We are often asked, "what are the attributes of a good insurance broker?"
A good broker will:
1) Be transparent about the coverage and options to enhance the coverage provided.
2) Be able to explain how different products are designed to work together.
3) Provide tailored advice to your specific situation and concerns.
4) Support their advice through educational materials and information.
5) Conduct the transaction with ease.
A bad broker will:
1) Focus on price based selling.
2) Be unwilling to answer questions about the policy in writing.
3) Fail to ask questions about the asset or risk being insured.
4) Fail to present a wide scope of coverages, options, or limits.
Buying insurance is one of the most important transactions a person or business can do. Too often people rush this process thinking price is an indicator of the value being conveyed. Be warned, if you are buying insurance based on price all you are getting is a high profit margin product from an insurance carrier. Price does not equal value. Coverage provided under the policy is how value is created in an insurance contract. In a race to offer the lowest price possible everyone losses except the insurance company. They wrote the contract, they filed the rates, they received the premium payment. At the time of loss, when expectations run high, the value of insurance coverage comes to bare. Do not get caught without sufficient limits and scope of coverage.
Ask about the available endorsements to add coverage to the policy. Endorsements commonly represent the most probable methods of a financial loss and they add, remove, or modify exclusions to allow for payment of losses that would otherwise not be covered.
