Caveat: Primerica Financial Services ... * Rebuttal .. hard working people at Primerica

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*UPDATE: Primerica offers a good business opportunity & stands behind its products & services- - Company Executives have told Rip-Off Report that Primerica pledges to resolve complaints & address any inquires from the past, present & in the future.

I gave them the $200 I didn't really have to get started. I felt pressured from day one. At the very first meeting after the meeting the person who invited me was pressuring me into joining the company. Then when i told him that it all sounded good he was pressuring me into when i'd have the money. Now that I have been here int he company for a couple months I am slowly begining to realize that I don't like it. They tell you to set up appointments so you can be successfula nd that they work for you and you don't work for them. WRONG!!! In my opion they are crooks and it is a cult and they are only out to make themselves money and they don't care who they step on to get there. Their mission statement is to help people become debt free and financially independent well what about their employees? They take money from people that really don't have that money. It takes you forever to get the money you payed back in. You have to work for the money you gave them. Then when you don't do what they ask you to do or you have other priorities they don't like it all too well and start treating you like crap. Since when in any poisition do you have to help your boss get promoted. have you ever had your boss tell you " We need to get you promoted, because I can't get promoted until you get promoted. If I don't get promoted I won't be very happy!"

I was recruited to Primerica Financial Services in 1998, when I was in college, and was finance major at the time. Since then Ive graduated college and have became a well respected independent Financial Planner with several different companies. I am an independent producer and I sell whole life, universal life, and term insurance. The point is no company can effectively HELP everyone with a one-size fits all plan. Fortunately I never sold one Primerica plan. Unfortunately for Primerica I was not a puppet, their sales tactics raised several questions in my mind and I found the answers.

First of all no insurance company can sell a product in any state without being approved in that state. If product rates are a rip-off the product will not be approved for sale. Secondly, since most Primerica agents dont know it, term insurance pays almost the same and sometimes more commission the first year than a whole life policy. Term polices pay 80-110% commission where whole life policies pay 50-60% the first year. Even though the whole life policy is more expensive the agent usually doesnt profit by selling it over term. Third, Primericas term rates arent even that good! They have to increase rates just to pay all the people in the pyramid commissions. So Jeannie you could have bought 5 times the coverage if you would have bought your insurance with a competitive company, oh, and by the way, you would have made more money on the commission since you wouldnt have had to share it with the puppet masters above you. Fourth, term and invest the difference ignores the fact that some people might want insurance longer than thirty years. It also ignores the tax advantages of accumulating money in an insurance product I.E. tax-free income at retirement. Plus most insurance companies whole life products are paying 6-7% interest if you keep it more that ten years which requires a 7-8.5% return in a SAFE taxable investment to match it. You expect someone to keep their term policy ten years, if you would have held on to your whole life policy you would have found out how good it really was. Fifth, if Primerica agents would actually read the insurance licensing material rather than letting someone come in and brain wash them they would see that there is a reason for products other than term, it would be a shame to learn about split dollar, employee bonus, buy sells. In fact Primerica would fall apart if their agents took responsibility for their own actions and learned what they needed to know about our business. Their agents would find that they couldnt sell the products they should be selling in most situations because they dont even offer it.

I could go on and on, but in conclusion Primerica recruits insurance ignorant people to promote complicated products to make a corporate profit. No one cares how big a company is, and its been proven that several big companies are greedy and money hungry, for example Enron and WorldCom. If anyone wants some information on how to be a real financial planner just send me an e-mail.

I am disgusted by the name calling taking place on this website. In my opinion, it merely reiterates that you should "consider the source" when researching on the internet. My husband and I have been involved with Primerica for about six months now, and I am nothing short of impressed. Having entered into this with a great deal of skepticism, I am not 100 % convinced... yet.

However, I have just spent almost 2 hours reading comments made by very bitter, angry sounding people, and have this to say :

Yes, we did pay $199 up front. This money went to a background check (in my opinion, a worthy cause) and training and resources. We have since received $100 back for setting up 6 appointments (regardless of who bought what). We have also received $100 when my husband became the leader in non licensed premium sales. We will receive another $100 when he gets his license. My math actually puts us ahead of the game.

To all of those touting the phrase, "if it seems too good to be true, it's a scam", you're absolutely right.Take a closer look. Money is not made in PFS by sitting on your rear, waiting for it to find you. We work for every penny we make, and we work hard. PFS has not asked us to give up our day jobs, and we won't... not yet.

According to some, term insurance is a raw deal. Do the research, "bundled" whole life insurance contracts don't make sense. Those who sell them seem to think that you cannot have your cake and eat it, too. You die, the beneficiary is paid, and the so-called savings disappears. Cash it in, and you are paid far less than what you have put in, and now have a defunct policy. Either way, the company (and agent) has made it's money!

I have never once heard God, faith or any other religious message preached at a meeting. To be honest, I was a little taken aback by the applause and constant recognition for the team members, but perhaps it was because I was so used to my superiors berating their employees!

It is unfortunate that some feel taken advantage of by this company, when more often than not, misunderstanding and miscommunication is to blame. If you have questions, ask them. If it doesn't seem right, find out why. Never sign anything before understanding it completely. And for crying out loud, DO NOT give someone a voided cheque, until you know it's legit. We entered into this venture with our eyes wide open, and I don't think that we are alone in this. If everything does not work out, I am not going to run to a whistle-blower, and whine about how badly I was treated.

I am tired of ignorant people wasting their time (and others), "warning" the public of something they know nothing about. And to all the nay-sayers, keep your money in a "traditional" account, I'm going to help my family and friends laugh all the way from the bank to the beach.