The Choice is Yours

This week I am going to talk about the differences between buying insurance from an independent broker versus buying from a “captive” or one-company insurance agent. It’s really as simple as the difference between “take your pick” or “take it or leave it”.

When I first began my insurance career I worked for a “captive” life insurance company, one of the very big, very well-known companies. Their program for new agents entailed a three-year training curriculum with daily one-on-one meetings with a sales manager and weekly group meetings with the sales managers and the general manager. In fairness, much of the training that I received was very professional and informative. I use much of what I learned to this day. But more of that “training” was all about “hitting the numbers” for the home office. We had quarterly quotas and if we got near the end of the quarter and were falling a little short our sales managers’ orders were always to “sell a policy to your brother, sister, mom, dad, aunt, uncle, or even your son or daughter, but you better make your numbers or you’re out.” A great deal of my training more closely resembled indoctrination into the company’s proprietary insurance products, peppered with a large dose of company cheerleading and propaganda. Now, granted, many of their products were very good, but no company’s products are the best in every category of coverage, for every client’s situation, and this company’s products were no exception. As a new agent I called on young families and small businesses, nearly all of whom were in or near my old hometown, Chicago. It took about exactly one month in the business for me to realize that we had a LOT of competition, particularly in my areas of interest, health insurance, employee benefits, and life insurance. Now, every new agent in my position, at some point reaches a crossroads…do I work for my clients or do I work for my company? In my case it was an easy decision. If I was to make a career of this business I was going to work for my clients. After all, prior to entering the insurance field I had enjoyed a 15-year career in retailing, at one point owning a small chain of clothing stores. Retailing is 100% about customer service and wide merchandise assortments. I believed then, as I do to this day, that the same applies to the insurance business. As an agency, we are now in our 27th year. We offer products from nearly 100 different insurance companies, and when new, innovative products or companies enter the market we have the flexibility to bring them to you too. There is nothing wrong with buying from a captive agent who represents a single company, but in nearly every case it is possible to find better values from possibly lesser known insurance companies whose pricing doesn’t include a large chunk for advertising. That is why, as we move forward, we will always offer coverage from multiple companies and we will always seek the highest value products for you, our customers. Thanks for reading. Sincerely, Alan Leafman, President Toll Free: 800-955-0418 E-Mail Info@h-ie.com or info@wwins.com   Check out Health Insurance Express on Yelp

The Advantages of LifeLock

I’m sure that most of you hear and see stories about identity theft and identity theft protection plans every day. However, unless identity theft has happened to you or someone you know the messages don’t always hit home. Maybe it’s time to take a look.

Now that vacation season has arrived, identity theft activity is on the rise, particularly among travelers. When you travel your routine is disrupted, your credit cards are often “on display” more frequently, and you may stay in accommodations that are not nearly as secure as your home. Just one small lapse, forgetting to pick up your credit card in a restaurant, leaving your wallet or purse exposed at poolside,  could cause a series of events that cascade, making your life spin out of control. Recovery from identity theft can often take months, even years.

At Health Insurance Express and WorldWide Insurance Services we represent the number one identity theft program on the market, LifeLock. We have represented them for years, been approached by many other plans to represent them as well, but LifeLock has remained the gold offer all of our clients, their families and friends a 10% discount on each of LifeLock’s three levels of protection.

standard in identity theft protection. As a national distributor for LifeLock products we are proud to

Why Choose LifeLock?

Count on the industry leader to provide comprehensive protection. LifeLock:

DETECTS

Go ahead, live free knowing we are searching over a trillion data points every day looking for potential threats to your identity.

ALERTS

When we find something suspicious, we'll let you know through our patented LifeLock Identity Alert® system.

RESTORES

If you do become a victim, our Member Services Agents are available 24/7 and a Certified Resolution Specialist will handle your case every step of the way.

Affordable? LifeLock offers a plan for every budget. There are three packages available, starting with our discounted rate of just $9.00/month. That’s a lot of peace of mind for about 30 cents a day.       You have your choice of:

LIFELOCK STANDARD^TM, LIFELOCK ADVANTAGE^TM, and LIFELOCK ULTIMATE PLUS^TM

Depending on the package that you select you will be protected for many or all of these benefits:

·         LifeLock Identity Alert® System

·         Lost Wallet Protection

·         Address Change Verification

·         Reduced Pre-Approved Credit Card Offers

·         Black Market Website Surveillance

·         Live Member Service 24/7/365

·         Fictitious Identity Monitoring

·         Court Record Scanning

·         Data Breach Notifications

·         Online Annual Credit Report & Score - 3 Credit Bureaus

·         Credit Card, Checking and Savings Account Activity Alerts

·         Investment Account Activity Alerts

·         Checking and Savings Account Application Alerts

·         Bank Account Takeover Alerts

·         Credit Inquiry Activity

·         File-Sharing Network Searches

·         Sex Offender Registry Reports

·         Monthly Credit Score Tracking

And remember, every LifeLock plan, from Standard through Ultimate Plus comes with their            $1 Million Total Service Guarantee.

To learn about how LifeLock’s plans can make a significant difference in your life just call us at         (800) 955-0418 or click here for details and an online application. Thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

Alan Leafman

President