Things Your Insurance Agent Thinks You Should Know:

• If there's one thing you remember, please make it my name. I'll be happy to look up your policy number, your coverages, your driver's license number (true story), whatever you'd like if you'd just remember my name. If you don't remember my name, please don't make one up to call me. Jenny does not translate to Trudy, Judy, Gina, Jesse or Jenna. We'd all just rather you apologize for not remembering.
• On the same note, just because the business is named after one person, does not mean you can ask for "her" everytime you call. There are multiple "her"s in the office. I'm going to keep bothering you by asking which "her" you're refering to. I might become more snarky with my comments if you don't change your bad habit.
• If you feel your rates are too high, it's shady to go to another agency without letting your current agency know that your unhappy. Guess what. We probably could've shopped you around and found you a better rate, but now you're on my bad side.
• Those commercials that say "Breaking up is hard to do. Let us do it for you,"are obnoxious. When we receive cancellation requests in the mail with no warning, it's cold. Everyone deserves an explanation. To you, it's another bill. To us, it's an account that we spent a lot of time on.
• We don't get paid for our productivity. If it's not necessary, please just let it go. I know there's no way that your one man operation is currently doing work at 435 businesses. Do you know how long it takes to issue that many certificates?
• We will happily shop you. In fact, we like to save people money, contrary to what you may think. If you're unhappy with how much you're paying, let us know. We'll look around and see if we can find you anything lower. Things change, companies come and go, rates change. It's quite possible that we can save you money. Just ask.
• On the other hand, it's not always possible to save you money. I swear we're not lying when we take one look at what you're paying and tell you that you have the lowest rate. It's not because we're lazy. It's because we know what we're talking about.
• A lot of people think that insurance companies operate on a "just under their current premium" basis. Most insurance companies don't have the time to look at each individual case. Rates are across the board. So when I ask you what you're currently paying, it does no good to reply with "I'm not going to tell you, because I want to see what you come up with first." Regardless of what you tell me, I'll still have the same rates. Promise.
• We appreciate customers who appreciate us. We also appreciate customers who realize that most of the time, we're a third party and when someone on the insurance end screws up, it's not always our fault. When customers are calm and understanding, things will be handled much easier and I'm much more likely to fight for you.
• If you're in the southeast, you're in a very hurricane prone area. If you paid $300 for homeowner's insurance in New York, please don't complain about paying $2500 for the same size house. Our rates are astronomical. If you've grown up here, you're used to it. If you're not, don't complain, you chose to move here. You don't see me moving to Cali and complaining about the cost of living, do you?
• It's not an "oops" if you let your insurance lapse: auto or home. If it's auto, the DMV can fine you and suspend your license - even if it's one day. If it's your home, you may end up with ridiculous rates and a hard time trying to find coverage. But, it's not your agent's job to call you everytime you have a bill due. Yeah, we do it every once in a while, but it's a courtesy, not an obligation.
• No one is responsible for you except for yourself. If you buy a new car and your dealer says he'll take care of adding it onto the policy, you need to follow up. Because a year later, when you realize that he never added your car on your policy, you might be in some deep doo doo.
• If you change your address, phone number, name, mortgage company, loan number, etc., make sure you notify your insurance company. Nothing is worse than having to track down someone who moved & didn't tell you or having to spend an hour on the phone, requesting an overnight payment because you forgot to tell us your mortgage company changed.

I love my job. I really do. I'm not venting. I'm sharing helpful tips that I think everyone should know. It's like they say "Everyone should wait tables at some point in their life." Well, my list now includes "Everyone should wait tables, work in retail, and be a bank teller at some point in their lives." I'd tell you everyone should be an insurance agent, but instead, I'm saving you lots of time and money and telling you what you need to know. :-)

Are you in an industry that you feel like everyone should know something about?