Spotting a Bad Insurance Agent
Most insurance companies do not want pushy or dishonest insurance agents representing their company. It’s just bad business for several reasons, and you probably won’t find many of these people when you’re calling around asking for quotes, because, honestly, they don’t last long at most companies.
There are a lot of downsides to employing a pushy or dishonest insurance agent:
An auto insurance company that keeps dishonest insurance agents on board is going to get a lot of negative customer reviews. We live in the age of the internet, and if a company takes advantage of a customer, you can believe that the whole world is going to hear about it. No insurance company wants a bunch of angry customers flooding their customer reviews page with negative comments.
If an agent lies to you about your coverage, there’s a good chance you can sue the agency or the agent him or herself for what was promised, as well as emotional damages, court costs, and lost wag es. It’s just not in an insurance company’s best interests to lie to their customers.
If you’re calling around asking for quotes and an agent starts getting really aggressive, or if they’re being wishy washy and not giving you any clear answers, you’re probably just going to hang up on them and go find someone else to provide your insurance. Insurance companies don’t want that. They want your business.
Insurance agents are just people like you or me, and like any group of people, the vast majority of them are basically good, honest people who aren’t going to lie, mislead you, or try to twist your arm. However, we’d be lying if we said there aren’t a few bad apples in every bunch.
There are a few basic rules that most professional insurance agents will abide by, so you’ll know something is off, that you’re being misled, pushed around or even lied to if they don’t seem to be following a code of conduct...
Some insurance agents won’t even give you a quote until you’ve basically filled out an application. When you call an insurance agency and ask for a quote, they should ask for some basic information about your background and your vehicle, and that’s it. An honest insurance agent might ask for your social security number to run a background check, but they’re not going to ask for your credit card number.
Once you’ve given your requisite information, the agent should have a rough estimate for you. If they just don’t seem willing to give you a quote, just hang up. A good deal is nothing to be shy or coy about, so there’s no reason for an insurance agent to be vague or wishy washy... unless they’re misleading you.