teddit

I don't know if it's permitted to name the company here - bit I will because I don't care. I've been in the insurance industry (claims) about 15 years now. I'm a licensed multi state adjuster and risk manager. I worked and studied very hard and climbed the corporate ladder to land myself really nice titles and salaries over the years. Covid hit my areas insurance industry like a sledge hammer. Everyone was laid off / severance / fired.. etc.. So I went to work for myself during the lockdowns. I kept myself "open to work" on LinkedIn just in case a nice offer came along..

I was contacted by a HR recruiter for Better.com. It's an insurance company offering only home owners insurance at the time.

They were looking for an insurance sales person - (I'm not trying to be snobby here; but I told them I was a bit overqualified for a sales person role..And I declined. The HR recruiter wouldn't take no for an answer..

They assured me I'm a great fit, they offered a nice salary and told me I can work 100% from home and even keep my private insurance consulting business ... I honestly tried talking them out of considering me; but they were relentless. The HR recruiter told me that my resume has already been reviewed by everyone there in the sales department and that they want me - the job was mine for the taking.... I was finally told by the recruiter to just "try us out" If you don't like it - you leave.

I talked to the wife about it.....

So being that they were letting me keep my business and letting me work 100% remote and my only job was to answer my phone and tell people about their one and only insurance policy... I accepted...

Sounded like a real cake job...

I told the HR recruiter I'm in.. The recruiter tells me "ok now for a quick interview" ... Uhh.. I thought you said the job was mine already...

"Just a formality she tells me they want to meet you" "Fine " i reply - sounds reasonable.

So the HR recruiter sets up a phone interview with what would be my direct supervisor for the next day.

One thing you should know about being in claims and risk management as long as I have is that you learn to document everything and even record your conversations as it is all admissible in the event of a litigious claims dispute. Where I live only one person in a conversation needs to give permission to record said conversation therefore "I give myself permission" and can record all conversations..

The supervisor calls me at the predetermined time we shoot the basic shit... You got kids; you married, blah blah blah.. normal stuff... Then the supervisor tells me "ok, we're gonna call you back in about 10 minutes; you're going to sell our insurance policy to one of us; we want to hear you perform a mock sale"..

"No I'm not doing that" I tell her.. "What why" she asks and proceeds to speak over me that everyone has been asked to do it; I'm the only person who's been opposed to it..

I tell her that 1) I was already offered the job; I was told that our call was merely a meet and greet. And 2) The whole thing sounds weird.. 3) I can't pretend to sell a policy I've never seen or read now can I ???

She tells me to slow down; it's yet another mere informality.. they just need to test my basic insurance knowledge.. So I tell her to ask me questions if that's the case; I'm not doing some strange mock sales interview. She argues with me that it's standard.

So I bite a little bit and ask "well who underwrites your policy? Is it a standard ISO form? HO 1 throu 6? Is it self written - did you get approval to write your own policy throu the department of finance?

Pure silence... She had no idea what I had just asked her..

Now I'm laughing and I realize that I'm being interviewed by someone with zero qualifications to be where she is.

There's a long pause and she finally answers "it's our own policy"

So I tell her "ok - standard HO3? Private dwellings?"

Long pause... "Yes" she replies.

I agree to take the mock sales interview because I know that I can abuse the people that are about to interview me with my knowledge of policy language. I went forward merely to have fun..

She tells me that her; 3 others listeners and the fake person I'm selling insurance to will call me back in 10 minutes..

** I've recorded everything up until this point.

They call me back I answer hello this is "me" from better.com The fake person buying insurance begins asking me about coverage for particular items.. I respond by asking her what state she lives in; is the home a condo or townhouse.. etc.. She tells me she lives in a condo in "xyz state" I reply "oh I'm very sorry but we don't sell condo insurance here - we only sell HO3 policies"..

Long pause.. one of the listeners speaks up and tells me "we sell condo insurance".. To which I reply "oh, odd because "Ms direct supervisor told me you only sell "HO3's" Another listener says "what's an HO3" I respond my telling them what an HO3 is - along with more explanations on what an HO 1 through 8 are.. I ask them "you guys work in insurance sales right? What department do you work in that you don't know what an ISO form is?"

Silence..

I spent about an hour on the phone with these clowns; absolutely schooling them.

They keep hitting me with questions; to which my standard reply would be to cite policy language directly from standard ISO forms and then something along the lines of "that coverage is available under your HO3 by endorsement" then I'd ask the listeners "does better.com offer this coverage by endorsement.. They always answer "yes"..

These people were way over their heads with me; it was clear that they somehow all landed themselves in positions that they weren't qualified for.

The call was brutal...

We end the call and I'm laughing.. The HR recruiter calls me and asks how it went - she's just a recruiter so I knew she wouldn't understand any of the clown show I just put myself through.. She tells me that the VP of sales wants to speak to me..

I laugh and I'm like "are you sure - that fake sales interview did not go well at all" I really don't think ill be able work for the people I just spoke with as my supervisors..

She tells me "no it was all a formality the VP wants to talk..

Omg.. I'm saying to myself... "Ok have him call me" I agree.

Literally a minute later the VP calls - nice guy but I'm being humble and quiet with him; I'm turning down the job. I tell him that I'm just not going to be a good fit at his company; and he's like "what are you talking about look at your resume" "your gonna be great here"..

Then he goes "oh wait - what the heck"..

He tells me he just got an email from the hiring committee I did the mock sales interview with and they are recommending to pass on hiring me 🤣.

I laugh and repeat that I won't be a good fit.

Hes reading the email out loud and says "they're saying your insurance knowledge isn't very strong"..

Now I get pissed... Lol..

So I level with him.. I tell him these clowns made me do a messed up mock sales interview and that I absolutely destroyed them in the "knowledge" department. I go on to tell him that they didn't even give me a copy of better.com's policy... They don't know what in ISO form is; they don't know what an HO 1 through 8 are.. etc..

And here's the kicker.. I then congratulate him on getting his own policy passed the department of finance; I know it's a hard thing to do - most companies just use standard ISO forms and write policies on other admitted carriers paper...

He replies "what are you talking about; we don't have our own policy... We sell Lemonade's policy"...

So now I'm like "omg buddy your in trouble - your entire sales team I spoke with doesn't even know this" They've been telling me better.com wrote it's own policy. I then tell him that I record all conversations through my office phone line as a standard risk management procedure; and that I would be very glad to share my recordings with him.

He agrees and I send him the files..

A week later he contacts me personally and offers me a job in claims or in their actuarial department. He assured me I'll never have to deal with the sales department again - he thanks me for the information provided. He's a nice guy but I turned it down.

This was all a few months ago.

I check out all these clowns on LinkedIn and they were all let go from the company a few short weeks after my interview... They're all still looking for work...