American Income Life Insurance review: scam! thanks everyone! 33

I worked for this company 2 years ago. I WAS THE PERSON WHO CALLED PEOPLE AND TOLD THEM TO COME IN FOR AN INTERVIEW!. THIS IS A SCAM (unless you're a licensed insurance agent)!
I worked here for 8 months, and in that time I saw how corrupt and horrible this company is. They have a call center of people calling you to come in for an interview (that you did NOT apply for), and they convince you to come in and sit with a Insurance Sales Agent manager who tries to get you to take state standardized test to become a licensed agent. If you do not have a car, they will tell you that you came for nothing and are not right for the position because it is an OUTSIDE SALES Insurance Agent. The ### a**hole owner of this agency, Bob, is a [censored] bag who, in a company meeting, compared working at his agency to working at Wal-Mart because of the pay and treatment. There is no HR. The "HR" is the receptionist, who is also the book keeper, who is also the manager of the call center, who is also Bob's personal assistant. She does not know how to handle HR issues. Several of us, including me, approached her about a white female worker who was going around calling all the black workers "ni*****". She found no issue with saying this to us, and was emotionally unstable and cried everyday if someone wouldn't agree with her on the phone. HR did nothing when approached by employees (there were 7 total employees in the call center, do the math). The day I quit, the owner Bob, promoted this racist child (her first job) over others who were more qualified and had managerial experience because she LOOKED the part. THOSE WERE THEIR EXACT WORDS. If I could give this place 0 stars, I would. The worst job I have ever had in my life, and the job was lying to people on the phone saying this was an opportunity. I was telemarketing numbers that were given to me with a script for them to come in. There are no morals in this place. They even convince people who don't have a car to come in for an interview, even though they know they won't give them a job because they're commissioned on having people come in. People take the train from Chicago to the office (1-2 hours including bus ride that only comes every 45 minutes), only to find out they got their hopes up for no reason. When people come in, and they tell them since they don't have a car they won't have this job unless they can get a car. This place is full of lies, snakes, and extremely deceitful. They thrive off of it. IF SOMEONE CALLS YOU INTO HERE FOR AN INTERVIEW, PLEASE BE AWARE, THEY WANT YOU TO HAVE A CAR AND WANT YOU TO TAKE 2 TESTS TO BECOME A LICENSED INSURANCE AGENT. They even have a presentation they show you about how much money you can make, which is complete BS. STAY CLEAR OF THIS AGENCY. The other agencies under American Income life have a better way of working and I would definitely recommend the Indiana office and all others in the area. I have had contact with a few and interacted. This office is the only one that is literally a snake in the grass. I heard Bob saying he wanted to be better than the other offices and will do whatever it takes to be better. The only reason I waited 2 years to write this review is because this place was such a horrible place to work and I needed to cleanse myself of this establishment. Kudos to the Indiana office for keeping their office and work environment up-front and clean. They hire for the same Outside Sales Insurance Sales position, however, they tell you up front and are honest from the get-go. The Bob Olson agency will lie to you at every bend they get to beat other offices.

Well this companies scam is getting more and more sophisticated. They called my husband last week who is an employed Project Manager for a family owned Roofing and Construction company. They claimed they got his resume from Career Builder. They gave him the same script that people listed above. They actually told him they work with union contracts and builders. But where very vague about the job description. After we got online and did some research we ran across this site. He just got off the phone after canceling the appointment. I am in sales. I understand 100% commission jobs and what you need to do to be successful. However, if you can't state up front clearly and precisely what it is your company does, then you are not a legitimate business and will always be considered a scam no matter how successful you become because your methods are deceptive. Thank God for this site. My husband would have taken a day off of work, to go to this interview.

AIL is still at it! Just got a call this morning stating they saw my resume on line and wanted to invite to me an interview on SATURDAY morning! Was told the position consisted of driving to UNION MEMBERS locations to drop of renegotiated contracts. No cold calling or selling involved. Decided to do some research on the company and ran across this thread! Thanks a bunch for the feedback. Will NOT be attending the interview after reading all the comments about the company.

