstable corporate world. How many times do honest and hardworking people have to be laid-off or fired?
In Primerica, you work...you get paid; and you get paid by providing a service, and yes, one of the products is Life Insurance; and what is wrong with that? What do you understand about life insurance? Obviously nothing! Otherwise, you wouldn't be saying what you are saying. That is only one product of many great others we have.
I like working with 100% commission. I determine how much I want to be paid, rather than have corporate determine what I'm worth. I think you should have gone to the presentation. You would have learned a lot more, than simply listen to garbage being said by other ignorant people.
One silly comment I saw was "To my astonishment I got an answer further than anything I could have imagined. He said that it took him almost 20 years to make 1 million in a year". Are you stupid or what? If it took me 30 years to make 1 million dollars in a year...its good!!! Where else in corporate am I going to make that. Though, he could have earned that sooner, but I don't know his reasons.
I believe that Primerica is not for all, because there is some lazy people in this world, who like to bash the good. I have been with Primerica and I will alway be with Primerica. It's not the MLM like you say it is; its a fair business that gives everybody a chance to help themselves, their families and others. Primerica is NOT a scam nor a pyramid sceme. Pyramids are illegal. We must be State and Federally license. Now how would a scam business be licensed. PLEASE GET THE FACTS FROM PRIMERICA, THEN MAKE YOU OWN EDUCATED DECISION, THANKS
One of my family members recently joined Primerica and, of course, called me to see if I'd be interested in joining. This individual informed me that the Primerica rep strongly encourages consolidating all debts into a new mortgage - - school loans, credit cards, car payments, etc. With a new, lower monthly payment, the selling point is that people can get a handle on their finances. That got me thinking...why would I trade in a car payment that I'll have paid off in 4 years for a "new" mortgage payment that will take 30 years to pay off? How is this helping people? By keeping them in bondage to debt as long as possible and sucking money out of them in the form of interest payments. It might not be a scam, but DO THE MATH before you sign any papers. A good mortgage calculator will show you that paying down your principle balance by even a few dollars will add up significantly over time. The same will happen in reverse if you consolidate all of your debt. Beware that, even if the payment is lower, you'll end up spending a lot more in the long run to get out of debt.
To the previous poster, did you understand the concept of the smart loan or are you stupid. When you do a smart loan, you consolidate your personal debt with your mortgage which makes everything tax deductible therefore you just freed up x amount of dollars that you were paying for your personal debt. Let's say you were paying $1300 a month in personal debt, now you have $1300 extra a month that you can do whatever you want with but we say use a portion of that to pay down your mortgage and the rest, put in some sort of investment like a mutual fund. If your not responsible go ahead and spend it. Also for the record, we don't put you back into a 30 year mortgage. Next time pay attention!
Alternative to Primerica. (Better products for the client and better pay for the reps)(You will also own the business immediately & get trailers)(You will not give up replacement legs to get to VP)
Capital Choice
HBW (Helping Build Wealth)
Previous poster about the Smart loan. Maybe you should pay attention & stop believing everything your RVP tells you. The $mart loan never makes sense! The client will be better off 100% of the time going with a conventional 20yr loan. Crunch the numbers yourself. You will pay less each month on a conventional loan, pay off the loan faster than the $mart loan, and you will spend less money in interest! The facts are the facts!
You also mention putting the money into a mutual fund. I totally agree, but not the heavily loaded funds you sell!
Will you Primerica reps stop the Chris Howard's overcoming objections and just think. The two companies I mentioned in the beginning of this post offer better products (100% of the time over Primerica), you will make significantly more money than you are with Primerica, you can get promoted without recruiting, you do not loose any teammates on promotion to VP, you will get real training (not just the recruit speeches), you own your own business from day one, you are not captive, you will always be able to do what is right for your client 100% of the time (if there is a better product for your client you can go do it. FHA, VA, & USDA loans are examples).
Just stop believing everything you are told in the opp meetings or training. Ask questions.
1. Why is the $mart loan so expensive vs a 20yr loan?
2. Why has Primerica went from the King of term to one of the most expensive.
3. Why don't I get investment trailers ever for sales written before Regional?
4. Why do I not get paid on insurance ratings?
5. Why do I have loose $25 for declined policies?
6. Why as a broker can I not invest my own money at NAV?
7. Why do I not have E&O insurance?
I could go on & on, but if you are here fighting for PFS my info is falling on deaf ears. If you are seriously wanting to do what's best for your family & clients, look around!
