A fellow insurance coverage nerd received an email from a homeowner who had been insured with a well-known direct writing insurer for 45 years. He had windstorm damage to a fence and the carrier had denied the claim that he believed to be covered. So, who can he turn to?

Well…no one. He elected to serve as his own agent by buying directly from the insurer. Just as the adage goes that an attorney who represents himself has a fool for a client, a consumer who buys directly may have a fool for an agent.

But, in this case, the homeowner did some internet research and discovered an article my insurance nerd buddy had written about fence coverage on homeowners policies. He sent the article to the insurer but to no avail. So, he emailed the author and asked him to give him a call to help him. My fellow insurance nerd works for an organization that represents independent insurance agents, so you can guess what his response was. Respectfully and professionally, of course.

Do you really save 15% by cutting the agent out of the process? I’ve blogged about this here and here and here. The answer most of the time is, no. But let’s pretend the answer is yes. What does saving you 15% get you? Well, it saves you 15%…unless you have a claim you think is wrongfully denied. When you stand to lose thousands of dollars on denied claims without the intervention and advocacy of an agent, that 15% is long forgotten.

Did you know…

…that you are free to reprint any of my blog posts on your web site, in your customer communications, in your seminars, etc.? This is what it says on my “Legal” page:

Reprints

Unless indicated otherwise on the post, you are free to reprint verbatim (unedited) any of my blog posts as long as you identify the author (usually “Bill Wilson, CPCU, ARM, AIM, AAM”) and include the notice “Copyright 2016-2018 by InsuranceCommentary.com. Reprinted with permission.” Blog posts by “guest authors” and other publications besides blog posts require express authority to reprint. Contact Bill@InsuranceCommentary.comfor permissions. I have been asked about reprinting blog posts without attribution for a fee…if you’re interested in using blog posts without attribution, check out the “Articles” section on my Writing page.

In addition, I maintain a Word document that lists just about every blog post I’ve made, the word count, and whether it’s personal lines, commercial lines, or something else. Each listed article title is hyperlinked to the web site. If you would like a copy of this document, just email me at Bill@InsuranceCommentary.com.

And, finally, don’t forget that my book “When Words Collide: Resolving Insurance Coverage and Claims Disputes” is scheduled for publication in May 2018. If you would like to get on a mailing list for notice when the pre-sale begins AND get a coupon code worth $5 off the price, CLICK HERE.

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Bill Wilson

Founder at InsuranceCommentary.com
One of the premier insurance educators in America on form, coverage, and technical issues; Founder and director of the Big “I” Virtual University; Retired Assoc. VP of Education and Research from Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America. Reprint Request Information