Brooke Corp. Under Investigation

The nation’s 22nd largest distributor of homeowners and auto insurance has been under fire recently for its rapid growth. Brooke Corp. was founded by Robert Orr, who says that they are just a simple company who has made some right decisions, and that has led them to where they are today. However, others disagree.

Some say that the fact that they have grown to 900 agencies in such a short period of time, is proof that they are not running a proper auto insurance business. They have problems with the way Orr runs franchising of the company, as well as their lending and consulting services. They say that there are problems within the organization, with much of the criticism coming from former agents.

However, Orr disagrees. He says that everything is running smoothly, and that the home and auto insurance business is known for being a litigious business, as is franchising – and they are in both of them. Since 1986, Brooke has grown from a small town in Kansas to across the country, and in 1996 they started franchising. They sell policies from Progressive, Travelers, etc. through their auto insurance and homeowner’s agencies.

With the rapid growth comes those with problems with it. They were sued by several of their agents who said that the company was trying to get them to go under so that they could buy back the franchise at a profit. However, the Louisiana Department of Insurance looked carefully into the claims, and found that they were not valid. The only problem they found was with a reporting issue, and they have changed procedures to keep it from happening again – as well as fixing any problems that there were.




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