Complaint Review: Primerica - Joliet Illinois

Stuart is correct. There is a HUGE difference between a Division of a company and a wholly owned subsidiary. A subsidiary is it seperate entity. The owner can let it go belly up if they choose to.....just like American Express let its insurance subsidiary go belly up (the former E.F. Hutton Life) and just like Florida Progress let MidContinent Life go belly up. By the way, its worthy to note that A.M. Best, Moodys and Standard & Poor's had both copmpanies very highly rated right up to within a week or two of their demise. MidContinent was not only rated 'A+' by AM Best, they even had the rare and coveted 'A' rating from Weiss. Thanks for the compliment Stuart!

Hello Leroy, I love your posts as they're very educational. In regards to the relationship between Primerica (Crimerica) and Citigroup, it's frequently misrepresented that Primerica is a division of Citigroup when the actual relationship is that of being Citigroup's subsidiary (I just doublechecked their website a minute ago). This is important because if they wera a division (and they're not), then Citigroup would be responsible for backing up Primerica. Keep posting please.

First of all...yes, primerica is a DIVISION of Citigroup. That means Citigroup has absolutely no legal obligation to stand behind any product primerica sells if primerica runs into financial difficulties. To imply that it does, as so many newbie PFS agents do, is unethical. To recruit using Citigroup's name as an inducement is also unethical in my opinion. Citigroup could sell primerica tomorrow and the recruit will no have no connection whatsoever to them.......which again in my opinion is a good thing for the person considering Citigroup's horrible ethical reputation. Citigroup doesn't want to help people to reduce debt. If they did they wouldn't send out tons of inducements to increase debt in their credit card division. They wouldn't send out convenience checks unsolicited with each credit card statement, or send out 2-3 offers for low introductory rates every month to the same address. Citgroup wants to cross sell. Thats why they bought primerica. They want to increase your debt with the credit card, insure your life to cover the debt, offer refinancing to provide you with a reason to roll your consumer debt into your home, and then sell you mutual funds as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Wiser investment choices?????? I won't get into they buy-term-invest-the-rest argument with you. I agree its a great way to go for the majority of families. However, wiser investment choices doesn't include inducing someone to roll consumer debt into a variable interest ARMs and putting that person's house at grave risk if % rates go up while home values go down, (which we will see in the next few years). Wise investment choices do not include home loans with higher points, costs fees and interest rates clouded with smoke and mirrior payment plans designed to keep the consumer from focusing on the higher costs of the loan. Finally, if you think its a wonderful opportunity to work hard and build a business with all I can tell you is there are at least 6 other national agencies out there that will let you build an army of agents beneath you and pay both you and your agents a heckuva lot more in commissions form the very first policy you sell. In the meantime your clients will pay a lot less for their term insurance and a lot less for their home loans, leaving them with a LOT more to invest.

Stacey, I beg to differ with your opinion of Primerica. There are many aspects of Primerica which I find appalling, and I'll point out a few. They misrepresent themselves. Calls from Primerica reps often suggest that they are looking for actual employees, when in reality they are looking for commission-only 1099 representatives. If they were so sure of their business opportunities, why wouldn't they represent themselves as such from the beginning? Primerica representives are the most poorly trained in the business. Managing finances for others isn't a cookie cutter business. Primerica seems to think it is. Their representatives are the most uneducated in the industry. Personally I don't care how many initials a person has behind their name, but I have come to understand that those initials often are earned through increased understanding. I have had my personal finances "evaluated" by a Primerica representative, and it was a joke. Thinking I had just gotten a rogue agent, I had my finances "re-evaluated" by another rep. Neither could answer my questions. My suggestion when someone asks me about Primerica is to take their money and buy a good personal finance book at the local bookstore.

Stacey, Why would someone offering someone else a job that makes $200-300,000 a year have to work somewhere else?! Based on the NUMEROUS other reports on this site, I don't believe Stephanie misrepresented Primerica at all.

Stephanie, I feel that Primerica has been strongly misrepresented by your comment. Primerica is a real company, and truly a division of citigroup, that is out there to help middle class families reduce debt, make wiser investment choices and help families acheive financial goals. They receive many clients through referral, so this may be how this particular representative got your information. As most companies do, Primerica checks the "do not call" list, before contacting anyone by telephone. Primerica gives the opportunity to start your own business, which makes your earning potential limitless. If you are willing to work really hard, you can make a lot of money, but there are no guarantees. Owning your own business allows you the option of where you would like to work from. Thus, the person you spoke with on the phone, could have been calling from another place of employment, that very well may import/export goods. I hope this information is helpful to those who view it, and gives a better understanding to how this company operates. See for yourself. Visit www.primerica.com Thank you.