On August 16, 2012, I received a phone call from a "Jennifer" (no last name) who indicated that she is with American Insurance. The company is based in Woodridge, IL. The phone number I was given is [protected], ext. 501. No-last name "Jennifer" indicated that "Richard" (no last name was provided either) saw my resume on Monster, and Richard was interested in interviewing me. No specific position was provided. I called the number to ask about "the position" since I wanted to know. She was very evasive. I got the impression that this was nothing more than a glorified "sales" job and nothing more. After several attempts, I finally got the answer "sales" -- I was right on target. I am a pharmaceutical professional, so I thought "how odd" that they would be interested in my credentials. In the end, I said "No, thank you. I am not interested. Good-bye." I do not know if this is a scam or not. I do not know if this is pyramid scheme or a ponzi scheme. The one thing I do know is that I don't want to work for American Income Insurance Company. Sales jobs are a dime a dozen.

Appears AI is still doing business in Woodridge. I just got a call that fits the description others have posted, totally out of the blue. Gal told me I'd only have to come into the office twice a week then suggested a day & time for an inteview ("Dress professionally and bring a fresh resume." Like I'd come to an interview with anything less?) which, after reading previous posts, is NOT gonna happen. Waste of time & gas to drive 75 minutes one-way only to walk out laughing after maybe 10 minutes.

There may be folks willing to work on comission for an outfit like this one but I'd be the first to admit I don't count myself among such a select group of scammers thankyouverymuch.

Wow I guess because the high and might Erika_Leigh said so it must be true. Shut the f*** up you lying ###! AIL is a joke of a company and I can say this because I actually worked there. Also, not all sales positions are solely commission based. I earn a salary and I am in sales. AIL tells you what you want to hear in hopes that they can get you to agree to the position. Each time someone gets hired there the manager who hired them gets paid a hiring bonus. Additionally, no respectable company has new employee training sessions every two weeks. Why is that, you ask? Because 80% of the people they hire don't make it out of training because they realize what a joke this is. If you love being ### on by superiors in meetings, driving to appointments in very dangerous neighborhoods in Chicago, having to pay for everything without being reimbursed, and having absolutely no life, then AIL is for you! Even the gas allowance that they promise you when you interview is not given to you until you "bonus" three straight weeks in a row and can be taken away from you if you do not bonus for one week. Bonusing is selling at least $1100 ALP per week, which is a pretty lofty expectation if you have seen the leads they give you. Also, this is not soft sales. You make your appointments based off the guise that you are really going there to give these people a free "discount card" or their free "union benefits" (which is nothing more than a $3000 AD&D policy), or a free child safety kid. Once you open the laptop and start talking about insurance, these folks usually ask you to leave. Not to mention most of these people don't have the education or income to afford one of the overpriced whole life policies that AIL has to offer.
Also, did I mention that AIL never teaches you about the insurance aspect of the business during training? How can one sell a product if they have no product knowledge?! These people lack every bit of professionalism that they want you to think they have. If you want to know more about how despicable this company is please feel free to email me or send me a comment. I would like to get the word out to local media about the sham that is AIL and would love to hear from other former employees. I have plenty of dirt on this place from my dealings with them and would love to take them down a peg. Don't believe the hype -- AIL is a sham that preys on people that are too stupid to know better.

okay. first off. I know people who work in the insurance industry for 30+ years. They confirm this is not a scam. Look up what a scam is. If it was a company that hired you and you never got paid, had to "invest" money into them, then they disappear...that is a scam. Clearly they are not a fly by night company so that puts that to rest. They do pay you but it's not a salary or hourly wage. It's sales, if you don't like sales don't do it. Also, it's time Americans take responsibility for themselves, you bunch of whiny self entitled lazy people. Life insurance and what they sell isn't a scam and if you can't afford it or don't know what you need then it's up to YOU the consumer to do your research. Just like all those people who took out loans because the banks told them they could afford it and gave them loans way over what the person could afford. That's the banks fault. Banks are scams. Take responsibility for your own life and when the bank tells you they can give you a loan for x amount and you know you only make about 20, 000 a year, guess what you DON'T TAKE THE FRIGGING LOAN OUT [censored]. It's not the banks job to look out for you. It's YOUR job to look out for you and not try to live above your means. If you can't afford life insurance. Don't buy it, but don't blame someone else for trying to sell it to you.

