We are inundated each day with branding, messaging, and advertising. With the advances in technology and social media, it seems to be everywhere all at the same time. And it works.

We cannot help but be influenced by a catchy jingle, a compelling story, or the assault of repetition of a message that we hear dozens and dozens of times each day. But with insurance, the story that you are hearing, the messages that you are receiving, and the brands that come to mind may not be telling you the entire story.

You should note that I am not objective in this matter. I am an independent insurance agent with almost forty years of experience–so I have a definite point of view. I ask that you read further to hear me out–my budget for social media, branding, and advertising is virtually non-existent, so this is my only way to tell our side of the story.

What Is An Insurance Agent?

In basic terms, an insurance agent is any person who is licensed to review, discuss, and effect insurance coverage in each State (yes, insurance is regulated by the States). In practice, even though all agents are licensed with the State in the same manner, there are a variety of types of insurance agents.

Captive Agent

A captive agent is a licensed insurance agent who represents a single insurance carrier. These agents are typically the sales arm of the insurance company. Mostly, these agents may only sell you products from their “captive” insurance carrier.

Direct Agent

A direct agent is a licensed insurance agent who is an employee of an insurance carrier. These agents, much like the captive agents mentioned above, are generally the sales arm of the insurance company for whom they work and limited to offering you products from only their employer insurance company.

Online Representative

An online representative is someone working for an insurance provider, typically an insurance company, but perhaps a technology or other company involved in the distribution of insurance products who walks you through an automated process to purchase insurance coverage. They may license these representatives in your State, or they may work “under” a licensed insurance agent. They typically offer products and services from a single insurance company.

Independent Agent

An independent agent is a licensed insurance agent who represents multiple insurance carriers because of appointments (contracts) that are entered with each carrier that outline the specific duties and responsibilities of the agent and the insurance company.

These agents may offer you a range of products from all the insurance companies with whom they are contracted. The Agency often consists of many licensed insurance agents who work together to provide ongoing service to their clients.

Over my career in insurance, I have met competent and professional practitioners of insurance from each category and type of insurance agent. Each consumer will make their selection of how they wish to purchase insurance based on their own needs and goals from the process.

A Real Life Case Of How Purchasing Insurance Matters

We recently worked with a homeowner who was being cancelled by their insurance company because of too many claims during a five-year period.

In NJ, each insurance company files guidelines for eligibility (with the State) that they must follow. All of them include a specific number of claims over a period that allows them to terminate insurance coverage. It is typical for carriers to have a guideline of three claims over either three or five years as the tipping point.

In this case, the homeowner had three claims over a five-year period. One claim was from wind damage and the insurance company paid out $1,200. The second claim was reported by the homeowner for water that seeped into their basement during a period of heavy rainfall. This claim was declined by the insurance carrier because this type of loss is typically not covered by a homeowner policy. The third claim was for storm damage and the insurance company paid out over $40,000 for the damage. The third claim during the period for that insurance company generated a non-renewal notice, and this homeowner needed to find new insurance coverage.

There are many points we can gather from this real-life situation.

1. The second claim perhaps should not have been reported. A competent agent would know that this is not covered. Many carriers will count every claim inquiry, including declined claims, as a reported claim. By the way, the homeowner told us that there was no damage to either the building or to their personal property. They were just wondering if their policy would pay for waterproofing to repair this condition to their home so that there would not be damage in the future.
2. This homeowner reported the claim directly to the insurance company because their agent (in this case a captive agent) directed them to the insurance carrier’s website for claims. Sometimes direct reporting may not be optimal for the best results. As an independent agent, we believe that helping our clients at claim time is a primary duty and responsibility. It gives us an opportunity to explain how the claims process works to our client. It gives the client an opportunity to explain exactly what happened to an advocate rather than a report taker. It also gives us the chance to explain the consequences of the claim and what that claim may do to their ability to purchase insurance in the future or to their cost of insurance.
3. Here, the homeowner had a policy with a very low deductible. We generally recommend a range of deductible limits to our clients with the express purpose to help them avoid tiny claims which may cause them to be cancelled in the future if they have larger, more substantial claims. Here, if the homeowner had a deductible of $1,000, they may not have wanted to report a claim that would only pay them $200.

By the end of our conversation, the homeowner appreciated our point of view and asked if we were able to obtain a policy for them. We knew that all our insurance carriers would decline this account because they had been non-renewed for claims activity, but we contacted one of our insurance company underwriters, explained the second claim that should never have been a claim, and that carrier agreed to offer a policy for the homeowner.

This new client has expressed to us that they wish they had worked with an agent on a “consultative” basis before they had to learn the hard way that it matters how (and from whom) you purchase your insurance.

Key Insurance Buying Takeaways

• Work with an agent who is going to ask you a lot of questions and work with you to design an insurance policy that works for you.
• Expect ongoing service from the person who understands your account and knows your needs for claims, payment issues, new and improved coverage, and alternative competitive quotes for your coverage.
• The convenience of websites and toll-free telephone numbers for service is lovely but may not always get you the best advice.
• Work with an agent that you trust and who will tell you what you need to hear, which may not always be what you want to hear.

We think that being an independent insurance agent puts us in the best position to help you get the most from your insurance program.