Combined Insurance Company Of America Rip Off Trick Scam Cult Calgary Alberta

Ryan, you're right there may be some good in the company but its hidden beneath far too much dirt for this Canuck; and I like clean and shiny.

My recent experience was literal threats of termination when I left my home area to go spend a couple weeks at my dying grandmothers side. Now understand that under the OESA ((Ontario Employment Standards Act)) any individual be it full, part or contract employed is entitled to 8 weeks with in a 26 week period for Family Medical Emergency Leave. This allows for any immediate family, from Grandparents, to parents, to siblings; including Step-Grandparents, Step-parents and Step-siblings. It also allows for "emotional support" to be the reason for going. Now my grandmother was diagnosed with a terminal growth in the liver; cancer. With Combined I was with the Health/Life Division; major concerns as you know Heart, Stroke, CANCER. Anyway so a week and half goes by and my phone is now 200 minutes over my monthly allowance from Bell, my text inboxes are full, my email boxes are full. On Friday May 29th, thinking my Grandmother actually may pull through to live another few months I finally caved to the threats to GO BACK; she died hours after I got on the plane from QC.

When I got back, the manager had the balls to say "You look well rested, you must have enjoyed your time." Well, fortunately for him I was actually very tired and too tired to deal with such a "piss-ant" statement. Anyhow he continues that my numbers are in the shitter and that if I don't have numbers by Monday I would be terminated. Instead I told him to google OESA and walked away because there better days in life than to deal with that kind of attitude and crap. I missed my grandmothers funeral, should also mention for any others reading that are not well versed with the OESA; funeral/death in the family and medical emergency are two different things and are taken separately, funeral/death services get a two week allowance of time off ((But check the ACT yourself to make sure you know which part you qualify concerning death/funeral services, and read it if you work with in Ontario.))


For the most part I have to agree with Christopher; managers to me tend to be the people who think they can push anyone around, some just back away and move on to the next person faster when they encounter resistance. That said I have met SOME great agents; that are there with no lie about why they do what they do and that's to make money which is fine! That's why we work, and the policies for the most part are good sound policies; though the Accident/Sickness side I kinda hmm and haw at the policies because to me for the average working person they are "mickey mouse", but taken as they are for what they are; are good polices to "help" cover costs. For those that are HIGH risk of injury sickness ((trades, minors, drivers, etc etc.)) they need something more than what most of these policies provide; who and where to get that I won't say because I don't want to sully this rebutle/response to be some sort of "Hey buy me instead," but keep it as personal opinion on the subject.


BTW, I can't stand the d**n sing song's; my manager kept saying it was to help my "PMA, HOW'S YOUR PMA?!" I swear, if I went in one more day I would have said,

"My PMA *&^%ing sucks! BUT if I slept in another two hours I would be FAN-&^%$ING-TASTIC!" With a big grin and then just go to sleep right there in the middle of the meeting. However, I will say I did like the meetings for sales technique and talk concerning policies, some approaches were too harsh and aggressive for my tastes but that's the benefit of "pick and choose."

LAST rant about experience with Combined was this; when I got hired I UNDERSTOOD that I was "Self Employed." That I paid my bills, taxes, costs, etc etc. The problem was, I did not receive ANY of the benefits of being "Self Employed" and that should be "choosing my hours", "places of business", etc etc. With Combined there was none of this; you got "Assignments" usually further drives than you wanted; MORE often than you could afford. And after the last quarterly meeting for Ontario, it was demanded that all Agents MUST have 100% attendance, meaning Monday to Friday, rain, shine, snow , hail, nuclear holocaust.. we were out knocking on doors. And when I accepted the position the statement was that we chose our hours so if I wanted to work 3 days a week, I worked 3 days a week... not true EVEN after the 7 Week training period.

Like anything in the business world, there are pro's and negatives; for me the method and "structure" ((if you could call it that)) of Combines field agent system has far too many negatives for my tastes and any new prospective Agent for this company should watch their actions; papers and yourself most importantly; do not compromise yourself for one petty commission, sale, or smile for management and that's any company any job any place. Cause in the end, you're the one with your neck on the block; unless you're the president of the world with 10k nukes to tell all the axers to "piss off".

- JR

Hi Ryan,

Ah! So refreshing to have somebody defending the company without insulting me back for insulting the company, or insinuating I'm impoverished because I'm no longer an agent. I'm glad to see a response that isn't full of Stone-isms. The other responses I've seen on here all seem to use the exact same language, insults, wording, phrasing and responses, as if they were all the exact same individual.