OK, first off, I want to say that I actually did work for this crap-bag, dishonest company. I have read the posts on here by the AIL marketing folks that are trying to defend their name and everything they are spewing was complete garbage. First off, they give you leads that are mostly non-English speaking, or people who don't make very much money. When I worked for these clowns, 90% of my appointments were in a bad area or the West Side of Chicago. Not to mention, the MGA at the time, Mandus Buckle, was a complete egomaniacal narcissist. I was very pleased to find out that this guy was later fired for sexual harassment. They also make you bring your own laptop or purchase one if you don't have it and none of it is reimbursed to you if you get let go. From day one, I was fed nothing but [censored] by a bunch of [censored]ers! STAY AWAY FROM AIL!

I also recived a phone call from AIL today morning. The caller told that the work is something related to union dues calculation etc.. I asked about the position title and she told me that a kind of representative . Because I have a finance back groud, I asked whether this work has any connection with finance dept and she told me, no . She told me that they will give traing and you do not need any experience. From her answers itself I doubted that this may be a scam. Again I aked about the salry range and she told me 60000+. wow 60000 + for a customer reprasentative? ! . That's why i serched in the internet to have a background check . Thanks for the comments and the informations. AIL is 100% scam .Dont waste your time and gas money . Good luck

Thanks All for the informative postings! I too got the "call" from an HR rep saying the regional HR director saw my resume posted and wanted to set up an interview. I told the rep I would call her back because I wanted to research how far of a commute it would be for me. Thank God I found this site.

I had an interview today and just like everyone else came across this site. I am so happy I found this site, but one thing I can say that gave me a red flag is that I asked the lady if this was a commission, hourly or salary base position, she said she did not know but knew I would make up to 65, 000 my first year. Now, how is it that you don't know how I would be getting paid but you know how much money I would make by the end of the year hmmmm. So I went ahead anyway and ASKED HER for an interview she said, how is tommorrow at 10? Wow im thinking how quick was that, a little to easy. I decline of course thank goodness I found this site, if I never found this site i would be there now wasting my time.

P.S. I worked in the "phone room" with these two ladies who are HR. All they do all day is contact people about interviews...yet another red flag I ignored. I've never known a place that has two full time employees dedicated to calling about interviews...all day long, and reading off of a script. SO very weird.

I was employed by this joke of a company. Was hired on as a phone setter. I was told that I would be making $9 an hour PLUS bonuses ($10 for every deal one of my agents would close). I even have the original craigslist posting saved, which says it all right there. Anyway, I worked for these [censor]s for a week, through a blizzard, making calls on my personal cell phone during said blizzard. I was told that the first week, there was a learning curve and all of that. Turns out, not so much. Was "talked to" once about my numbers not being high enough (they wanted 15 appointments made a day, no excuses) and said that if my numbers didn't improve, I'd be put to part time. THEN, the next week, after I had been there only one week mind you, I was told that if my numbers weren't met, I would not be paid $9 per hour, but paid $5 per appointment set. That wasn't working for me, so after I took a minute to think about it, I went back in the manager's office and quit. He proceeded to pull out a PERSONAL CHECKING ACCOUNT checkbook, asked me how many appointments I made in the week I worked. I knew immediately something wasn't right, but then waited till he handed me the check. $125 for a 40 hour week. Time spent away from my daughter. Time I'll never get back. Time I could have been still looking for a job. Gas money I'll never get back, which is hard to come by when your UNEMPLOYED! I argued with him for awhile, and eventually knew I wasn't getting anywhere. These people are MASTER manipulators and try to brainwash you the minute you start working there.

So I get in my car and look at the check and notice a few things about it. First of all, again, it was from a personal checking account. The check #was in the hundreds, which usually means it's a new account. Second thing, there was no phone # listed and the address wasn't the address of the office, but an apartment. Third, the date was written wrong (it's 2011, not 2010). I took it to a currency exchange immediately, because I was afraid that a stop payment would be done or that it would bounce.

I am absolutely SICK to my stomach that I put in 40 hours to this place. I honestly feel like I was taken in a back alley by someone I was supposed to trust, and repeatedly sodomized over and over again.

