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