Thank you for your response. What you said is absolutely correct, about there being bad apples in a bunch. However, I found that there was no way for me to remedy the situation...there seemed to be little to stop managers from being unethical. A highly uncontrolled situation, it seemed.

Now as for the needs analysis sheet, I was told it wasn't important to my job, but important because we were "required by law" to fill it out so "Combined has to do it but it doesn't want to."

At any rate, Combined Insurance, I'm sure, can pose as a good opportunity for some. Of course, if it's a good fit, it should be good for that person. Although I must admit the entire idea of the company that I gathered from MY managers is that it's good for EVERYBODY and anyone who is smart would LOVE this. They talked down about anybody who didn't like the company and put emphasis on "if you are a successful businessperson this job is for you...if you're an hourly wage grocery store clerk this isn't for you." The pressure that *I* (not necessarily everybody else) was given to join the company I think was misleading. But you're right, I'm basing everything on ONE city's office.

Hope the iguana is doing well.

Christopher

Sorry that you had some unethical managers. I do appreciate how you said "Combined Calgary," rather than just Combined. However, I'm sure that's still generalizing, because you had a bad experience with one group of silly people. There are plenty of terrific managers out there, and, most certainly, EVEN in Calgary. When you go for an interview with us, interview the manager - ask him or her what you want to know and they should explain to you exactly what the job entails. I've been with the company for probably eight months or so and have been told some misleading things. This has made me come to the realization that the people who work for the company join the other 99.99% of the population, and are in fact not perfect - I know, very shocking, isn't it? There are "bad apples" here, as with everywhere else. I'm proud to say that everyone in my immediate team isn't part of the group of "bad apples," BUT, sad to say, neither are part of the 0.01% of perfect people.

As far as the career goes, it's great. I've signed up a few people who've already had to claim and it's great knowing that you're making a difference. One guy my manager and I signed up claimed some $6400 from a car accident...he was paying $16 a month for that. And I'll tell you what, the job is getting better each month. If you had stuck with it, you'll probably grow to love it




PS: I like this quote from you:
"Any insurance company should be focused on INSURANCE and MEETING NEEDS. This company is concerned with ONE thing and one thing ONLY: SALES SALES SALES. It's NOT an insurance company. It's a sales company."

This would be why it is mandatory for us to fill out a sheet entitled, "Needs Analysis" with each and every sale - new or existing client. Last week we had a training day which included a two hour session on the importance on filling the sheet out correctly.

And a little food for thought -- if we were 100% focused on sales, then we wouldn't visit clients who were 70 and over because we CANNOT sell to them. We still stop by and review there coverage with them. In fact, just to use company material, which I know you love dearly, essential number 7 isn't just "sell," it's also, "service." However, we, as agents, do focus somewhat on sales, seen as how our occupation is salesman..........

Have yourself a good one, sure to hear from you soon

Ryan

Sorry that you had some unethical managers. I do appreciate how you said "Combined Calgary," rather than just Combined. However, I'm sure that's still generalizing, because you had a bad experience with one group of silly people. There are plenty of terrific managers out there, and, most certainly, EVEN in Calgary. When you go for an interview with us, interview the manager - ask him or her what you want to know and they should explain to you exactly what the job entails. I've been with the company for probably eight months or so and have been told some misleading things. This has made me come to the realization that the people who work for the company join the other 99.99% of the population, and are in fact not perfect - I know, very shocking, isn't it? There are "bad apples" here, as with everywhere else. I'm proud to say that everyone in my immediate team isn't part of the group of "bad apples," BUT, sad to say, neither are part of the 0.01% of perfect people.

As far as the career goes, it's great. I've signed up a few people who've already had to claim and it's great knowing that you're making a difference. One guy my manager and I signed up claimed some $6400 from a car accident...he was paying $16 a month for that. And I'll tell you what, the job is getting better each month. If you had stuck with it, you'll probably grow to love it




PS: I like this quote from you:
"Any insurance company should be focused on INSURANCE and MEETING NEEDS. This company is concerned with ONE thing and one thing ONLY: SALES SALES SALES. It's NOT an insurance company. It's a sales company."

This would be why it is mandatory for us to fill out a sheet entitled, "Needs Analysis" with each and every sale - new or existing client. Last week we had a training day which included a two hour session on the importance on filling the sheet out correctly.

And a little food for thought -- if we were 100% focused on sales, then we wouldn't visit clients who were 70 and over because we CANNOT sell to them. We still stop by and review there coverage with them. In fact, just to use company material, which I know you love dearly, essential number 7 isn't just "sell," it's also, "service." However, we, as agents, do focus somewhat on sales, seen as how our occupation is salesman..........

