insurance agent

entry level manager

benefit specialist

sales producer

agency owner

American National Insurance

I worked for ANPAC for 2 years in the Springfield Office - I was hired with 10 others in my position - 18 month later there were only 2 of us left.

The pay is decent for Springfield, but not for the industry, management cant structure quick enough to keep up with the changes the company is making, and the work load is unmanageable - even by insurance industry standards.

The company works to retain employees, lots of incentive programs - company activities, morale boosters, but even that cant help the hemorrhaging of staff. 

The leadership nor the trainers have ever  worked in the current operating system and have no clue how to do even the simplest of tasks, after weeks of training I was LITERALLY told by senior peers AND my direct supervisor that training was entirely irrelevant.

My peers were great - the consensus from everyone I worked with is they will change companies ASAP - of my 15 closest peers, I don't know of anyone who wasn't keeping an active resume. 


something else unnerving is their willingness to terminate employees without notice or apparent cause. I know there's always 2 sides to every story, but when work load slows down and they get caught up (in the late winter and early fall) you can count on several terminations  some were clearly not doing well, most appeared to be doing VERY well After speaking to all of them - they all had the same story about the firing process - called to HR unexpectedly at the beginning of the work day, and a manager met them there with their belongings thrown into a box - when asked why were told  "wasn't meeting expectations" when asked for specifics - were told could elaborate - that's unnerving 

I wouldn't recommend this company to anyone unless they are going into sales or marketing - stay away from ANYTHING to do with claims.

Be prepared to take on additional responsibilities without recognition or pay.  You are not compensated for what you know or the work you complete once hired. The company gives horrible annual raises that do not take cost of living into account and benefits aren't great.  Company no longer offers a pension and recently reduced 401k contributions.  Employees are not valued as senior management thrives on profits.  If you're looking for incentives such as bonus, then you will be disappointed. New employees make significantly more than long term employees and do not have the skills to perform their job functions.  In some instances, new employees lack the desire to learn. Tenured employees are forced to supervise new employees that are hired for a lesser role, yet the new employees make more than the supervisor in many instances. Most employees are looking for a paycheck and put minimal effort in as they are simply there to get a paycheck.  Many department heads do whatever they please with no regard to ethical standards that the company promotes. The company covers up ethical claims when reported as well.  Some managers micromanage employees and punish those who have legitimate illnesses and use PTO days, while others call in sick a couple of times per week due to hangover or lack of desire to surround themselves with negative culture. Be prepared for high school drama and gossip within your department as every department has this issue.  When management gets bored, often times they target innocent employees to entertain themselves.  Complete abuse of power is found throughout the company.  If you value yourself and are ethical, then this is not the company you want to work at!

It was a normal programming job for the most part. Compensation was a little below average (I think mostly due to location). Management was exceptional. Work life balance was pretty good overall (being in IT, you will occasionally have some long weekends for deployments, or bad on call rotations, but that is not unusual to American National).

The company is still undergoing some slow culture shifts as it continues to adjust to being under Brookfields insurance arm, but for the most part from my vantage point (and as somebody that wasn't there during the old days)...those changes seem to make a decent amount of sense. 

There is a sense that leadership cares about the buisness and is willing to make investments to help expand and improve it. I did not get the impression that Brookfield was doing a "buy them out and bleed them dry" strategy, and I think their continued expansion in insurance since the acquisition is further confirmation of their long term orientation with respect to being American Nationals' parent company. 

The buisness was growing and our numbers were positive while I was there. So the outlook was mostly good.

They have also done a lot to try and make the company more attractive for talent, including just for example by working to get rid of HR red tape with respect to things like compensation, and opening an office in downtown Houston. 

My coworkers were also fantastic and the IT infrastructure teams were all very helpful and supportive. It did not feel overly siloed, but it also did not feel so small that people were wearing too many hats. It's about the perfect size of org in my opinion.


They provide a lot of training and pay for insurance designations. Work week is 37.5 hours. Co-workers and direct managers are great to work with.

However, changes are being made that make the job harder and less appealing. 

The workload is too high. Team members have been leaving and are not being replaced. It's starting to feel like rats jumping ship. Upper management is unconcerned with all the experienced employees leaving. 

Raises have a long history of being terrible. Upper management will tell you that there are good years and bad years. But in 10+ years, raises have capped out at 3.5% for high performers. Average is closer to 2.5%.

Return to office was handled in the worst way possible. They introduced 50% hybrid and the CEO explicitly said they were not building to a full-time return to office. Then 2 weeks later, they announced full-time RTO.

Culture was used as the reason for RTO but the culture is lacking and they do not invest the effort to improve it. Associate Underwriters are constantly taking calls from people who are frustrated with changes and taking it out on us low level employees. Everyone sits in separate cubicles and we don't have time to socialize or team build. Weekly team meetings were reduced to make time for more work. 

The computer systems are incredibly frustrating. The new systems were not tested enough before roll out and every time CTS breaks things with updates, the associates have to deal with the calls and cleanup. Even basic programs like Outlook freeze almost every time you click on it.


A typical work day includes checking the computer to find out which information is missing and who I need to follow-up with.  Contacting clients for forms or missing information.  Contacting potential clients, prospecting and marketing.  Meet at clients or prospects home in the evening to gather information or present insurance proposal.  I learned a lot about finding clients problems or needs and figuring out a way to resolve problems or fill the need.  I really enjoy working with the management,  They are always so eager to help me and to do joint appointments.  I hired several secretaries and enjoyed working with them.  I also associate with a lot of good agents within the company on a regular basis.  I have become acquainted with a lot of good agents who work for American National throughout the U.S.  The hardest parts of the job are;maintaining all client information, keeping up on all property and casualty documentation etc., time management, and underwriters.  The most enjoyable part of the job is meeting with prospects and clients.  I enjoy walking away from a home knowing that a client is satisfied with their home, auto, or life insurance policy.  I find a lot of satisfaction knowing that a client has coverage or feels a sense of security in a life insurance policy.  I really enjoy meeting new people, spending time with other agents, and helping clients.

