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Guarding America Established by Hugo Wesendonck in 1850 under the moniker Germania Life Insurance, The Guardian still looms as one of the largest insurance providers in the country. In its former incarnation, The Guardian was intended to serve the insurance needs of the burgeoning German American community. With the United States on the brink of the Civil War, it seemed that the country needed insurance more than ever. The company thrived while other insurers foundered, and by the 1870s Germania had expanded to Europe and South America. Soon half of its business generated from Europe. However, the advent of World War I curtailed the company's contact with its German business. This break with the Vaterland, coupled with anti-German sentiment in the United States, put pressure on the insurer to change its name, and in 1917 it became Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. Guardian established its first subsidiary in 1969, Guardian Investor Services, and its second, Guardian Insurance & Annuity, in 1971. In 1989 it began handling pension funds under Guardian Asset Management. In 1993 Guardian joined Private Health Care Systems, Inc. and moved into managed care, and in 1995 embarked on a joint marketing venture with Physicians Health Services, an HMO. At the end of 1995, The Guardian's investment portfolio was estimated at $9.7 billion and sales were up 1.6 percent from the previous year. In addition, Guardian is now one of the top group life, disability, and dental providers. In 1996 Arthur Ferrara resigned as CEO and handed over his scepter to Joseph Sargent. That year Guardian proved that there was no irony in the company's name by awarding its policyholders its largest dividend ever - $236 million. Growing power There are two parts to Guardian's merger and acquisition strategy: financial and strategic. On the financial side, the acquisition of a block of pre-need/final expense business from Allianz Life Insurance in February 2000 was an investment with a targeted return. Strategy acqusitions include Fiduciary Insurance Company, as well as First Commonwealth of Chicago, a dental HMO, both in early 2000. This growth has made Guardian the second largest disability benefit law (DBL) provider in New York with $33.7 million in business and the fourth largest mutual life insurance company in the country. Guardian also recently realized the power of the Internet in fueling business transactions. The company recently purchased BlueGill Technology's electronic document exchange software to aid in cutomer satisfaction and loyalty programs. The purchase also signals that the insurance industry is finally trying to catch up with banks and brokerages in their use of the Internet as a transaction medium. The insurance industry trails brokerages in adopting Web-based services by an estimated 18 months. Guardian does not expect the venture to turn a profit any time soon, but the company is more interested in establishing Internet services to its customers.
Guardian claims that there has never been a better time to be a Guardian Field Representative. Guardian also promises that a motivated and productive representative will make "a lot of money." The company seeks a strong academic and extracurricular record with emphasis on community involvement. Before faxing a resume, call or click on "Contact Us" on its web site for more information.
Agents at Guardian are self-actualized. They make their own hours and, based on their commissions, income is "virtually unlimited." Guardian employees are constantly trying to improve sales, as the company "measures commitment by results." Employees in the marketing, training, technical, and recruiting divisions are salaried. A Field Representative at Guardian has to be able to pitch a hard sell and take rejection, since getting started is difficult. Although no previous experience in insurance is necessary, it helps to have contacts when you start to avoid making "cold calls." The training program is described as "wonderful" and "an excellent program." What makes a good agent? According to those in the field, being "social," "upbeat," and "creative," and someone who "understands the value of whole life insurance." "Agents are encouraged to join country clubs and learn to play golf" as a means of drumming up new business. One agent listed discount memberships to country clubs and getting to travel to insurance conventions as perks. The corporate culture at The Guardian is "conservative;" business attire is usually required and the average age hovers somewhere around the thirties and forties. Attitudes towards diversity are less than progressive: minority employees often work within "their own" and say they "feel they can trust their own kind." The one thing respondents have in common is a zealous commitment to sales and a strong interest in the insurance business. The main perk, it seems, is the security of working for a top-rated, financially thriving corporation, since security is what insurance is all about.
Douglas C. Kramer Human Resources
Individual Life Insurance;Pensions;Group Disability;Dental Insurance
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