Insurance is based on the principle that you should not risk more than you can afford to lose. This means that insurance must be used to cover all areas of your life. It requires a professional advisor.
As they are sold off the shell, personal policies such as automobile, home, and boat umbrella rarely cover all of your major property or liability risks. They will still cover the majority, if not all of these major risks, if they are tailored to your specific needs with appropriate coverage limits and endorsements. It takes a lot of expertise and care to customize a policy. When it comes to purchasing insurance, most people place the highest priority on finding and hiring the best advisors.
Before we find the right advisor, we’ll attempt to understand insurance through the following story:
Imagine that you have been told you need brain surgery. This is how you would shop for it. You call around to get quotes and start calling around. You may not know what type of brain surgery you need so you get a quote for the one you think you will need. All types of surgeons are available for you to get estimates, including hospitals, doctors, and medical school interns. It doesn’t matter if you are skilled, it is about price. It’s just brain surgery.
You search for a clinic that offers the best price and will perform the procedure you require. You sign up to have brain surgery. Even though the clinic employs a top brain surgeon in the area, the intern will perform the surgery. The quote was not given by the intern because they lack the experience to determine the type of surgery that you require. A top brain surgeon would know that the procedure you requested would not be appropriate for you, and could put your brain at risk. Instead, she would have recommended another, more costly, but more beneficial surgery.
Insurance isn’t brain surgery. It isn’t a commodity. This is the moral of the story: If you shop for insurance in this way, you will likely get the wrong diagnosis and possibly serious side effects. You’ll also end up with a less skilled advisor than what you need.
These questions will make it easy to find an advisor in insurance.
Are my life, health and disability covered by the same advisor? The best program design is possible if one advisor has the ability to manage your entire program. This includes expertise in all types of personal policies. It is best to not have more than one advisor.
Do I value a yearly, regular review? This should be added to your shopping cart. Regular reviews are a must. If it isn’t reviewed every year, a well-designed insurance plan can become stale and leave coverage gaps.
Do you own a home-based business? You will need to find someone who is experienced in small business insurance. This should be added to your list.
Do I need top claim skills? Are you looking for the best claims coaching to maximize your claim? Are you looking for an advisor who can fight for your rights in the event that your claim is denied or underpaid?
These are just a few of the many ways that word of mouth can be a great way to find an insurance professional.