Bottom line, DO NOT let this man take advantage of you. He will NOT pay you, they will LIE to you, saying you'll be put on a dialer. NOT happening. And they will want you to work for less than half of minimum wage.

I just received a call from the lady in their HR Department. She pretty much said everything that everyone on here had already said. I would be meeting with their Regional Manager Bob Olsen, Bring a copy of my resume and dress professionally. I asked if it was a full time position and she almost seemed surprised that I asked a question and told me that it was fulltime flexible.
When she read me the address I thought that it sounded familiar and that they had called me before...when I looked it up online I found this website...for the 2nd time. I knew it sounded familiar.
I won 't be going to my scheduled interview...1) I do think that it is a scam 2) Even if it isn't a scam, I will not work solely on commission..I have a family and commission is like gambling at whether or not you will receive a paycheck. No thanks!
Good Luck to all on your job hunting!

OMG, I just got done talking to an AIL representative offering me a job. They make sound so professional when they call you, I'm so glad that i found this site. I won't be wasting my morning going to that interview!

Hi, my name is Frank. I personally was in the top 50 of all Agents nationwide. I received awesome bonus checks, great commission checks & knew 1st hand what it took to sell the products offered. This is a 100% commission job but can be very rewarding if you put in the time and effort to learn about the business. Not to mention the residual income you will start to receive after 8 months of continuously writing buisness, 4-8% of your ALP. You will be 100% vested after 10 years and as long as you keep writing buisness, your renewal checks continue to grow. I know agents and Managers making $3k $4k $7, 000 a month in residual income alone there. I left thinking the grass was greener elsewhere, but it's not. You will file a 1099, all commissions are paid to you 100%, you get alot of deductions when you file your taxes. People do not plan to fail, but fail to plan. Be patient, learn, and American Income can be extremely rewarding for some, not all. This takes very good people skills, communication, etc. And the Sales are soft sales, not hard selling. 1st year agents who can make 6 sales a week can take home $1000+. & managing agents can make some very big bucks. Like they say, don't knock it until you try it & 1st hand see a paycheck in your hands. If it isn't for you, just move on.

Just received the same 'usual' phone call. Trying to get me to head to Woodridge, IL. which is nowhere near where I currently live. I say I don't want to drive that far for work. She says, "we have offices near you." She doesn't even know where I live, by the way. I ask what the pay scale is... she says it's confidential and only the regional director knows. If she truly is in HR, she WILL know the pay scale! I ask if it is commission... she says there's no cold-calling. I ask if it is salary. She bypasses the question again. I'm about to lose it at this point. Regardless of what the pay is, these agents should have no problem telling us that its a commission job. I lie and say I'll see them at the appointment.

As for the people who are bragging about how great AIL is... anyone can work there, ANYONE! There are zero requirements that you need to meet. No degree necessary, no past experience necessary... just speak English and be 18 years or older.

This is a contract position in which you will take on all costs. Travel, Cell Phone Usage, Gas, etc. Any REAL company reimburses you for these things or provide you with them. Unfortunately there are plenty of gullible people out there that will continue giving this place a 'shot'. People need to stop fueling the fire.

OH, and if you do decide to take this job, enjoy filing your taxes next year.

WORLD ESTATE GROUP, Yeah, stay away from these guys. They are a total scam. And to all of those who love American Income Life, you do know that they are not an actual insurance company that is recognized by the American Insurance and Casualty Group. If people give them their money, they are not guaranteed to receive benefits during their time of actual need. If you go to the web link below, it lists all of the Nationally recognized Insurance Agencies and Groups. American Income Life is not listed. So you can listen to Jim and Stephanie, who mind you are also a part of this on-going scam, and go onto web sites like this to try and sway people from the true nature of their business. But the reality is that this company is "NOT" a national recognized insurance company, but more of a door-to-door salesmen's scam. They offer no benefits and use scare tactics to try and influence their customers, who are mostly blue collar workers, limited education (highest grade completed is 8th grade or 2nd year High School).

You can confirm this information for yourself, by going to the link below and typing in Insurance Companies

http://wikimediafoundation.org

DON'T LET JIM AND STEPHANIE TRICK YOU INTO THEIR SCAM.