Have yourself a good one, sure to hear from you soon

Ryan

Sorry that you had some unethical managers. I do appreciate how you said "Combined Calgary," rather than just Combined. However, I'm sure that's still generalizing, because you had a bad experience with one group of silly people. There are plenty of terrific managers out there, and, most certainly, EVEN in Calgary. When you go for an interview with us, interview the manager - ask him or her what you want to know and they should explain to you exactly what the job entails. I've been with the company for probably eight months or so and have been told some misleading things. This has made me come to the realization that the people who work for the company join the other 99.99% of the population, and are in fact not perfect - I know, very shocking, isn't it? There are "bad apples" here, as with everywhere else. I'm proud to say that everyone in my immediate team isn't part of the group of "bad apples," BUT, sad to say, neither are part of the 0.01% of perfect people.

As far as the career goes, it's great. I've signed up a few people who've already had to claim and it's great knowing that you're making a difference. One guy my manager and I signed up claimed some $6400 from a car accident...he was paying $16 a month for that. And I'll tell you what, the job is getting better each month. If you had stuck with it, you'll probably grow to love it




PS: I like this quote from you:
"Any insurance company should be focused on INSURANCE and MEETING NEEDS. This company is concerned with ONE thing and one thing ONLY: SALES SALES SALES. It's NOT an insurance company. It's a sales company."

This would be why it is mandatory for us to fill out a sheet entitled, "Needs Analysis" with each and every sale - new or existing client. Last week we had a training day which included a two hour session on the importance on filling the sheet out correctly.

And a little food for thought -- if we were 100% focused on sales, then we wouldn't visit clients who were 70 and over because we CANNOT sell to them. We still stop by and review there coverage with them. In fact, just to use company material, which I know you love dearly, essential number 7 isn't just "sell," it's also, "service." However, we, as agents, do focus somewhat on sales, seen as how our occupation is salesman..........

Have yourself a good one, sure to hear from you soon

Ryan

Sorry that you had some unethical managers. I do appreciate how you said "Combined Calgary," rather than just Combined. However, I'm sure that's still generalizing, because you had a bad experience with one group of silly people. There are plenty of terrific managers out there, and, most certainly, EVEN in Calgary. When you go for an interview with us, interview the manager - ask him or her what you want to know and they should explain to you exactly what the job entails. I've been with the company for probably eight months or so and have been told some misleading things. This has made me come to the realization that the people who work for the company join the other 99.99% of the population, and are in fact not perfect - I know, very shocking, isn't it? There are "bad apples" here, as with everywhere else. I'm proud to say that everyone in my immediate team isn't part of the group of "bad apples," BUT, sad to say, neither are part of the 0.01% of perfect people.

As far as the career goes, it's great. I've signed up a few people who've already had to claim and it's great knowing that you're making a difference. One guy my manager and I signed up claimed some $6400 from a car accident...he was paying $16 a month for that. And I'll tell you what, the job is getting better each month. If you had stuck with it, you'll probably grow to love it




PS: I like this quote from you:
"Any insurance company should be focused on INSURANCE and MEETING NEEDS. This company is concerned with ONE thing and one thing ONLY: SALES SALES SALES. It's NOT an insurance company. It's a sales company."

This would be why it is mandatory for us to fill out a sheet entitled, "Needs Analysis" with each and every sale - new or existing client. Last week we had a training day which included a two hour session on the importance on filling the sheet out correctly.

And a little food for thought -- if we were 100% focused on sales, then we wouldn't visit clients who were 70 and over because we CANNOT sell to them. We still stop by and review there coverage with them. In fact, just to use company material, which I know you love dearly, essential number 7 isn't just "sell," it's also, "service." However, we, as agents, do focus somewhat on sales, seen as how our occupation is salesman..........

Have yourself a good one, sure to hear from you soon

Ryan

"this compnay has been successful ninety years"
"Work the system"
"PMA PMA PMA!!!"
"Have fun at walmart"
"I'm happy! I'm healthy! I'm terrific!"
does EVERY Combined person talk the EXACT SAME?
They NEVER paid for ANY of their hotel. Not where I was from anyway. "It's up to you" they said. HAHAHA.
"You are up at 6 am to go to 8 am morning meetings to sing songs and chant absolutely ridiculous sayings!! "
EXACTLY! It's a cult. And NOBODY is happy. NOBODY. And the drunks there are many. MANY people in the company were

constantly slurring and completely drunk when I called them at nighttime. Like my sales manager, and another one of the

