customer service representative

sales producer

insurance agent

agency owner

agency manager

Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance

I have been with Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance now for half a year.  Working there is great.  I have set hours, an hour lunch, great work-life balance, and have learned A LOT in my short time there.  There is a reason a lot of the employees I work with have been there for 10+ years.

If you have never worked in insurance before, have no fear: they have a great training program.  I was paired with another customer service rep for over 3 months before I ever spent a day on my own.  They have a two-year training plan and stick to it.  You get sent to school (on their time and money) and spend time checking in with you. They pay for you to get licensed and take classes.  I had no prior experience with insurance and I feel confident when speaking with clients after 6 months because of their extensive training.  

If you work in any position outside of claims and being an agent, there is really no way to work from home, so they force you to have a good work-life balance.  It feels great to be able to leave my work at work and not bring it home.  

Management really just depends on who you get dealt with.  My manager is great but I have heard horror stories about others.  I love the company's CEO, but I find some of the other executives questionable.  

The most rewarding part of my job is dealing with the customers and my co-workers.  I LOVE GOING TO WORK.  My co-workers immediately made me feel at home and the customers a real treat.  You occasionally get that one that is not happy, but that's been a rarity for me.  

The hardest part of the job is technology.  I will not lie: Indiana Farm Bureau insurance really is years behind when it comes to technology.  You will have CONSTANT computer problems and I find myself apologizing to customers constantly.  The higher-ups say they are working on it, but I have yet to see significant improvements.  It really is sad how bad computers are.  They are constantly flickering, frozen, or something is wrong. 

The other tough part of the job is compensation.   Customer Service reps and Marketing Associates are grossly underpaid.  For all that they have to put up with and do for agents, they need to be compensated better.  I was offered $29,000 a year starting pay.  I was able to negotiate to $30,500 but even then, I feel underpaid.

Overall, however, working for Farm Bureau is great.  I wouldn't trade my time there for anywhere else!

Horrible management with no direction.  Managers just want you to sell more and more life insurance because that is how they get their bonuses.  Management does not care about taking care of clients or Home and Auto sales.  Life insurance is their main concern. Management does not care about you as a person but instead looks at you as a number ie what his sales are. Management is also not qualified to manage and many have never been in a management position but are promoted to management. This shows as they are inept at dealing with people, office problems or their ability to lead. Company tries to write commercial business but really does not want it because they feel the risk is high.  This makes it very difficult to compete with other carriers.  Farm Bureau also has a membership fee which many complain about and do not want to pay. The cost is $32.50 annually and it does hamper sales. The other agents are good but many will try and take business from each other.  CSR/secretaries make your day awful.  I know some very good ones that do their jobs but I had some very lazy ones. They would take forever to process apps, shop online, be rude to clients etc.

Typical day for an agent involves meeting with current and prospective clients for new business and reviewing current coverages, answering billing questions and handling client inquires as it relates to insurance and financial matters. Flexible schedule and great work-life balance are one of the benefits of the position even though some clients will want to meet in the evening or even on weekends. Co-workers are great though some are easier work with than others. Management is very good for the most part and there are a lot of training opportunities provided by the company. The pressure for life production is intense and if you are not producing you will not have job-security even if you have been with the company for 30+ years. Most enjoyable part of the job is meeting people and the relationships that you will build with them. Hardest part of the job will be balancing the service needs of your current clients while hitting production goals for new business.

I would characterize it as a version of workplace heaven.  There are a great many people here who have been here for more than twenty years who do not have a clue what an amazing place this is. This place has one of the best retirement plans I have ever heard of.  There are yearly incentive goals tied to bonuses.  This past year, all employees received a 20% bonus.  Prior year was 18% and the year before was 9%.  They provide such things as free fruit daily.  Unlimited coffee complete with 4 kinds of name brand creamer.  Eight different choices of tea.  Free ice.  Free filtered water.   Free workout room complete with full time instructor offering free yoga classes and more, including showers.  You are able to tailor your work hours around working out.  There are completely adjustable desks, adjustable monitors, adjustable chairs, treadmills complete with computer hook ups and much, much more!!  I have never experienced a place close to this!  It is my very strong desire to remain here permanently.  Unfortunately, my position is temporary and comes with no guarantees of permanent employment.

