Tag Archives: consumers

01.04.11
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New Year New Insurance?

Why not?  When was the last time you changed companies?  When was the last time you actually made your agent or broker actually earn their commission.  Make them actually shop around, we are in a competitive market here in New York why not take advantage of it.

How do you start? 

Pretty simple, two steps;

  1. Start with a “baseline” of coverage that you are comfortable with having in place.
  2. Talk to 3-5 companies to see where your rate compares.

That’s it.  Worst case scenario you feel really good about your rate.  Best case you save some money and maybe find a better agent.

UPDATE May 26 2015

Not much has changed.  Still that simple.  There are some okay new tools available now that weren’t around when I wrote this.  You could try

Reality is, if you have not shopped in the last four years two things have likely happened

  1. Your coverage has fell out of alignment with what you need to have or should have
  2. You are likely overpaying

Either way, it is your money.  Spend it how you would like.

12.10.10
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Appreciate your agent…if

Yes I believe the agent, me, works for you, the customer.  This is no different than any time you are spending money on a product or service.  This relationship tends to go better if you appreciate the person providing the product or service.  How do you do this?

UPDATE 5/19/2015

How do you “appreciate”‘ the person you are paying for a service?

  1. Give them a chance to work for you.
  2. Rather than carrying over the poor previous experience you may have had give your potential new agent the chance to shine without thinking he or she is as bad as the last one.
  3. Ask questions without questioning.  You should ask lots of questions and the agent should have lots of answers.  BUT, at some point you need to trust the person you hire.
  4. You pay them.  As they saying goes, ” A deal is a deal…”
  5. Life happens and buying  insurance is no acception.  Remember, we are all, first and foremost, human.

Sure we could get into buying gifts, sending referrals, etc.  But these five are a great start.

 

Just some thoughts.