Wow! Thank you so much. I was contacted by this company on Friday, May 15. They offered me a position as a Benefits Representative, with a starting salary of 60, 000 a year. I called back to speak with a Mr. Robert Olson, and was asked by the operator "Why did I want to speak with him?" I informed her that I was interviewing with him on Tuesday, and simply had a few questions regarding the position, hours, pay scale, etc, and was directed to speak with a "No Named" person in HR.

I called back to question the allegations waged by this website, and was also hung up on by the rep. I called back and asked to speak with someone in their legal department, and was placed on hold for about five minutes or so, when the Director of HR, again, "No Name", returned and informed me "that the members of the legal department were all in meetings". How often have we heard that before?

Another company to watch out for is called World Estate Group. They ask for your bank account information, so that they can set up direct deposits for your payroll, then transfer or attempt to transfer money from your account to an over-seas account--through Chase Bank. I was able to stop them and report them to our local state government, but they are still out there.

Good luck to everyone looking for a job. Stay encouraged.

Like everyone else, I received a phone call to set up an interview with AIL yesterday. I heard the same script, "Bring two resumes, dress professionally, and I'll send you an email with your appointment information, website link, and video about the company."

Being newly unemployed, even I knew that a legitimate HR department doesn't set up interviews in this matter. After hearing this scripted spiel that everyone else had mentioned above, I found it odd that a professional company would have to remind interviewees to bring resumes, dress professionally, and send out an appointment reminder. Not to mention during the initial phone call I wasn't asked anything about my background, my skills, or my interest in this "unknown" position. I wasn't told what the position was with the company, nor was I asked how I could directly benefit AIL (aren't all employers looking to find employees that have the skills and experience to make an immediate impact on the position the company is offering?).

With all that being said, I did my own research and stumbled across this website (and several others) informing potential AIL interviewers about this company. I quickly canceled my interview this morning.

THANK YOU for saving me time at this interview so I could continue my search for an actual job position.

I totally agree with mjd. Stephanie just own up to it hun you know you're ###in your manager all over your desk! What are you getting a raise for tryin to convince people that your company is #1? I'm sorry hunny but what is your position title? I'm a mother and I bet my IQ is higher than yours. So why don't you stop tryin to put up an argument knowing you're going to loose and go back to suckin your managers dick!

Wow I received a call to come to an AIL interview. After reading all these postings i will not be wasting my morning there.I also agree with Mjd only some one that happy about working for a company like that has to be putting in some extra hours! Also jim is a ###

To AILstephanie,

So are you also sleeping with your managers? No one can be that thrilled by working for AIL unless your getting some action from the higher ups. And if you're at an Altig agency I'm betting you are. But I digress.

AIL is ranked #33 because they paid to be there and that site also considers the number of job postings on internet sites. The more postings AIL has on Hot Jobs, Monster, Yahoo etc, the higher they ascend on the list. No other reason other than their ability to fill up people's spam folders is the reason they are #33. But hey, you're happy about that so goes to show how ignorant of the actual facts you are.
They are not rated "A+ Superior" either. S&P and Moody's just downgraded them again because, and get this, HIGH agency turnover. Something I'm sure you will be experiencing in the not too distant future. I am glad you didn't try to lay on any crap about Torchmark being a Fortune 500 company though. Seeing as how they've never been one. Although I'm positive they keep telling you they are.

All the best.

Wow Stephanie, sounds like you drank the kool-aid. I received an email from AIL saying that my phone number was lost when I submitted my resume. When I looked back to my detailed list of all companies I had applied to, I saw that I had never applied for a position at AIL. Then two days later I received a phone call from "Juanita" asking me to call for an interview. Guess, they found my number. If the company were legitimate, why would they resort to lying about receiving an application in order to get people to set up an interview? It is completely unethical to prey on the 8%+ of us that are unemployed and looking for real jobs. And that would be jobs that don't pay minimum wage, Jim, but professional positions.

I forgot to say that AIL is ranked #33 on the list for all companies to work for. You should really meet one of the many families AIL helps. They all love AIL. And those families who have had a member pass away, you better believe AIL paid them their full amounts of coverage. You people really need to get a grip and find something else to do. A.M. Best rated American Income Life ''A+ Superior'' for claim-paying ability, operating performance, and overall financial strength. Beat that!

