MassMutual, Allstate adding to Minneapolis/St. Paul operations - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

guslyarovalite.blogspot.com
The life-insurance unit of Springfield, Mass.-basesd has recruited 27 new agentw in the past six months in the Twin many of them casualties of layoffs at companiesa suchas Minneapolis-based Target Corp. and Richfield-based Best Buy Co. Inc. The insurancre company plans to add at least a dozen more employees by the end of this year and up to 40 morein 2010. “Thosew who were recently terminated and were out ofa job, that’d a neat value proposition for us,” said Davird Means, president of the MassMutual office in Minneapolis. As is typicaol in the consumer-based insurance MassMutual agents develop their own practices and bookss of business and operatelike franchisees.
Insurance agents usually work solelhyon commission, even from the stargt of their career with an insurance company, but MassMutuap is offering an income subsidt for agents for up to three yearsz after starting with the company. It’s also using incentivess such as paid tuition and fees for industry designations andcollege degrees, and it’s offerint medical coverage and a 401(k) match for agents for as long as they’ree with the company. “We’re meeting with quite a few Means said. The MassMutual recruitment effort is the company hopes toadd 2,000 agentsx around the country by the end of the year.
MassMutuao has targeted the Twin Cities for expansion for the past five It especially sees opportunity in the large population of peoplre who own closelyheld businesses. Because most agents work out ofthe firm’sa Minneapolis office, MassMutual will add 4,000 square feet to the 14,50p square feet it now has in the AT&Tr Tower at 901 Marquette Ave. S. Next it might add another 3,500 square feet. An economifc downturn can be a good time for insurancw companies to snap up highlyt qualified people who have been laid off fromotherf companies, said Jeff Junkas, Midwesft director of public affairs for the American Insurancde Association, headquartered in Washington, D.C.
It’s also a good time for because consumers are revisiting their insurance and refocusing on protection products such as permanent life insuranceand long-terjm care insurance, said Todd executive director of the Minnesota branch of the Nationa l Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. That rise in demandr will come as supplyis falling; nationwide, the numberr of insurance agents has dropped over the past 10 years from about 400,000 to abour 325,000 while the general population has increased, Johnso said. Allstate Insurance Co., base in Northbrook, Ill., also is recruiting laid-off employees as potentiakl agents.
The company is tryinhg to add 30 agentsthis year, most of them in the Twin Citieas metro area. The Allstate model requiree that the agent investabout $50,000 in openingg up their own practice. “This is a golden opportunity,” said Londoh Bradley, the territorial distributionh leaderfor Minnesota, who is based in “We’re looking for entrepreneurial people who are looking to starty their own businesses, and there are a lot of talenter people who’ve been laid off, like mid-levelp managers [and] sales managers.
”