I am writing to express my gratitude to all that have written in regarding IPA. I recently applied for a sales position there having no knowledge of how insurance sales work - shame on me!! The truth is the invitation to interview stated nothing more than 'Account Executive' so I arrived at the interview thinking it was an admin position. Please look closely at the initial comments regarding this company. I called a VP (to cancel an interview) and confronted him with some of the facts I found most credible. Primarily, paying nearly $350.00 up front for an insurance licence when the state doesn't require nearly that much. Any applicant for a new job deserves free training and if after that, they decide to move forward, you take the exam, send in your scores and applicaion for licensure. The company you work for should have no interest in this, as they are not paying for any of it. There was a lot of Huumming and Hawwing and he (the VP) finally decided that 'You are clearly not the competent person who we interviewed and are not the type we want working for us!' WOW!! When I was a naive newcomer to sales with no information about who they were or state standards I was a 'Premier' candidate!! - GO FIGURE!! PLEASE BE CAREFUL. I know a lot of people go with them and make a lot of money. How they make their money is what I wonder about. As a customer of ABBA I am very concerned and looking at other healthcare insurance options as now I doubt the credibility of the entire organization. (Please note that IAC is NOT endorsed by the BBB and that their stock has had a steady decline for that past six monts.)

This "company" solicits you by saying they want to interview you for a job, when in fact they are going to try to sell you on their company. There is no one-on-one interview like any normal company would conduct. I was in a room with 10 other people for about 3 hours listening to their pitch. I should have walked out when I realized it wasn't a legitimate interview like they insinuated it would be. What a waste of time... And they say "you only have to close 5 sales a week to make 100K. Well, if each closed sale is an insurance policy of approximately $300/month that would equal $72, 000 per year the company brings in from those sales. They aren't going to give you the 72K. Most sales commissions are between 10-20% if you're lucky. That would leave you, even at the 20% rate, with $14, 400 before taxes. Stay clear of this SCAM!

I too got an email from Independent Producers of America for a job interview with Rick Banville, Regional Vice President. I am glad I googled the name and checked this company out. I am looking for an honest job that does not require $285.00 or any kind of money up front. Anyway, I never worked as an "Account Executive" or had any kind of position like that. I am strictly a clerical/secretarial worker and expect the company to pay me, not me pay them! Glad for the info, I will avoid this scam and look for honest work.

IPA's recruiting practices are criminal! I should know - I helped design them -

I have sat idly by and remained silent as we encouraged Regionals to lie and put more people in financial ruin - if you have found this board after interviewing with IPA - then you need to ask 2 very simple questions that will determine if the Region you inteviewed with was lying to you:

1) Is my PAYCHECK a LOAN that I pay interest on and have to repay the company?

2) What was your 1099 income last year?

I am a National Vice President for IPA - there is not one sigle Regional who has made over $120, 000 with this company - and I see the pay checks. In fact, most Regionals can barely pay their own bills, and the income they earn comes from recruiting (the $285 fee you are charged when you are contracted). Most Regional income is from recruiting, not Insurance sales.

Ask the Regional who interviewed you what their DUE COMPANY is (the amount they have to repay the company) and if they tell you the truth - you will be shocked. On average - a Regional will owe over $150, 000 plus interest to IPA. A good agent can expect a Due company of over $40, 000 after their first year - meaning you will owe everything IPA "advanced" you - plus a compounding 1.25% interest per month - that is 17% per year (or credit card debt).

I helped create an environmnt where agents could earn a living, but I am telling you that it won't happen - I have to do what I do on a daily basis to pay the bills - and I am stuck in a CAPTIVE agent contract that would cost me HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS TO LEAVE!

Keep your money - look for work elsewhere - if you want to be involved with insurance, pick a name brand company that can outlast the next few years - the economy is too harsh for a new company like IPA to succeed - we are overpriced (because we just don't have enough business) and our product portfolio is too small.

Good Luck!

Mark Hunt
National VP, IPA
http://thinkihc.com/ipa/videos/MarkHunt.html

They have moved their scam from Florida to Denver. Do not attend their interview scam.