Wow! You guys probably wouldn't have gotten hired! AIL is a great company not to mention employer. Like Jim said up there, you can work your hourly job or stay unemployed if you want. If you like clocking in and out, working 40 hours a week for minimum wage- stay away from AIL! But if you like being your own boss, setting your own schedule, helping to protect families, and making oh I don't know... over 50k a year- go to your AIL interview dressed professionally with 2 crisp new resumes! The reason why there are so many complaints is probably because the person they heard the site from got an interview and wasn't hired. AIL only hires the best of the best for the best insurance company to work for. Scratch that, AIL is the #1 insurance company to work for in North America. Go check out yahoo's hot jobs list. You guys are really missing out. I love working for AIL. I get to do the greatest things; help families in times of need. And by helping to protect those families, I help myself, not with just the thought of doing it, but by making money.

Wow! I also received "the call" today asking me to go to an interview, dress professionaly and bring resumes. Thank God for the Internet and Thank God I've been thought at school to do my research on the companies I am going to interview. Thank you all for saving me the time of going to this interview!

This site was so helpful. I too, received an email stating that they reviewed my resume and i was a good fit for their company. I found it very odd that i did not receive a phone call from a rep to schedule an interview, instead I was sent an email letting me know that there was an opening available for the next morning which i was already expected to be at. That was the first red flag for me!

I previously had set up an interview with the company but the day before I had an emergency that I had to tend to so I missed my interview. I did not call and let the rep know what was going on at all and when she called me I did not answer the phone. Now with being considered why would the company still be interested in hiring me. That was the second red flag!

It only took me two red flags for me to decide that I would not waste my time attending an interview. This is for Jim who is a few comments ahead. Being unemployed has nothing to do with being lazy, if it did I would not have taken time out to research the company before I attended the interview, and i would also not take time to post my resume if I didnt want to find a job. The individuals that you know that work for the company must one of the many idiot "managers" that watse my time with the scam. You should be ashamed that of yourself for judging others who are not as fortunate as you to have a nice career. Or do you trulyu have a career? With the way things look for this company you may be putting all your hard work into this "career" just to find out in the long run that it is a scam! I hope this company gets shut down and hopefully you have saved up enough of money from scamming people to still be able to provide for your family. Or maybe you will have to join the rest of us lazy unemployed individuals.

Thank you all for submitting your comments. I had an interview scheduled for today, but after reading how American Income is just a BIG scam, I just called and canceled.

Funny Jim, you like to make a living selling scams to people? I'd rather be lazy than be a ### taking food from the mouths of families in need.

I had a phone message from "Tiffany" of American Income tonight just as I came home from being laid off from my longtime job as a newspaper editor -- they axed all the newspapers in our group. It took me several playbacks to even get the company name. Made the call; she returned my call and said the VP wanted to interview me. I asked if they saw my background. As others said, they were vague in the job info. Set up an appointment for 10 a.m. Monday and she e-mailed the info, including the "dress professionally" and "bring a new resume (Duh), directions and a link to a video, which immediately made me suspicious.
Research took me here, confirmed my suspicions. Next step, Cancel the interview.
Gawd, I love the Internet!

i know several people who have wonderful jobs with this company and have made lots of money the problem is most unemployed people are unemployed for a reason from what i can see here is laziness. all great jobs and incomes take work and time most people a just looking for that easy check paid hourly not by the work they do or bring in. LAZY LAZY LAZY. I dont know about the rest of you but i earn more by not having someone tell me how much i can make but by me setting the pace . there isnt an hourly job out there that pays as well as these jobs and i use to be a vp for a union contractor.
and if you dont want the job stop complaining and go find a different one. no one is making you take this job or go to this interview. AIL has been around a long long time so they must be doing something right.

Hello!

I also got the scripted call this morning to "dress professionally - because they are a professional company and have clients coming in and out of their office all day long" and to bring "two resumes". Also I was told that they are a Forbes Fortune 500 Company and I would fit "one of the positions they have open", but no indication as to what positions those were. I did set up an interview, but thanks to this
site I called and cancelled it.

Thanks!