I am not involved with either company by the way. I went independent since I was used to running an office & I did not want to stay in the MLM type business.
Previous poster, thanks for the response. like I said, I have an open mind and I will check out both companies. Thanks once again!
If you hadn't noticed every company and nearly every institution that deals with money is in a pyramid structure. Your job is a pyramid; the profits filter up to the owners through the work of their employees. Social Security is a pyramid; you put in your money to support 1-6 retirees who you will never know. A bank takes funds from thousands of people "at the bottom" and invests it through loans and the market.
Unfortunately all three of those examples have been in the headlines lately in finacial crisis, however, Primerica is still growing and has zero debt as a company. It is the largest financial services company in the world and has zero debt. No other company can say either of that. I guess it pays off to do the right thing for people.
As for the struture of Primerica, it makes sense to promote those who have performed well and done the work to build clientelle and train and develop others. It is completely performance-based, so, as said previously, if you don't do the work you won't get the result. If someone is "studying" every aspect of the products and services Primerica offers and goes to seminars and meetings, which are optional and discounted, they are simiply stalling from doing the work they need to do, instead of using those resources as they should be used.
Primerica itself does not make a dime off a new recruit, and recruiting is not a requirement of the business. The only way the company profits is when someone achieves some measure of success and establishes steady business, in which case everyone wins. Primerica has the new recuit's best interest in mind, look up the requirements of other financial services companies. Their fees and requirements are almost sadistic, they need the new recruit's $1,200 entrance fee because they haven't done what is best for their clients.
If you hadn't noticed every company and nearly every institution that deals with money is in a pyramid structure. Your job is a pyramid; the profits filter up to the owners through the work of their employees. Social Security is a pyramid; you put in your money to support 1-6 retirees who you will never know. A bank takes funds from thousands of people "at the bottom" and invests it through loans and the market.
Unfortunately all three of those examples have been in the headlines lately in finacial crisis, however, Primerica is still growing and has zero debt as a company. It is the largest financial services company in the world and has zero debt. No other company can say either of that. I guess it pays off to do the right thing for people.
As for the struture of Primerica, it makes sense to promote those who have performed well and done the work to build clientelle and train and develop others. It is completely performance-based, so, as said previously, if you don't do the work you won't get the result. If someone is "studying" every aspect of the products and services Primerica offers and goes to seminars and meetings, which are optional and discounted, they are simiply stalling from doing the work they need to do, instead of using those resources as they should be used.
To the OP: I have a hard time believing this is unbiased as you did not even go to the interview. Your assumptions are based on the fact that Primerica is multi-level. If you excelled at your job wouldn't you expect a promotion eventually? With Primerica it isn't up to your boss and his opinion of you, but an equal standard for everyone that only proves one can be coachable and learn.
Primerica itself does not make a dime off a new recruit, and recruiting is not a requirement of the business. The only way the company profits is when someone achieves some measure of success and establishes steady business, in which case everyone wins. Primerica has the new recuit's best interest in mind, look up the requirements of other financial services companies. Their fees and requirements are almost sadistic, they need the new recruit's $1,200 entrance fee because they haven't done what is best for their clients.
Don't fall for HBW. They constantly try to convert PFS representatives offering an easier way, but when it comes to it their products are designed to be better for the company than the client. It is easier to get ahead when you charge fees for everything. I personally wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing my life is funded by feeing others to death.
To HBW representatives: grow up and get your own recruits. Stop stalking PFS recruits and stop calling and harassing PFS representatives. Leeching off your clients and competition is no way to get ahead.
Previous poster,
When I decided to leave Primerica I was approached by both HBW and Capital Choice. I decided to get out of the multi-level crap, so I went with a traditional brokerage house.
As for your comment about HBW you are so far off base. First off I don't like HBW at all and see them as a lame version of Primerica wannabes, but the truth is they offer better products for the clients and better pay for the agents! Those facts can't be denied!
Capital Choice is the closest thing to AL Williams. They have much better products, and much better pay.
Face it while Primerica continues to cut your pay and offer products that are getting worse & worse for the clients there will always be better options. You can continue to believe Primerica is the greatest thing, but the truth is you are wrong. Your RVP keeps lying to you so you stay in the baseshop!
To me the best option is to go with a brokerage house. You have complete freedom, you can work with more companies than HBW, Primerica, and Capital Choice combines. I can make more money (on average 100% - 120% commission). I can build my own company how I see fit. So my clients are better off and I make more money than any contract at Primerica.
I beat Primerica products 100% of the time! Those are the facts.
