Combined insurance - interview

drpellypo

Sorry this is a bit random, but I was wondering if anyone has worked for the above? My business has now pretty much died and I am 21k in debt with my wife and I desperately need something to increase the money coming into the house (we are in a DMP.) I had an interview with combined insurance for a sales job and have been asked back for a second interview tomorrow. However, having read stuff online about the US side of the company it looks like people have ended up worse off than they started! I can't find any info about the UK side though. Can anyone help??

dacouch

They offer an accident insurance plan which is not that great cover and is expensive (Partly due to the commissions they pay the salesmen).

I assume you have no background in Insurance as most of their salesmen don't, does this not ring alarm bells with you?

My friend who is a personal trainer had a go at this and made very little money, I found it very amusing when he tried to impress me with the USPs from their policy and his knowledge of Insurance. I wen't through the policy with him and pointed out all of the drawbacks of it.

What tends to happen with salepeople for this type of plan is they go through all of their friends etc trying to sell them cover, this can upset some of your friends. When you have run out of friends it's a case of you cold calling which is difficult if you have not done it before. These types of plans are normally sold to the building trade.

As Dunstonh and other will shortly point out there are far better policies on the market often at much lower premiums.

drpellypo

Thanks for your reply dacouch. Can you give a little more info of what happened to your friend? I am only interested in whether it's a viable job, not whether there are better policies out there (as I'm not buying )

dunstonh

Its an awful job and woefully obsolete for the UK market. They have awful products which are non standard and the sort any IFA would go around cancelling (creating claw backs for you).

Cold calling insurance agents at least used to be helpful, even if their products were not the best because they used conventional products which most of the time worked. The Combined role is pure sales of low quality and unconventional products which very few people actually need.

Wutang_2

drpellypo wrote: »

.....not whether there are better policies out there (as I'm not buying )

and no one else either.

seriously leave it

drpellypo

Wutang, thanks for replying. Have you worked for them/know someone that has? I am desperate for evidence/experience based opinions of working for them, not information about their policies or opinions etc. I desperately need some kind of work, at very least to get me over xmas as my business has gone completely dead!

iceicebaby

I worked for them in 2000. They sent me on a residential training course for 2 weeks to Derby. They give you all the speil about how much you can earn and it does sound inpressive.

HOWEVER, after the training, I was out in the field selling. Basically door knocking. Every door in every street.

I sold 1 policy in 2 weeks, gave up and left. At the time I was there, there was no basic wage, just all comission. And there are a lot of expenses as they dont send you to work in your local area, I was in Gloucestershire working and I live in Wales. So not TOO far but far enough. You have to pay the expenses yourself as you are technically self employed, and use your own car (Don't forget to add business use on your insurance policy lol)

The products are quite niche so would only appeal to a very small sector of the public so are unsuitable to be sold in this manner really.

So, I would not bother!

iceicebaby

Oh yes, and I remember one policy, called SIP (Sickness Income protection, was geared towards self employed people) was for 3 months at a time but you could not claim for 90 days (which is 3 moths btw!) So useless!

drpellypo

Thanks for all the replies chaps. As it happens, I went for the interview, got the job, got sent on a week course (lovely hotel - bed, breakfast and three course evening meal) and started two weeks ago. My field training week was with a lovely chap who makes on average, £1k per week. I did nothing but follow him round for the week and got £300 in my bank the following Thursday. Last week was my first week on my own and I made £780. Plus I got a £50 voucher and a bottle of champagne from my manager as a well done for doing so well in my first week. No door to door knocking. Just used my head, worked smart, and visited existing customers getting referrals from them. I've no interest in advertising the company or promoting their products so I won't reply to the comments about the products they sell, but, don't take what's said on here as gospel, cos all the policies have changed this year.

What I can say though is that this company has changed my life. The training course alone gave me a chance to meet some amazing people, all of whom I am in regular contact with and have become great friends, and it gave me back the confidence the NHS stripped from me 8 years ago when I was working for them (left a year ago.) I went from being suicidal a month ago to being on top of the world now. All thanks to the opportunity I have been given and the great team/manager I now work with.

drpellypo

Wutang wrote: »

and no one else either.

seriously leave it

I would be careful dishing out such broad (and untrue) statements like that Wutang. I say this because had I listened to your advice I would have still been in the rut I was in a month ago (just look in the DMP thread) right now, but as it happens I am well and truly on a fast track to paying off all my debt. I hope you understand I am not trying to be rude, but merely pointing out that posting comments like that, with no evidence to qualify your statements is reckless at very least and could prevent anyone else given the opportunity I have been given actually taking it up and changing their lives for the better.

Proc

Okay, well firstly, this wreaks of spam/advertising/recruiting. Your post just seems too fairytale to be real. However, if it is real, and what you say is true, then I'm happy for you.

You should understand by now that you're in a sales role. Posting in an insurance board isn't going to get you a response on the company itself - only the actual product. You would have been best posting in the "Employment, Jobseeking and Training" board. In hard sales, the product that you're selling is irrelevant. People buy people. The reason that this company employs such hardcore sales people is because their product is crap, so they need someone who can push it onto people.

Hard sales isn't suited to all. But some people thrive on it. Having said that, you're obviously doing okay at your job, and you might soon start earning some good amount of money.