Complaint Review: Aflac - Columbus Georgia

When I joined Aflac, I was reqiured to sign a statement allowing any business I brought to Aflac to be reassigned for any reason.

What his translates into -- is that Aflac will generally allow you to close and collect commissions on small accounts (maybe 3-5 people), expecting that these aren't worth their trouble as many policyholders will either cancel or default in payment, leading to chargebacks.

If you bring in a large account to Aflac, that business will be reassigned, allowing your hierarchy to collect the commissions from a business you invested your time, energy, resources pitching, securing, selling the deal.

With large, truly profitable accounts, you are required to engage your hierarchy. Once that happens, the hierarchy, which consists of managers and their spouses, best friends, willl back door themselves in to close and enroll the policyholders, securing the commission for themselves while cutting you out.

Even if a large account requires a broker, Aflac will refuse to vet or appoint a qualified broker to assist with a large account. Rather, you are told to vet the broker through your hierarchy, which will go through the mentions. While you are waiting on that broker to be appointed, they will backdoor their own broker in. They will then leave your broker hanging, not providing any information on whether they were appointed or not nor any explanation. They just never follow through, damaging your professional relationship and credibility with that broker. The hierarchy's preferred broker will then cut you out of the deal and assign the hierarchy, distributing the commissions to this insider group.

You will be told you will get "credit" for large accounts you bring in. According to an Aflac broker, "credit" is drawn from a pool of money this insider group collects for this purpose. So, let's say you secured a prospect worth up to $500,000 in commissions -- did all the leg work, marketed and the decision makers on the concept, secred the yes, you will be given $100 in "credit" as a thank you while your hierarchy distributes the commissions among themselves.

This insider group also gives money to the AFLAC PAC to lobby Congress and influence government. Guess what happens when you approach the government to appeal Aflac misconduct?

When the prospect questions why  you, the person they thought would be their point of contact and who would be enrolling the employees, was cut out of the sale, the hierarchy will lie and tell them -- you are no longer with Aflac or a mere newbie. A few prospects called me after the theft and advised me on what was said.

According to job boards around the Internet, my experience is not uncommon. Account lifting is a systemic problem throughout Aflac and encouraged and condoned by corporate and the hierarchy.

If you protest the theft, you will be referred to the agreement you signed allowing Aflac to reassign business for any reason.

In my opinion, what Aflac is doing is illegal as:

1. It allegely violates insurance law (establishing monopolies, restraint of trade). Aflac also deceives and makes false representations to secure business for a chosen few. They engage in slander/misrepresentations with prospects to facilitate by falsely relaying that you, as agent, are no longer with Aflac or a mere newbie so that can sign the account instead.

2. It allegedly violates FTC/marketing standards -- again through false, deceptive advertising re; the job and restraint of trade.

3. It allegedly violates wage law and IRS contractor designations. As a contractor, you are required to perform a set of tasks and to be paid with the successful completion of said taks. At Aflac, you cannot follow contractor requirements. Instead, you are required to go through your hierarchy -- that is, answer to a manager, while you cover all of your expenses.  There is no way for you to get paid when stakes are high -- as they will not allow you to complete the final step -- that it closing and enrolling or appointing a broker without permission from the hierarchy. When the stakes are large,  the hierarchy will simply backdoor itself  in, cut you out, and claim the business for itelf even though you did all the work and made all the investment to get them there. They go in do the enrollments, claim all the commissions for themselves.  You are also required to attend weekly meetings, etc. You are not an independent contractor but an employee/volunteer, per IRS guidelines.

The typical corporate response to complaints about said conduct are that  -- this is just the way business is done and that the agent should expect this. It happens all the time. 

After filing an ethics complaint about theft of business, I was immediately terminated for "non-performance," that is, for not generating business based upon the theft of that business. (This allegedly amounts to retaliation for filing an ethics complaint. They had not cared before about nonperformance as I had brought large accounts to Aflac which were in the process of closing. The moment I filed an ethics complaint about the theft, I was immediately terminated.)

WIth my filing of an ethics complaint, Aflac immediately withdrew its appointment, sent me a threatening letter from its attorney, advising me that I could not sue but was required to go through arbitration (A FALSE CLAIM --as the federal government is stripping the rights of financial organizations and insurance companies to hide behind arbitration, where they control the outcome, mediator, location) to make way for class actions and accountability.

The policies I had written were then immediately charged back and I was then a threatening collections letter, with me owing AFLAC for the trouble of being robbed and having brought hundreds of thousands of dollars in business to them, while I hadn't collected a dime.

Let this be a lesson -- the numerous critical agents reviews about Aflac cannot all be wrong.  Your failure to succeed as an agent at AFLAC is not due to "lack of motivation." Your hierarchy is more often than not actively conspiring against you to seize your business with the blessing of corporate.  They do this because they think they can until the law or government advises them otherwise. The agreement you sign upon joining facilitates the "theft.'

he reason there is a revolving door of agents is that the market is oversatured, you are hired simply for your contacts, and if you ever come close to securing a profitable account, the chances of you ever profiting from that business are next to nil. I brought many large accounts to Aflac, a number of which were signed. I didn't see a penny in profit as my hierarchy backdoored itself in every time.

These people are extremely and shamelessly dishonest and greedy.  AVOID AFLAC AT ALL COSTS.