Previous poster,
When I decided to leave Primerica I was approached by both HBW and Capital Choice. I decided to get out of the multi-level crap, so I went with a traditional brokerage house.
As for your comment about HBW you are so far off base. First off I don't like HBW at all and see them as a lame version of Primerica wannabes, but the truth is they offer better products for the clients and better pay for the agents! Those facts can't be denied!
Capital Choice is the closest thing to AL Williams. They have much better products, and much better pay.
Face it while Primerica continues to cut your pay and offer products that are getting worse & worse for the clients there will always be better options. You can continue to believe Primerica is the greatest thing, but the truth is you are wrong. Your RVP keeps lying to you so you stay in the baseshop!
To me the best option is to go with a brokerage house. You have complete freedom, you can work with more companies than HBW, Primerica, and Capital Choice combines. I can make more money (on average 100% - 120% commission). I can build my own company how I see fit. So my clients are better off and I make more money than any contract at Primerica.
I beat Primerica products 100% of the time! Those are the facts.
The bottom line is that no JOB will ask you to pay money for anything. Any company that is not willing to INVEST in their employees is not worth your time either.(and I say this because hiring just one person IS an investment: between insurance and payroll and training etc, hiring is costly to the companies and this is why we have the interview process so that they can make sure the person they hire is worth investing in). If a company is not only not willing to invest in you but also asks you to put money up front then basically...they don't care who they hire! YOU ARE PAYING THEM!!!! If it doesn't work out they haven't lost anything but actually have gained something. Comparing this to Real Estate is like me comparing the money my degree costs.
like every one i was just approached by the recruiter, in a store...i was waiting in line...and he approached me and after general greeting, asked me what i do for living....and mentioned about primerica...i just simply asked him do you have any work for IT guy... he said no the only thing technical thing they own are cell phones..hahaha....so, got curious and started googling primerica...hahaha....
First of all My uncle is doing this for 10 years and he is makeing a half of million dollers doing it. I' ve just started it cost 99 dollers to join and 25 a month they teach how to get your lic. online so you don't have to quit your job even when you do this business it's up to you if you want to quit or not as far as the sceam they have no more of a scam them mary kay, avon, and all thoes other companys a like. and you can quit when ever you feel like it and they won't talk to you about it ever agian. the money they offer you is real i just bought A four room two storie house with the money I got for doing this. And I still work full time at a resturant making $8.00 dollers a hour. is a great company to work for And yes you are your own boss and no there is no pre interview shit ether you go to one of the meetings and listen for a half hour and then they ask you if your ready but you do not have to join right away if you do not want to you can think it over as long as you want. And they won't bug you while you are thinking about ether so don't belive everybody they don't know unless they try it alot change since some of these blogs been you there. it is a real company makeing you real money!! so basicly you own your own business for $99 down and 25 a month where can you run a business for that kind of dough????? you don't have to take my word for it ask Mike caswell the state rep for michigan he looked @ it and he said "this is not a scam this the real deal, everybody should be doing this" Mike caswell I know this because i was there when he said that infront of 40 some pepole. SO my advince is are you willing to take a change to make $3,000 to 60,000 a month helping family's get out of debt fast?
the previous poster proves 100% why Primerica is a joke. They will hire anyone who is felony free, has $99, and willing to spend $25 per month. There are so many lies & half truths in the entire post, but this is exactly the type of person you will see when you go to a PFS meeting.
Granted 1 or 2 people know what their doing. Their job is to get the uneducated reps (above) to go out and lead them to their family and friends. Makes selling crappy and expensive products very easy!
PS - You do not own your own business in Primerica until you become qualify for ownership. This is after you get to RVP! It is very hard to accomplish and most RVPs, even ring wearers, do not have ownership!
I am not going to sit here and say that this is a scam, but I will say that the way they go about doing things makes them look guilty of being a scam.
I actually sent in my resume for an administrative assistant's position. I am a student at the university here and am just looking for some part-time work for extra money. I was called from this company for an interview, so naturally I thought I would be interviewing for an administrative assistant position.
When I arrived, 2 other people followed me for an interview...and we all were meeting with the same person. That's when I started to get suspicious.
The interview was not at all for an administrative assistant's position, that was just their way to get you to come in for an interview and they thought from there, you'd like what you saw enough to forget they tricked you to come in for an interview.
When I was talked to one-on-one, he asked who I would consult to before I accepted the job offer and when I said my parents, he wanted to personally meet with them to SET UP A NEW FINANCIAL PLAN FOR THEM.
