Pros
I liked the idea of maintaining a Positive Mental Attitude. It's about maintaining a positive mindset so that you are prepared to have a successful day. The employee benefits were good - they provide medical insurance through Aetna (HMO & PPO were both available at the time) and decent PTO. The training for my position (Enhanced Customer Service Rep - ie: Internal Sales Agent) was substantial and they helped me to obtain my Life & Health Insurance licenses during this time. The Chicago office is in a perfect location (right on the Chicago River with a view of Navy Pier) and the office is beautiful (lots of windows, a beautiful lunch room, etc...). The Glenview office isn't as "pretty" but has an awesome cafeteria downstairs (with a great discount) and a positive culture. I enjoyed the values of the company - providing people with supplemental insurance policies designed to HELP when something goes wrong. They did promote opportunities for advancement & liking to promote from within but when jobs are posted, there is limited information on the requirements and I only found out during an interview that a law degree was required for an administrative position I was applying for when there wasn't even a suggestion on the job posting that it was preferred. Also, because management (this should really be in my Con section) was so restrictive, they tended to play "favorites" and block many from promotion opportunities. While I have a few complaints (listed below), overall, I like the company itself and what it stands for.
Cons
There is a MAJOR disconnect between the Glenview, IL and Chicago, IL corporate offices. In Chicago, the office I was employed at, employees were pretty disgruntled because of the micro-managing, negative attitude, and lack of additional training and support. In the call center areas, if you take a bathroom break, you are monitored and if you take too long or are having a bad day & take too many bathroom breaks, you will get written up. Here, you are simply a number. In the Glenview office, things are much more relaxed. Dress code is less enforced, people are happy to be there, and even in the call center areas, there is a little flexibility and compassion if you need to make an adjustment (like taking a bathroom break), they don't care. It is also important to note that because we still have field sales agents (door-to-door sales), there is not a good monitoring system for them & no way to make sure that they are following all rules and regulations. In my department, we had quite a few complaints about field agents who replaced policies (against company policy and outside of legal regulations), scammed a policy holder, or were just rude and inconsiderate.