people there. No names.
It's a multi-level marketer, with kind of a cult-like environment. Everyone speaks the same, and everyone who defends the

company here speaks the same too. "PMA! Blah blah! You can't handle it can you? its all your fault. blah blah. Have fun at

walmart you get what you put in. Mr. Stone says this! Mr. Stone says that! Read self help books! Pep talks! Blah blah. its not a job

its a career. People who dont like it / leave are ppl who are lazy who dont like to work. this company has been successful for blah

blah"
it's ALWAYS the SAME RESPONSE. PMA. PMA. PMA. HA
Combined Insurance DID NOT invent PMA. nor did mr. stone. in fact, positive thinking has been something people have been

discussing for centuries and centuries.
Do you REALLY want to get older and older, reach your fifties and STILL have your ENTIRE career about that stupid joke,

Combined shuffle and "I BELIEVE THIS WILL INTEREST YOU ALSO" and "HOW IS YOUR PMA?"
It's really haunting and quite frankly, scary how cult-like this is.
"I sent my child to college through the COMBINED SHUFFLE! and that JOKE! and I BELIEVE THIS WILL INTEREST YOU

ALSO!"
It's all a sham.
People who have been working there for 10 years all drive beat up cars and can't afford lunch...and they pretend the residuals pay

lots of money?
NO. They use lies to get people in the door. They have UNETHICAL selling practices. And EVERYONE there is POOR. Our

meetings are held at Tim Horton's. EVERYONE drives a CRAPPY car. And everyone's car is a complete PIGSTY. There is NO

CLASS in this company at all. All low-class individuals who use profanity on a day-to-day basis.
and everyone is brainwashed. and once u start? they wont let u leave. you see, it's like a pyramid, because managers have lots of

pressure to keep you working under them.

"this compnay has been successful ninety years"
"Work the system"
"PMA PMA PMA!!!"
"Have fun at walmart"
"I'm happy! I'm healthy! I'm terrific!"
does EVERY Combined person talk the EXACT SAME?
They NEVER paid for ANY of their hotel. Not where I was from anyway. "It's up to you" they said. HAHAHA.
"You are up at 6 am to go to 8 am morning meetings to sing songs and chant absolutely ridiculous sayings!! "
EXACTLY! It's a cult. And NOBODY is happy. NOBODY. And the drunks there are many. MANY people in the company were

constantly slurring and completely drunk when I called them at nighttime. Like my sales manager, and another one of the

people there. No names.
It's a multi-level marketer, with kind of a cult-like environment. Everyone speaks the same, and everyone who defends the

company here speaks the same too. "PMA! Blah blah! You can't handle it can you? its all your fault. blah blah. Have fun at

walmart you get what you put in. Mr. Stone says this! Mr. Stone says that! Read self help books! Pep talks! Blah blah. its not a job

its a career. People who dont like it / leave are ppl who are lazy who dont like to work. this company has been successful for blah

blah"
it's ALWAYS the SAME RESPONSE. PMA. PMA. PMA. HA
Combined Insurance DID NOT invent PMA. nor did mr. stone. in fact, positive thinking has been something people have been

discussing for centuries and centuries.
Do you REALLY want to get older and older, reach your fifties and STILL have your ENTIRE career about that stupid joke,

Combined shuffle and "I BELIEVE THIS WILL INTEREST YOU ALSO" and "HOW IS YOUR PMA?"
It's really haunting and quite frankly, scary how cult-like this is.
"I sent my child to college through the COMBINED SHUFFLE! and that JOKE! and I BELIEVE THIS WILL INTEREST YOU

ALSO!"
It's all a sham.
People who have been working there for 10 years all drive beat up cars and can't afford lunch...and they pretend the residuals pay

lots of money?
NO. They use lies to get people in the door. They have UNETHICAL selling practices. And EVERYONE there is POOR. Our

meetings are held at Tim Horton's. EVERYONE drives a CRAPPY car. And everyone's car is a complete PIGSTY. There is NO

CLASS in this company at all. All low-class individuals who use profanity on a day-to-day basis.
and everyone is brainwashed. and once u start? they wont let u leave. you see, it's like a pyramid, because managers have lots of

pressure to keep you working under them.

