Four Things to Consider When Choosing a Life Insurance Agent
Life insurance is a primary responsibility that comes with starting a family. It is viewed as simple way to financially protect your family should something happen to you. The ideal person for helping you fulfill this responsibility is your life insurance agent. Given the importance of this protection to your family, much thought and care should go into choosing a life insurance agent.
Life insurance agents are easy to locate but it's choosing one that takes much consideration. Typically agents are prominent in local communities. They advertise and there is a good chance that you know someone in the life insurance business. In addition, the Internet offers access to loads of information and free quotes for life insurance policies.
How do you determine which agent is best for you? You need to ask yourself if you are simply after the cheapest life insurance policy or are you looking for a true advisor. It is your decision to determine the trade offs of a discount policy vs personalized service. Here are four factors to consider when evaluating agents.
1. Level of Service vs. Cost. The truth of the situation is that discount insurance companies are readily accessible on the Internet, but there is more to your decision making process than simply finding a cheap policy. I recommend getting quotes from full-service agents as well as discount providers. This will help you determine the cost of service and enable you to draw your own conclusions as to whether that cost is justified.
2. Product Knowledge. You do not need to know a great deal about life insurance to properly evaluate this. Initially you should ask questions and see how thoroughly different agents will provide answers. Their responses will provide the insight you need to properly evaluate their knowledge of the insurance.
3. Responsiveness and Availability. Many sites and companies will give you a free quote on a policy, but you need to see how promptly they follow through on your requests and questions. View this a test run for how they would respond should your family need to act on the policy.
4. Commitment to the business. The life insurance business attracts those right out of college and most do not succeed in converting this to a long-term career. Look for someone who has proven thier commitment to the business. Determine factors being:
- Time in the industry
- Tenure with current firm
- Size of the practice