He wanted me to give him names on the spot of people I have close relationships with so he could make some money off of me before I've even said I'd work for them.
On top of that, they sit there and ask you to pay $200 up front to start working. I realize if you are to become a real estate agent, you have to get your license, but this is not the same idea. I'm sorry if I'm offending anyone but the way they went about this was all wrong. For some, they may need the money enough to think it's alright. But if you step back and really look at this entire situation, you'll see that while it may not be a scam, they are not doing things completely honest. And that to me is just as bad.
im a primerica rep. as for the internet if you type in primerica scam you get 56200 pages but type in primerica helps you get 2,750,000 pages. pyramid schemes are illegal there for could not be listed on the New york stock exchange.A pyramid the guy above you makes the most commission and gives you the rest. at primerica you get the highest commission and the guy above gets the override which is less. if you get scammed its the agent not primerica.
don't think this is easy money because i worked my but off to get where i am but let me tell you hard work pays off they pay you for your work not your position like jobs do. I think people need to start think for them self and stop letting the internet do there thinking
Previous poster,
Typical Primerica rep response. The reason Primerica generates such pissed off review is because of the horrendous recruiting tactics! Regardless of what base shop you are in you are trained to "friendship farm"! Whenever you offer a "job" or an "interview" you are missing leading people.
I agree people need to do research and not let the internet make a decision for them. Unlike you, and other PFS reps, I suggest they go to other carriers, other lenders, and other investment companies and do what is best for their family. 100% of the time if they shop they will beat Primerica!
You are a part of a company that preys on people. You take the uneducated and then hire them. Once they are on your team you lie to them telling them they own their own business. Then you go into their warm markets and sell their friends and family horribly expensive life insurance, misleading loans, and heavily loaded mutual funds! How does it make you feel to be part of a company that does that?
Also as a rep you don't own your own business, you get next to no real training, you make a fraction of what real agents make, you get no investment trailers (prior to RL), you are a captive agent and ba not ever offer the best products for your client.
Wow it almost makes me want to join Primerica again! Hell No!
I was approachedd by a co-worker about PRIMERICA. I went to the seminar with her, took the licensing class (but I have not gotten my license). I don't doubt it's legitimacy but my problem is the way she hounds me. It is a real turn off. She has even given out my work number to the RVP she works for! I am not being negative but I just don't feel I am cut out for "selling" products to my family and friends. I am not into sales and I am really not a people person. When she approached me about the opportunity, she did not mention sales. She made me think it was a part-time clerical job. She also told me that the picture of the beautiful new Mercedes on her computer's screen - saver was hers. I asked her if she brought it with the money she made from Primerica and she told me "yes". She finally admitted that she does not have a Mercedes but that she plans on getting one with the furtune she is going to make with Primerica. She has been with Primerica for one year and works more overtime on our regular 9-5 job than I do! She has never given me straight answers on how much she has made with this company, her only answer is "a lot". It's as if she just needs me to help build her business. I am more turned off by the deception and I am really hesitating joining. Can anyone offer any advice?
I joined Primerica when I was 24yrs old and I left Primerica recently just before I turned 36. During my time with Primerica I met some of the nicest people and believe it or not most reps truly are good people. That being said I left when I learned the truth about the products and how I was being paid a fraction of what they real financial industry pays. I told every client I did what's right 100% of the time, but the truth is I did what was right for my RVP 100%. My client never got "the best deal" and I never even got fair pay. I wanted you to know I have been down this road and I am not one of these people with only 2-4 yrs experience with the company.
To address your concerns.
1. She really hounds you - Get used to it! Your trainer needs you to set appointments and find clients. Once a Primerica rep runs out of their own warm market they must find recruits to tap into their warm markets. This is the easiest way for PFS reps to sell highly over priced products.
2. "I am not being negative but.." - This is the first step in the brainwashing done by Primerica reps. If you question anything you are told not to be negative, don't reinvent the wheel, be coachable, etc... This is crap! It took me a large part of my adult life to realize I was totally brainwashed! Now that I left I am called a looser, whiner, cry baby, quitter, etc.
3. "She didn't mention sales" - In PFS they say they are educators not sales people, but you will spend the rest of your career selling in Primerica. You will either be selling the crappy products or selling the business.
4. The Mercedes - You will see alot of PFS reps have pics of cars, houses, vacations, watches, etc all over their homes & cars. They are keeping their dreams right in front of them. Most think it is real, but I believe in it. I think in Primerica the RVPs use this as a button to push when the rep is being "negative". When you say I'm having 2nd thoughts or question the products you will get "You wont get that mercedes being negative" or something like that.
