Why should you work with a brokerage firm when buying insurance?

1. Saving Time: A good insurance broker saves you time and money by doing the search for you and knows what to buy and where and how to get the best value for your money.

2. Relevant Protection: A good insurance broker looks at your business and arranges tailored cover to meet your specific activities and doesn’t just sell you paper. One size does not fit all and you don’t want to pay for policy benefits and extensions that you don’t need, or cover which you might already have in a different policy.

3. Avoiding Disadvantage: Going direct to an insurance company has a number of penalties. Insurers are not interested in ‘buyer beware’ and can exploit buyers in a number of ways:

a) It does not save you money: premium cost is typically the same as using a broker and often more. Insurance arranged through a broker are often LESS than buying direct due to the brokers experience and knowledge of the market by keeping insurer’s on their game.

b) Insurance companies have no duty of care to buyers and often take advantage of consumer’s inexperience by:

– Pocketing the brokerage or commission they would normally have to pay a broker and do not discount.

– Selling you what they want to sell you, to the best advantage of the insurance company , not you, regardless if it actually fits or not to your needs.

– Applying additional exclusions or other restrictions that a broker would not accept and ask them to remove.

– Avoiding explanation of the policies faults.

4. Legalities: An insurance policy is a legal contract – like any legal contract you must review it’s terminology and effects before you sign. It is the broker’s job to help you be aware of policy intentions but we can only explain if you actually want to know and will listen.

5. Claim Service: When there is a claim, the broker co-ordinates matters and lobby’s on your behalf with the insurer to support and fight for successful payment, or if the claim is denied or not insured, helps you understand why and how the loss can be avoided in future. If you buy direct, there is no-one to help you fight the insurance company.

6. Industry Jargon: A good broker knows what certain jargon and insurance terms mean and how one policy compares with another in the marketplace, without having to ask somebody else or get back to you. When consumers analyse insurance contracts they are usually confused and make poor decisions , and do not know where all available options are to be found and what can be negotiated to their benefit.

7. Information: insurance companies operating directly employ salespeople not advisors. They are interested in making a sale, not answering your questions or educating customers. You will not be told if a better, cheaper alternative is available or even if the policy is actually necessary.

8. Policy Management & Renewals: modern insurance contracts for personal and business insurance can be complex – some are very complex. They are designed to protect your hard fought personal or business assets in some ways but not others. These are not simple products to be purchased then put in a drawer until the renewal letter arrives next year. Many contain detailed obligations and reporting requirements which you must fulfil during the period of insurance for cover to be successfully kept in order. Insurance buyers often lose all benefit under their policies because nothing has been explained about how they operate and the policy is breached without the holder’s awareness.

9. Market Practices: Like any industry, the insurance sector has it’s own rules and practices which policy buyers need to know and comply with, in order to navigate the waters successfully and find what they’re looking for.

10. Free Risk Management: through understanding your activities, brokers can help you identify areas of personal or business risk you may exposed to and uninsured for, as well as being a sounding board for the insurability and legal risk of deals you may be thinking about.