By Brittany Glenn
Direct Selling News, February 2009
Primerica Financial Services Inc. $2.3 Billion
Type of Company: Private, subsidiary; Parent company, Citi (C – NYSE)
Number of Employees: 2,000
Number of Markets: Three
Revenue: $2.3 billion in revenue in 2007
Based in Duluth, Ga., private firm Primerica Financial Services – a subsidiary of public parent company Citi (C – NYSE) – boasts the largest salesforce in the financial services industry. There are approximately 100,000 licensed, independent Primerica representatives across the United States (including Puerto Rico), Canada and Spain.
For Primerica, the current credit crunch is a blessing in disguise, or maybe just a blessing. Primerica Co‑CEO John Addison is known for saying, “There might be a recession in America, but there’s no recession at Primerica.”
The numbers bear him out. “Through the first three quarters of last year, of the top 100 largest life insurance companies in the United States, 89 had a net decrease in their capital base,” Addison says. “Only 11 had an increase in their capital base, and the third largest capital base increase out of all the life insurance industry was Primerica Life at $120 million.”
At a time when layoffs and cutbacks are the rule not the exception, especially in the financial services industry, Primerica is investing in its future. “We’ve implemented a new bonus that’s very much aimed at licensing and building new people,” Addison says. “We’re making significant investments in our technology platform to make the recordkeeping for our independent contractors simpler.”
Addison expects these investments to pay dividends in the near‑term – and even in the midst of a recession. “Our model of building distribution weathers the storms that are going on in the world incredibly well,” he says. “Our goal is a 20 percent increase in recruiting, a 20 percent increase in licensing. While everybody else is focused on doing damage control, we’re going to go do some damage.”