subject: The advantage of dealing with an insurance broker for specialist insurance products [print this page] The advantage of dealing with an insurance broker for specialist insurance products
After speaking to various clients an insurance broker came a cross an interesting analogy about the current state of the insurers who sell their wares to the unsuspecting buying public through call centres which usually branded as the insurance department of the supermarket chain, a financial institution etc
For example a lady who had brought a policy under a supermarket found that it was administered by a well know bank, who in turn brought the cover from a branded insurer who was in facta major insurer in the background so in fact by the time the transaction to buy the policy was completed four mouths had to be fed out of any commission
The whole principle of buying insurance this way was to cut out "The Middleman" ie the insurance broker now there are four middle men
The advantages of traditionally using an insurance broker was that the commission they earned who be justified by the professional advice they gave (you may not be aware that insurance brokers are a "learned profession" who have to undertake exams almost in depth as the legal trade because so much about the core is insurance relates to a contract of trust.
Bearing in mind that on a typical household or motor policy the broker might earn about 40 for a whole years work that's pretty good compared to the 150 a solicitor or accountant charges per hour!!!!
Another down side to buying your policy through a bank, supermarket or comparison site is hidden charges! Are you aware that it can cost over 30% more to buy on installments were as typically broker will charge about 10% also every time you make a change on the policy those insurers will charge you typically 25!!
The idea is that mass selling of policies keeps the cost to the consumer down as admin costs are lower!! in fact that's not true. They pile them high and sell them cheap but charge extra every chance they get !! Also these insurers have expensive add ons, like legal protection insurance which can carry a mark up of several thousand percent.
Have you ever wondered how all that wonderful junk mail that comes through your letter box every day finds you? Could it be that the insurer sells your personal details to junk mail companies for profit !
Dealing with claims can be hellish too We all make jokes about the standard of service we get from some supermarkets, although this is improving, as some supermarkets are recruiting more mature staff , sadly most of the younger in experienced "The Computer says No" work force is employed by those insurers as call staff
OK if you are just after the cheapest possible insurance deal the above might not be of great interest to you
When you need specialist insurance for example if you live in a flood risk area or have been flooded and actually want to get insurance for your house and want to get insurance that you can afford Remember without insurance that coves flood your home or business is worthless as it cannot be sold IF you buy cover do get it in writing that the insurer will actually pass the policy on to the future or you will never be able the property other than perhaps to a "cash buyer" will usually only pay a small percentage of market value, the same applies to those who have had subsidence issues
If you or any member of the family have criminal convictions only speak to a broker. Independent Insurance brokers advertise at http://www.jml-insurance.co.uk/index.php?id=78 and areas covered including insurance for people with criminal convictions are Flood damaged property Insurance, Underpinned - Subsidence Property Insurance, Terrorism insurance, Kidnap & Ransom Insurance, High Risk Liability Insuranceand business insurance for smaller businesses.
By dealing with an insurance broker and actually communicating direct should mean you get the cover that you actually require.