As an IT Internal Auditor for the company I get to interact with a lot of individuals and teams on a daily basis to help better the functionality of all the technological applications within the company. With the new agile environment in place, every desk is open and people can sit wherever they want and are easily found and seen throughout the day which leads to more conversations than your typical small talk when you see someone in the hallway. Everyone seems really open and nice and is always willing to help. The hardest part of the job in my case is waiting on people's emails because they have their own jobs they have to attend to on top of what I send from them. It is great that our company's infrastructure is so secure, but makes my job a lot harder when trying to communicate with people that are busy for 90% of the work day.

I worked Monday - Friday 8am-5pm. The office was staffed with a manager, office coordinator, 4 csr's, 5 agents and 4 claims representatives.  I was assigned to 1 agent and kept his filing and any necessary work completed daily. 

Upon arriving, I signed onto the computer systems / phone system and started sorting the mail. I distributed mail to all agents, claims, csr's and manager.  I answered phones and waited on walk-in customers through-out the day.  I took payments and helped with any customer concerns, including billing, claims and writing new policies.  

The hardest part of the job, was when I couldn't help someone.  I don't like transferring a client, if I can do it myself.  

The most enjoyable part was working with people and helping them.  When I left, several clients hugged me and told me how much they would miss me.   

I learned that people like to have good customer service. Also, you can make the angriest person calmer, just by listening and understanding.

Company has been around for a long time.  Good with supporting the community.  Very customer focused.  Good work life balance. Can be slow at making changes especially with work at home and technology.  They provide decent benefits but PTO and sick time need updated.  Lots of tenured employees which can support old school mentality.  

Company uses a number of third party vendors when some of the work can be done in house.  Managers are usually promoted from within whether they have leadership skills or not.  And, there was no opportunity for their team to provide feedback on their work.  Very important to fit in.


Clean and attractive working environment. Good technology.
Software systems can be outdated at times.
Many projects start, but follow through, expecially in training is lackluster.
Middle management is promoted from within based on tenure, not in skill set on managing diverse staff.
They attempt to seem family-friendly but the conservative culture means there is not much space to be yourself.
At one point I had several managers giving me direction and none of them communicated as to my role. Roles changed several times over the years.
They under-utlized my educational background and skill set.
Not an "idea" friendly environment- get told "no" alot.
Management is either too hands off or super micromanages.
Management is gossipy and judgemental.
Job development programs are discussed, plans made, but follow through is minimal as far as additional on the job education or outside opportunities.

What is the best part of working at the company?
You always get the weekend off.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Your job is to be yelled at. And if you don't meet absurd quotas, your manager will micromanage you into the ground. And if you're not an agent, you're treated like you're disposable. At least that was my experience.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
But good. The management where I worked was very much like highschool cool kids and people got excluded from advancement if they weren't friends with certain managers. If you aren't one of the cool kids, you don't really matter.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
A typical day is being blamed at for others' mistakes, by the clientele and management alike.

You must be willing to use the phone, social media, and any other form of communication consistently to gain new business. It is very tough to get people to switch insurance companies. There is constant pressure to call, text, or message your family and friends. Door knocking (or hitting the pavement) is also highly suggested when starting in insurance. You will be told no...A LOT! You have to let it role off your shoulders and move on to the next one. It can be a very rewarding career, but you have to be willing to work a lot of hours outside of the office to make it work. They want you to sell life insurance and if you are unable to do so, you probably won't be there very long. Insurance is a TOUGH business, but if you put in the work and perform well, you will be rewarded!

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Customer service representative 1 salary reported	$16.50 per hour
Sales producer 5 salaries reported	$53,000 per year
Insurance agent 1 salary reported	$62,235 per year
Agency owner 2 salaries reported	$87,500 per year
Agency manager 1 salary reported	$92,500 per year

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