Today’s insurance climate is changing rapidly. Society’s increased need for 24 hour “on demand” service is helping to shape more of a self-service industry where clients can buy, cancel, and make changes to their policy at 2:00 am while channel surfing on their couch. Companies toting premium savings in fifteen minutes or less and twenty-four hour service are very appealing to a time-strapped society where multi-tasking has permeated all aspects of life. This new era of speed and convenience seems great, but who is it really helping?
The answer is most definitely not you, the consumer. Billions of dollars are being spent by large companies to commoditize personal insurance as a “one size fits all” product that you can manage at your convenience. The fact is, insurance is not a product that can be purchased off a shelf (imagery made famous by Flo). Insurance is financial protection for the unforeseen curve balls that life likes to throw at us. It is for the catastrophes, the darkest times of our lives. Each policy is tailored to the needs of the person purchasing the policy.What a single 25 year old with a condo and one vehicle needs for coverage is vastly different than that of a 40 year old with a family, a large home, a business, and multiple vehicles.
I, for one, believe that insurance agents are akin to financial planners. Financial planners help protect your future by creating a pathway to milestone purchases like a home, as well as financial independence in retirement. Insurance agents help protect those milestone purchases and the financial independence you work so hard to create. I sincerely believe that no one can protect their financial security and their most prized assets in 15 minutes, nor should they be making changes to the policies that protect them while sitting in front of the TV at 2:00 am without a licensed insurance agent to help guide them. Insurance policies are legal contracts that you enter into with a company that puts responsibility on both parties in order for the contract to do what it is intended to do, and as such they should be taken more seriously than the current slew of insurance advertisements suggest.
With all of this said, the new era of insurance is not without its own merits. Apps that allow you to pay bills, request roadside assistance, etc. are excellent consumer tools to make insurance more convenient. New and unique coverages that provide broader coverage for you and your assets is also a benefit to this new wave of insurance. Accident Forgiveness, Personal Property Coverage, New Vehicle Replacement Coverage, and Roadside Assistance are all great examples of innovative insurance coverages that would not have been available fifteen years ago, but are now commonplace. I believe finding new and innovative ways to protect clients in more convenient ways which allows you to utilize your insurance is imperative, and carriers are making great strides in these areas.
Today’s insurance marketplace, while fraught with predatory practices, at the same time is filled with innovation. Consumers need to find a trusted insurance agent to help educate them on the policies they purchase so that they have a better understanding of what it is they are actually purchasing. A good insurance agent will provide their clients with the best coverage for the best value in an efficient and timely manner. Consumers should not be purchasing the cheapest insurance policy they can find over the phone or internet in fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes is barely enough time to sell a cookie cutter product in a world where one size does not fit all. It is not enough time, regardless of what anyone tells you, for a consumer to ask important questions about what they are getting for their money.
If you have questions about your insurance or you need to discuss a new policy, stop by any of our 9 convenient FBinsure locations today.