Insurance advisors’ quotes

“The freedom to run our own businesses as we see fit, but still have a big brand name behind us. The compensation is nice.”
— A Co-operators advisor

“The contract is the best in the business. The commission is pooled.”
— An Equinox advisor

“Stability and reliability and support from head office — they don’t play a lot of games.”
— A Freedom 55 advisor

“It is big, but decisions are made by real people, not just machines. You couldn’t ask for a better partner or supplier.”
— A Great-West Life advisor

“They have a good support system, a lot of tools and a lot of materials. They stand behind you. Everybody says they’re the best.”
— A State Farm advisor

Worst aspects of a firm

“The changing culture at Clarica because of the merger. There’s a deterioration of the family atmosphere.”
— A Clarica advisor

“The worst thing is our technology. It’s our weakest link.”
— A Co-operators advisor

“On the administrative side, they don’t support the new people the way that they should.”
— A Freedom 55 advisor

“They are slow to develop a product. And, when it comes out, there’s nothing special about it.”
— A Great-West Life advisor

“You are tied to them and their products. By not owning my own book, I can’t pass my clients onto someone, such as a family member. It’s up to the company. It’s not a big deal to young people, but it is to me.”
—A State Farm advisor

On advertising
“Everybody knows our ads, so they must be good.”
— A Freedom 55 advisor

On compensation
“I’m upset about the decrease in our compensation. We used to have a stock option plan, and it has been taken away. There’s no reward now for working hard.”
— A Clarica advisor

On corporate culture
“Many [advisors] working at Equinox don’t know who they’re working for. They don’t work for Equinox, they work for the partner agencies.”
— An Equinox advisor

On product quality
“Clarica needs to revamp its term insurance pricing. It needs to make it equal to other companies. I really hate losing a client simply because of price.”
— A Clarica advisor

On client service
“The industry as a whole needs to get its head out of its ass. It’s not advisor-friendly and it’s not client-friendly. The Insurance Act needs to be brought into the 21st century. It’s like it’s from the 1920s.”
— An independent advisor

On strategic focus
“It seemed like a ship adrift for awhile. But we have new CEOs, so it’s getting better.”
— A Co-operators advisor

On marketing
“Company branding doesn’t help me. I do my own branding; it’s my responsibility.”
— A Great-West Life advisor

On compensation
“State Farm needs to pay us more to write life insurance. Writing life insurance needs to make you more money. If it paid more, maybe I’d write more.
— A State Farm advisor

On designations
“It’s an old boys’ club designed to generate fees, not [to provide] higher education.”
— A Freedom 55 advisor