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You are doing it all wrong....

By
Services for Real Estate Pros

Ok, lets get this train a-rollin.  I think you will discover from me that I have a quite different approach to the insurance business.  Let's face it, most people would rather go to the dentist vs. spending time with their insurance agent.  The thought "what is he/she going to try to sell me now" is a common theme. 

It's a daily occurrence to meet new folks looking for a deal on their insurance only to discover that they really dont know what they are buying.  I never blame the customer for this phenomena... It's the insurance agents that they have dealt with in the past who didnt invest the time to go over exactly what you buy.  Many of my peers may feel it too complicated to explain but nothing could be further from the truth.  Insurance is really quite straightforward.

In future posts I will take some of the mystery out of what insurance is and is not.  I do like to share anyone who will listen what I consider a fundamental element of your insurance.  Your relationship with your insurer should be one where you look to your insurance company to protect the risks that you are uncomfortable holding yourself.  These risks include things like repairing or replacing your home from damage, protecting your liability should you be sued, repairing or replacing your auto should you have an accident and so on....

There are no substitutes to having adequate liability & property protection.  These are items which you should not cut any corners on.  Where many people stray is by asking their insurer to protect risks that quite simply are better held by the consumer.  When you ask your insurance company to provide protection for small risks you quite simply are separating yourself from your money. 

Lets take car rental coverage for example.  Most people judge their auto insurance policy by its price.  It's very common to see potential clients that have lower than suggested liability limits to save a few dollars but carry car rental coverage.  The average person has an accident every 7 to 10 years.  If you look at the cost of providing car rental coverage on your policy you will quickly discover that the cost exceeds what you will recover over time 9 out of 10 times. 

Once again, we are talking about managing the risks that you are uncomfortable holding yourself.  If you need to rent a car for a week because yours is in the shop as the result of an accident that was your fault that may be a bummer but you wont loose your estate over it.   If you carry a lower liability limit in order to afford your car rental coverage and ever are sued, now you have some risk that can wipe you out.. 

There are many other items I would like to share with you but let me stop here and you let me know if you would like to hear more. 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments(3)

Kim Murphy
Draper and Kramer - Lombard, IL
Mortgage Loans in DuPage, Kane, Cook, Lake, Will C

Hey Dean!  Great first blog!  Your off to a great start with good info!  Welcome!

Sep 17, 2008 03:01 PM
No Longer Active in Staging. No Longer Staging
Hickory, NC

Hi Dean, Welcome to AR, what a great first blog. Excellent information and very well explained. Keep it up. God bless,

Sep 17, 2008 03:39 PM
Dean Akey
Saint Charles, IL

Thank you for the kind words.  It was a first attempt and I have a tendency to ramble so I hope that over time things will be better presented... This is all new to me.  AR is a great way to help share thoughts with other folks.  There is some great information on the site and I keep learning new things every time I start reading your posts...

Dean

Sep 18, 2008 02:11 AM