7 Things that Drive Your Insurance Agent Crazy

The relationship between an insurance agent and a client is a two-way street. When we talk with clients trying to determine if they want us to handle their insurance program, we are interviewing them as well. In my humble opinion, too many clients think insurance agents want to write every piece of business available and that we should be thankful for every call regardless of how last minute it is. The truth is professional agents who conduct business wisely are as selective about their clients as the clients are about them.

We, as agents, understand the importance of insurance because we have seen the terrible results of not being protected. As they say, “you can’t make this stuff up!” I don’t have to make up stories. I get stories every day in my agency. Accidents happen and change lives forever. What makes the conversation about coverage and premium difficult for insurance agents is that the difference between good coverage and bad coverage is usually only a few dollars. Seeing people make bad decisions due to an extra $20 a month is tough. As my good friend, Tammy White, says,“ Penny wise, pound foolish.”
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Accidents Happen

interior-view-of-a-car-that-was-in-a-bad-accidentClients always surprise me with their responses to questions concerning their insurance limits. Most of the time they make me smile, but sometimes they make me very sad. I’ve actually had people tell me they don’t need high limits on auto insurance because they are safe drivers, or they don’t have accidents. Really?? Have you ever said that or perhaps thought it? Can you predict the future? If so, I’ll take you on the next flight to Vegas with those crystal ball skills!

The definition of accident is, “an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury.” To be more specific, the legal definition of accident is, “in general, an unplanned, unexpected, and undesigned (not purposefully caused) event which occurs suddenly and causes (1) injury or loss, (2) a decrease in value of the resources, or (3) an increase in liabilities.” Accidents are unplanned or they would not be accidents.
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The 7 Biggest Auto Insurance Myths

Auto-insurance-knoxville-tnI must admit, I was completely ignorant about insurance before I entered the insurance profession. Even though I had a Master’s degree and felt like I was pretty savvy, I was driving around with state minimum limits. I simply did not know any better, and unfortunately for me, I had not found an insurance agent who cared enough to explain coverages to me. Now that I am in the profession, I find the myths that I hear daily quite humorous. As an educator, I find it troubling to see such an uninformed population when it comes to insurance. There are plenty of opinions out there, but the trick is deciphering the myths and getting to the truth. When buying an auto policy, you need to know what specific coverages mean and how they affect you. Let us help you separate myths from facts about auto insurance. Here are seven myths I frequently hear that are false. I’m hoping, “If you know better, you will do better.”
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Discover 5 Ways to Avoid Auto Accidents

auto-insuranceAmericans have been in love with their cars for years. The number of vehicles on the road is very high and many auto accidents occur in the U.S. Data from the National Safety Council estimates that about 10 million car accidents occur every year in the U.S. These auto accidents range from parking lot incidences to multi-car pileups. With the holidays approaching and gas prices low, more vehicles will be on the road and more accidents will occur.

Motor vehicles accidents aren’t cheap for the U.S. population. It is estimated that more than 4.5 million people are injured in auto accidents per year with approximately 2 million drivers in car accidents experiencing permanent injuries. These permanent injuries mean life-changing accidents occurred.
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Rental Car Insurance Yes or No?

 

I probably should have written this in May when it could have been helpful for your summer vacation, but better late than never. Traveling is a lot of fun. You don’t want a claim to ruin your vacation, so you need to make good decisions when you travel. One major concern when you fly to your destination is you don’t have your personal vehicle with you, so you need a rental car. A rental car of course, means rental car insurance. Do you have it already or should you purchase it? Well, it depends…

If you are renting a car, be prepared. Don’t wait until you are at the rental desk to ask questions. No one definitive answer about rental car insurance is right for everyone. It all depends on the type of personal auto insurance you have, possible credit card coverage (be careful) and the laws of the state in which you are renting the vehicle. Can you begin to see the many variables and possible problems impacting rental car coverage?
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5 Interesting Things to Know about Auto Insurance

luxury-auto-insurance-tennesseeAuto insurance varies from state to state. When you move to a new state, you need to convert your auto insurance to comply with your new state’s rules. We frequently deal with clients who have moved to Knoxville but have been extremely slow to update their driver’s license, car registration, and auto insurance. These clients rent a home or an apartment here, yet keep an out of state vehicle registration, driver’s license, and insurance. Mostly they tend to delay these changes until they are ready to purchase a home. Once they start the home purchase process, they look at moving their auto insurance, and frankly, this is too late. I recently insured a client (both home and auto) who still had auto insurance in Texas, but he had been living in Tennessee for 2 years! This is NOT a good idea. He had taken on a load of liability that he probably wasn’t even aware of. He was very fortunate he was not involved in an accident.
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Protecting Your Youthful Driver

youthful-driverWow, I’ve been in the insurance business for 20 years! I can still remember how I felt 20 years ago as a young, inexperienced insurance agent, when a client would call to add a youthful driver to their auto insurance. After making the change to their auto policy, I would apologize for the difference in auto premium because it seemed extremely high. The difference in premium when adding a young driver to your policy is always more than the client expects; usually twice as much. After 20 years and many youthful drivers later, I no longer apologize for the increase in auto premiums. As a matter of fact, I am unapologetic.
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