5. "She has never given me straight answers on how much she has made with this company" - Alot of part time PFS reps have the philosophy of fake it 'til you make it. I'm not saying she isn't making money, but it is highly unlike. Tell your friend you would like to have her show you her rolling 12 or YTD on POL. If you have Primerica Online you can go to Competition Scoreboard, choose your friends level, choose your state, choose last month YTD Cash Flow, and it will show how much money alot of reps have made at that level YTD. You will be shocked how little it is. The list goes from the biggest income earner downward. So if your friend isn't on there then she has made less than the last person.
6. "she just needs me to help build her business" - She needs your market! That simple! This is how Primerica reps get into new markets. They recruit!
Unfortunately your friend is following the same steps of many Primerica reps. (I did it myself)! In Primerica everyone is a potential recruit or FNA. It is all about getting people to meetings and "building your business". I hate to say this, but looking back I behaved like a cult member in the defense of PFS. Just do one thing, if you stay with Primerica be honest. You dont provide the best products, other companies do the same thing for a fraction of the cost, the FNA is not a plan, don't lie to your recruits about making money, etc..
It is sad how people settle for a 40 - 60 hours per week job. They work so hard for so many years and hardly even make it week to week. Then when a great opportunity comes their way, they look for all the negatives because they are afraid to take risks. Primerica is a legal business. Downside is that you do not get paid per hour like a job, upside is that you have unlimited income. It is not a get rich scheme. You have to work hard and be determined to put in the work to get results. All those out there who have bad things to say about primerica where lazy folks who probably put in 50% effort and expected miracles. Well life doesnt work that way. I am very successful at primerica because just like a realtor, I worked hard at the beginning and now I am seeing results. For those of you who follow what others have to say, good luck in life. While I make it to the top.. you will be at your dead-end job for the rest of your life.
Congrats to the previous poster being so successful selling expensive products to your family and friends!
How do you feel knowing that most people you sell policies to can get, in most cases, twice as much coverage for the price of the expensive Primerica policy you are selling them. See Art Williams is probably having a heart attack seeing how horrible Primerica has become. When AL Williams started they were the best term, period. No Primerica doesn't make it into the top 10! You can lie to your clients about war clauses, forced conversion, and so on, but the truth is you are selling the people you care most about very expensive products while lying to their face telling them it is the best.
If you are selling any $mart loan you are being even more deceptive there!
When you don't know poorly you are servicing the clients you have an excuse, but if you read this blog you will learn that Primerica life is very expensive, $mart is nothing more than an high rate 20yr loan that takes more than 20 yrs to pay off, Mutual funds are heavily loaded, pay is a joke, you don't own your own business, etc.
One day you will see the truth! Why do you have to lie to people to recruit them? JUst stop and think about it for a second. 100% of the time you are better off going somewhere other than Primerica as a client & there are tons of companies that provide better services for clients and better pay for reps!
Keep drinking your kool-aid and listening to your RVP.
I love Primerica! They provide me with policies to replace everyday!
I have personal experience with Primerica. It did seem a bit sketchy at first, but after I did some serious digging I found that they are totally legit. The people you find complaining the most are people who lack the drive, intelligence, and social skills to make it work. Most people choose to do it part-time, then eventually full-time. I personally know people who make their living doing this and have left some very secure, high paying jobs to dedicate more time to Primerica. Let me put it this way, you get what you put in. If you are outgoing, self motivated and driven, you can definitely make good money through Primerica.
Previous poster,
I guess selling expensive crap to family members is okay in your book. How about recruiting people under false pretenses? What about blatantly lying to new reps about owning their own business?
Either you lack the drive, intelligence, social skills, or integrity to do what is right!
Yes you can make good money, but how they can sleep knowing the lies they spread every day I will never understand.
PS - I bet the digging you never included looking at other companies to truly compare apples to apples!
If your looking at Primerica as a client shop around! If you are looking at Primerica as a career shop around! Your RVPs job is to get into your warm market and sell expensive crap! That's the truth!
Apparently they aren't just grabbing people who are out of work. Just got the same call the blogger describes but trying to steal me away from my current position. I'm happy where I am, but was interested (read flattered) at the opportunity. She said I had been "recommended" though couldn't tell me by whom, due to privacy laws.
Told her to call me back next week, did a little research, called her back and asked her to remove me from her list.