"this compnay has been successful ninety years"
"Work the system"
"PMA PMA PMA!!!"
"Have fun at walmart"
"I'm happy! I'm healthy! I'm terrific!"
does EVERY Combined person talk the EXACT SAME?
They NEVER paid for ANY of their hotel. Not where I was from anyway. "It's up to you" they said. HAHAHA.
"You are up at 6 am to go to 8 am morning meetings to sing songs and chant absolutely ridiculous sayings!! "
EXACTLY! It's a cult. And NOBODY is happy. NOBODY. And the drunks there are many. MANY people in the company were

constantly slurring and completely drunk when I called them at nighttime. Like my sales manager, and another one of the

people there. No names.
It's a multi-level marketer, with kind of a cult-like environment. Everyone speaks the same, and everyone who defends the

company here speaks the same too. "PMA! Blah blah! You can't handle it can you? its all your fault. blah blah. Have fun at

walmart you get what you put in. Mr. Stone says this! Mr. Stone says that! Read self help books! Pep talks! Blah blah. its not a job

its a career. People who dont like it / leave are ppl who are lazy who dont like to work. this company has been successful for blah

blah"
it's ALWAYS the SAME RESPONSE. PMA. PMA. PMA. HA
Combined Insurance DID NOT invent PMA. nor did mr. stone. in fact, positive thinking has been something people have been

discussing for centuries and centuries.
Do you REALLY want to get older and older, reach your fifties and STILL have your ENTIRE career about that stupid joke,

Combined shuffle and "I BELIEVE THIS WILL INTEREST YOU ALSO" and "HOW IS YOUR PMA?"
It's really haunting and quite frankly, scary how cult-like this is.
"I sent my child to college through the COMBINED SHUFFLE! and that JOKE! and I BELIEVE THIS WILL INTEREST YOU

ALSO!"
It's all a sham.
People who have been working there for 10 years all drive beat up cars and can't afford lunch...and they pretend the residuals pay

lots of money?
NO. They use lies to get people in the door. They have UNETHICAL selling practices. And EVERYONE there is POOR. Our

meetings are held at Tim Horton's. EVERYONE drives a CRAPPY car. And everyone's car is a complete PIGSTY. There is NO

CLASS in this company at all. All low-class individuals who use profanity on a day-to-day basis.
and everyone is brainwashed. and once u start? they wont let u leave. you see, it's like a pyramid, because managers have lots of

pressure to keep you working under them.

"this compnay has been successful ninety years"
"Work the system"
"PMA PMA PMA!!!"
"Have fun at walmart"
"I'm happy! I'm healthy! I'm terrific!"
does EVERY Combined person talk the EXACT SAME?
They NEVER paid for ANY of their hotel. Not where I was from anyway. "It's up to you" they said. HAHAHA.
"You are up at 6 am to go to 8 am morning meetings to sing songs and chant absolutely ridiculous sayings!! "
EXACTLY! It's a cult. And NOBODY is happy. NOBODY. And the drunks there are many. MANY people in the company were

constantly slurring and completely drunk when I called them at nighttime. Like my sales manager, and another one of the

people there. No names.
It's a multi-level marketer, with kind of a cult-like environment. Everyone speaks the same, and everyone who defends the

company here speaks the same too. "PMA! Blah blah! You can't handle it can you? its all your fault. blah blah. Have fun at

walmart you get what you put in. Mr. Stone says this! Mr. Stone says that! Read self help books! Pep talks! Blah blah. its not a job

its a career. People who dont like it / leave are ppl who are lazy who dont like to work. this company has been successful for blah

blah"
it's ALWAYS the SAME RESPONSE. PMA. PMA. PMA. HA
Combined Insurance DID NOT invent PMA. nor did mr. stone. in fact, positive thinking has been something people have been

discussing for centuries and centuries.
Do you REALLY want to get older and older, reach your fifties and STILL have your ENTIRE career about that stupid joke,

Combined shuffle and "I BELIEVE THIS WILL INTEREST YOU ALSO" and "HOW IS YOUR PMA?"
It's really haunting and quite frankly, scary how cult-like this is.
"I sent my child to college through the COMBINED SHUFFLE! and that JOKE! and I BELIEVE THIS WILL INTEREST YOU

ALSO!"
It's all a sham.
People who have been working there for 10 years all drive beat up cars and can't afford lunch...and they pretend the residuals pay

lots of money?
NO. They use lies to get people in the door. They have UNETHICAL selling practices. And EVERYONE there is POOR. Our

meetings are held at Tim Horton's. EVERYONE drives a CRAPPY car. And everyone's car is a complete PIGSTY. There is NO

CLASS in this company at all. All low-class individuals who use profanity on a day-to-day basis.
and everyone is brainwashed. and once u start? they wont let u leave. you see, it's like a pyramid, because managers have lots of

pressure to keep you working under them.