Your go-to-insurance-person
Insurance is one of life’s little inevitabilities for a great many of us, like booking your car in for an MOT, visiting the dentist, or filling out a tax return.
It’s one of those things that comes round and round, giving even the most spontaneous people an essential routine that can’t be avoided no matter how hard they try.
A lot of us will have a go-to MOT garage, the same dentist, or a trusted accountant.
But what about insurance? Has the internet become the default go-to “person” for arranging your car, home and travel insurance policies? It has for many, and it’s not hard to see why. There are no rewards for loyalty when everyone shops around, and so often the only way to avoid a hike in your premium after one year is to spend some time finding out which provider offers a deal worth jumping ship for.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. You can have a go-to person, who is actually a real person, by going to pay a visit to your local insurance brokers, such as The Insurance Centre.
It may seem strange, even outdated in the shadow of the internet and comparison websites, but an independent insurance broker really can help you get an insurance policy that is going to work best for you.
It may not always be the cheapest, but in terms of value it could potentially offer a lot more in its protection, and you’ll be saved from the annual loyalty premium penalty for not responding to your renewal letter.
This is down to a number of reasons:
Their knowledge comes from experience, not criteria
An insurance broker knows the market, so if you come to them with your requirements, the thought process on which provider or product to go with will be set in motion before you’ve even wrapped up the consultation.
They recognise you as a person, not a check-box
There may be complications in your circumstance, but with check-boxes, there is no room for negotiation. An insurance broker, however, will have spent a long time building strong relationships with a number of providers, so has the power to negotiate on your behalf for a policy that’s ideal for you but possibly beyond your reach otherwise.
They don’t just fetch, they create
How many results do you get when you put in your criteria online and click “go”. Probably dozens. But how many of those actually offer what you need? Probably very few.
You may go for a home insurance policy where you’re only looking for £10,000 contents cover but getting a minimum of £50,000 on the closest matching, cheapest policy, in which case you’re already paying for something you don’t need.
The careful consideration an insurance broker gives to each client means that they won’t end up overpaying on the cover they don’t need. If this means piecing together a policy with different products, then that’s what any insurance broker who is FCA compliant will do.
The final say is still yours…
Insurance brokers are intermediaries who will advise, not instruct. So you provide information about yourself that can help them find a number of options to suit you, ask any questions, and air any concerns, but the decision of which policy to go for ultimately lies with you.
…But the decision will be easy
When faced with your options, an insurance broker will explain the pros and cons in ways you can understand, which will save you the time trying to translate a lengthy policy document full of industry-related terminology.
They’ll handle the crisis admin
Many insurance brokers have an in-house claims support team, so if you need to make a claim, you ring them as soon as possible, give details of the circumstances, and leave it to them to negotiate your settlement from your policy provider, in a process that’s as quick and painless to you as possible.
They keep you posted
That doesn’t mean sending you a letter or email at renewal announcing that your new premium has quadrupled. It means contacting you to see if there are any changes in your circumstance to make sure your protection is still fit for purpose, and still competitive in price.
That’s the kind of go-to-insurance person that everyone could benefit from. Why not discover yours in your local broker?
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