If you work for Primerica you should really reconsider your company's marketing methods. I will never take her, you, or anyone affiliated with that organization seriously. How can you when your qualification for being a financial planner is that you got duped into a crap job?
I love the fact that the PFS rep wouldn't tell the last poster who referred her to him because of "privacy laws". These idiots are such scammers.
Ways of cold prospecting in Primerica:
Resumes - they get onto the many resume sites by claiming to be an employer. From there all they do is look for names and numbers. They do not care if you are looking for IT, Admin, manual labor, etc... All they want is you to come to an "interview" or "meeting".
Post Craigslist ads - They clam to be "expanding in the area" and trick people into thinking it's a job. They never mention Primerica! Another trick to get you to the office.
Malling - going through the malls looking for people in other stores where they can tell them they have "great people skills" and then asking them "do you keep your options open". Again the goal is to get you to the office.
Name Grabbing - This is when they go through an store and just collect names. They then call back that store and ask for the person. They tell them that they were referred to them, but of course that's a lie. When you ask who referred them you will get "I'm not sure, but will find out when you come to the meeting", they will just make up a name, "it was one of my many clients/reps who know I'm looking for great people to help me expand". Again the goal is to get you to the office. On the phone you will get little to no info, they want you at the office.
"You're just who I'm calling for" technique - You call a business and when the person answers the phone and says their name you ignore it then you ask for them. Here is the script. - Phone rings - Hello ABC Company, Mary speaking can I help you? (PFS Reps) Hi is Mary there? (Mary) This is her. (PFS rep) Great your the one I'm calling for my name is _____ and my office is expanding... on and on into getting you to the office.
Calling the wrong number. This is where a team of PFS reps call different stores and write down the name of the person who answers. Then a day or two later a different rep calls and goes into the "you were referred to me" speech.
Please understand Primerica corporate does not condone or allow anything that is happening when it comes to these recruiting tactics. They actually do not allow it. You are not permitted to make it seem like you are hiring someone or that PFS is a job! That doesn't matter to these RVPs and their baseshops.
My suggestion is that everyone starts including the Primerica Reps name and number when they post here. Primerica's home office monitors these sites and this will eventually put an end to these misleading calls.
I love the people who comment on this saying that primerica makes money in an "unethical" manner. Phillip Morris...
Making money is not unethical, but the manner in which they use uneducated reps to sell to their family is unethical. Also the recruiting tactics are unethical.
I am very disgusted by all these people who are with Primerica that are trying to put down people who make a living by working a "9-to-5" job...WHERE DO YOU EXPECT THESE PEOPLE TO GET THE $99 FEE??
I bet you guys aren't degrading people who make hourly pay on your website, are you??? This is sick. Something doesn't necessarily have to be illegal to be considered a scam or a con.
Some woman from primerica approached me at my job the other day and asked me if I "wanted to do something else" and that I could make "$4,000 a month"...she never said i'd have to put money into this, or that it's commisioned based...and I think that is being sneaky, because she knows that had she told me that I definately would have turned her down.
How dare you people try to put down hard working people that get paid by the hour. As if everyone who gets paid by the hour or by salarie is miserable. OBVIOUSLY you're the miserable ones because you have to put others down to make yourselves look good.
You probably buy your food from the grocerie store and buy your clothes from the mall and go to the doctor when you get sick. From people that get paid hourly or by salarie. Since you have so many negative things to say about people that get paid hourly or by salarie, then grow your own fruits and veggies the next time you get hungry; sew your own fabric the next time you need new clothes; and mix up your own medicine the next time you get an illness. Why is it that the people who discriminate always need things from the very people they discriminate against.
Post this crap about 9-to-5 jobs on the Primerica website. I'm pretty sure the people who you are "trying to help get out of dept" (who by the way probably have 9-to-5 jobs) will be glad to hear this.
It's one thing to be sneaky to get people to become a part of your business but it's another thing to bash people who make an honest living. Wake up and smell the reality!!! Most people NEED that guaranteed paycheck every two weeks. Some people can't rely on a commision check to pay their bills.
If your business is legal then that great, but be 100% honest about it when you first approach people so they won't waste their time. AND STOP PUTTING DOWN PEOPLE WHO HAVE TRADITIONAL JOBS, THE VERY PEOPLE YOU NEED TO HELP YOUR BUSINESS THRIVE.
AND FOR THE RECORD, I'M NOT SAYING THIS APPLIES TO ALL PRIMERICA REPS. BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND HOW THEIR ARE NEGATIVE AND POSSITIVE PEOPLE IN EVERY BUSINESS.
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