Sometimes agents forget NAAFA’s history when they are quick to criticize. It’s hard for some of you to even know what we are talking about because you weren’t around when NAAFA started. Back in the mid-eighties, American Family agents were beginning to see subtle changes in how the company treated them. Before the early eighties, agents were made to feel that they were an essential part of American Family’s success. They were praised, known by their first names by corporate officers, rewarded, thanked, and always welcomed with open arms. Agents were proud to work for a company that had good rates, a company publicly known for outstanding claims service, a company respected by most, and a company they were proud to work for. But under new management, agents soon saw themselves being treated more and more like employees in that they experienced more and more control. Agents no longer felt welcome at the home office as in the “olden” days where the CEO’s door was always open. Agents were presented with a new contract with new restrictions and tighter rules. Agents experienced the first commission cut in the history of American Family.
After NAAFA was organized (and shortly thereafter, incorporated in 1994), its officers took these concerns to heart. Some tried to fight for changes in state laws such as the law in
All this time, the names of NAAFA’s Board of Directors were made public. NAAFA published a very formal magazine called The Agents’ Voice. Agents seemed proud to be a part of an organization that was making a dent, making a difference. Or was it?
In about 1995, AmFam unexpectedly terminated the contracts of a large number of NAAFA’s Board members. The President and Secretary plus several others were terminated without notice for supposedly ‘committing acts that were detrimental to the company.’ In other words, these agents were terminated for complaining. It appeared to NAAFA that the company would rather shut these people up than work on the problems really facing the company. Some allege it appears that same attitude exists today. Through the years, these problems seem to have only gotten worse and this realization weighs very heavily on the hearts of NAAFA’s Boards. NAAFA cannot ask agents to risk everything they have by publicly exposing that they are on one of the NAAFA Boards. It is for this reason that NAAFA does not publish the names of our NAAFA Boards nor expose our membership list.
So how are your alleged inequities going to be dealt with? That’s a big question and one that NAAFA cannot answer. NAAFA's goal is not to recommend but to provide a safe sounding board for agents to say how they feel. Agents must remember that in
You will probably come to the same conclusion the NAAFA Boards have come to. And that is, we can safely accomplish the most by keeping you informed. Knowledge is power, as the saying goes. Many, many troubled agents call NAAFA Headquarters, and their questions are passed on to other more experienced members or they are referred to professionals who can help them.
Agents tell us they feel degraded when the company refers to them as independent contractors who are agency owners when, in fact, they are forced to accept the company’s control methods, unreasonable production requirements, and endless threats. We want you to know that NAAFA is here to support both the captive agent theory as well as the truly independent agency theory. Our goal is to represent you as you take a stand for fairness and independent rights no matter which agency philosophy you have chosen.
NAAFA, Inc. is here for YOU!