What Should I Look for in an Agent?

UGH – insurance can be one of the more frustrating aspects of life – whether for a business or an individual. We want to provide an outlet for it and an opportunity to lessen it. There are so many reasons we buy insurance – someone makes us, like the government or the bank. We want to protect our assets or our employees. We always have and just keep doing so. It’s important to understand what insurance you have and sit down with an agent to discuss if it’s right for what you need. You can be insurance rich or insurance poor. Neither option is ideal  - it’s like going on vacation to a tropical climate and returning either sunburned or paler than when you left instead of with a nice even tan.  Here are some tips when sitting down with an insurance agent:

1 – Have an idea why you are purchasing insurance. Are you required? Are you protecting something?

2 – Ask questions. If your agent uses a term you don’t know, ASK. Your insurance agent can provide you with an explanation and an example of how it applies to you.

3 – Be prepared to answer questions. One of the “jobs” of an agent is to help you figure out what is important to you, how it can be damaged or lost and what can be done about it.

4 – Take time to think about what you and your agent have discussed before making a decision. Sleep on it if you can. It’s amazing what a few days can do to your perspective on what’s important and what needs to be covered. I may be terrified that a tornado will destroy my house because I grew up in tornado alley. If I live on the West Coast, I need to be more concerned about earthquake than tornado. This is an extreme example but here’s my point . . . Listen to what your agent says is important. Listen to what you think is important. Weigh the costs versus the risks you are willing to take.

Insurance can be scary. You pay money to protect something IN CASE something goes wrong. This is also another reason it can be frustrating. BUT – if something does go wrong, it’s not something you want to be without. Keep that in mind when making your decisions as well.