Allstate Insurance offering employment to laid off workers from Farmers Insurance

Farmers Insurance in Pocatello will soon be closing. But Allstate Insurance is hoping to help its employees find jobs.

On Thursday, Allstate held a company tour for those interested in moving over.

Jody Lewis, site leader for Allstate in Pocatello, said she knows of at least 50 current Farmers Insurance employees who will need jobs when it closes.

Lewis said Allstate has two training classes to fill in December and another two in January. Openings are for service and all sales positions. Lewis said both the service and sales departments are hoping to hire at least 50 people. She said it could be more, but that’s the goal right now.

Lewis said the pay for sales is about $15 per hour, with 28 paid vacation days. She said Allstate is more than just a call center. She said it offers development plans for employees, career opportunities and more. Lewis said Allstate has even been voted one of the best places to work in Idaho the past four years.

She said it’s a great place to work and Allstate is hopeful it can help as many people as possible from Farmers Insurance.

Lewis said hiring laid off Farmers Insurance workers would benefit both sides.

“They have the experience and some of them 20 or 30 years of experience” Lewis said. “So it’ll only benefit us because they have that knowledge and it would only benefit them, hopefully, so that they can continue their career in the insurance industry.”

Elly Macdonald was one of the people who took the tour of Allstate. She said she was really impressed by what she saw and thinks it would be a great job.

“I think that it would be a great fit,” Macdonald said. “I feel like having the background that we do in insurance, it would be a really easy transition to come work here.”