Amazing co-workers and some schedule flexibility. The company has also been responsive during COVID and maintained jobs - while other companies were laying off employees. A lot of this company’s loyalty comes from family-like teams that want to help each other succeed. Not because of the boss - but because of the people. The company has some pretty amazing managers, but some don't care about the company values and degrade their team. I've had 6 bosses over the years and the current boss is probably the worst. Very reactive, constantly putting team members against each other and will tell you if you don't like how she leads, you should quit - even when you've been an exceeds expectations for 3-4 years as an employee. But even after an employee survey that displayed low scores from an entire team- no action was taken for developing this manager. Unfortunately, it's a gamble making sure you are employed under a leader that invests in you - rather than only looking out for themself. This is why so many people have left and will continue to leave the company. Other than that, the only other negative is the benefits. Not the best. But fellow employees and some senior leaders are what get people to stay, even when they're miserable. Loyalty is strong and people just keep wishing HR will one day take action on the leaders that are holding the company back. 

A great company with immense financial security. The daily function begins with preparation of the number of clients to assigned on your log sheet that either are in arrears of monthly insurance premium and need to be contacted to avoid a late payment; lapse and cancellation of insurance. Reminder phone calls, lapse letters and going in person to determine if there are any problems facing the client to determine a number of options available to the agent. Payment arrangements can be made; premium loans and be negotiated and alternative dates can be set-up to assist client in meeting their premiums payment to avoid a cancellation of their insurance policy. Meetings are usually a part of the daily operations.

I learned to be very punctual, accurate, definitive and render judgment in bot the interest of the clients and the company. Meeting goals is a cardinal aspect of the job and overall performance to the highest is a required obligation.

Management of the individual self person is a direct and necessary ingredient that makes you as an agent function appropriately and accurately. Management of clients, company equipment and organizing oneself makes a lot of difference in making your daily goals highly achievable.

Great and helpful co-workers

The hardest part of the job is when you are not organized.

The most enjoyable part of the job is when you are organized.

You get what you put into. The only way to make good money here is to be a manager, as an agent youre mostly screwed. You have to collect monthly premiums from clients while using your own personal vehicle; you get no money for gas and if your car fails, too bad, find a way to fix it on your own time with your own money. The commissions are kinda not bad considering you have to sell the plans that are cheaper for the clients if you want to get the sale. That being said, if you do sell those plans; you will earn significantly less by doing so. The plans that give you a bonus are way higher price for the client, so you mostly have to sell the cheap ones to get the sale meanwhile making less money. Also theres a lot favoritism, its unbearable. The managers pick and chose who they want to give sales to, who can get away with doing things other would not, who gets promoted and hired. The stress this job gives you is beyond belief, the higher ups are always on your behind to get sales and collect. Dont let any policies lapse on you because they (management) will get mad and you can clearly see it in them. Regardless of why, its always the agents fault. The managers force the agent to put premius out of the agents own pocket to avoid a lapse. Its horrible. This company is good for the consumer; but to work here and make it, you have to kiss a lot of behind and be willing to bend over backwards for a company that thinks of agents as replaceable stock. Those are some of the reason why theres a lot of 

What is the best part of working at the company?
I think that the future of the company is on a great path, as far as what they stand for and how the actual owners care for the cause.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful part about working for the company is the management they have in place. My department in particular was an absolute disaster. They make work life balance impossible. I have children, and when they were sick, they would advise for me to hire a baby sitter through an online service. Recommending that I have a complete stranger care for my sick kid so that I can come into work is absurd. Also, I was always ahead.. I worked not only my job, but helped others with their work loads. Even after all of the hard work I put in, if I needed to use my PTO, it was the end of the world. They would even ask me why I needed to take PTO.. wanting emails documenting why I was taking my personal time, which I believe is none of their business to begin with. At the end of my employment there, I was in absolute tears every day going to work because it was hard to endure the bullying in the office. I am not the only one in the department who dealt with this or felt this way. My only option was to quit because I couldn't take the anxiety and depression it caused me anymore. The company really needs to see that they have capable management and supervision in place. There is no reason adults should be mean to other adults.

First and foremost, ANPAC does not pay fair market rates.  You can, however, get in the door there and get good experience to take with you somewhere else.  I held several positions during my time there and each one was underpaid for the level of work that was expected.   

Human resources controls everything at this company, to include salary increases and reviews.  They are out of touch with what really goes on day-to-day so it results in a very poor experience.  The employee appreciation lunch, they make you pay $1.00!  How does that say we appreciate you?  

Salary increases are based on arbitrary time in a position rather than performance.  If you haven't been in your position for the allotted amount of time you can expect a "merit" increase less than cost of living adjustments (my last one was around 2%).

Management would be marked higher because there are pockets of really good managers.  However, most of the managers are very insecure and over their heads in terms of ability and training.  As a result any high performing team members that don't "toe the line" get ushered out really quickly.  Job stability here (especially in the underwriting areas) is non-existent.  High performers are let go everyday for seemingly no reason and low performers are retained because they do what they are told and don't have any independent thoughts.

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