What could be worse than knowing nothing about insurance companies, products and options? The answer…is having an insurance agent who doesn’t either.

The Advantages of Dealing with Non-Captive Agents

Well, maybe you came across agents who knew but were afraid to say for fear of losing a sale or making less of a commission. YEP, I have come across many of those agents when I was seeking insurance for myself in the past. I got most of my education the hard way and NOT from the so called experts who I called upon for information and a quote.   I found that not all insurance companies are created equal and it is impossible to compare apples to apples because the insurance companies themselves are a variety of fruits, not to mention the plans and benefits vary so widely. The cost of health care in this country has skyrocketed in the past 10 years. Insurance companies are in business to make money not to lose it. This is why health insurance rates keep rising and overall benefits are being reduced industry wide. Of course there are other factors that come into play as well. The point being is that benefits have been reduced and the premiums still keep going up.  We are all getting significantly less and paying more for our health care coverage than we did 10 years ago. We may need to compensate by carrying additional coverage or supplemental types of plans.    

Where to begin? Well, it starts with the insurance company first, and then the products and plans second. What good is it to select an affordable plan with all the bells and whistles if you are going to lose your coverage when your company informs you they are not going to be serving you any more? Or having outrageous premium rate increases year after year and being forced to cancel because you can’t afford to keep up with the insurance company’s increase in premiums? Or to pay your premiums faithfully for years, and at the time you really need them when you file a legitimate claim, the insurance company tries to get out of paying it, costing you legal fees and headaches not to mention potential financial ruin? Well, all these are factors that you need to be thinking about when you shop for a quote. For example….it probably isn’t a good thing if your company can single you out for a rate increase and cancel you because you got sick and are now going to cost them money. Finding the right company is not easy. You depend on agents to help guide you. Finding good agents is NOT easy and unfortunately often you suffer the consequences. Nobody has a crystal ball into the future. However, there are factors that can significantly help us predict and guide us to make good choices.   

I will never forget the agent who came to my home and guided me to choose a particular company based solely on premiums. The next year my premium doubled! Of course I couldn’t afford it and had to drop them.  I was angry with my agent because I later found out this company always did that, the agent knew it and he didn’t tell me. I was without health insurance for a long time. Fortunately, nothing happened to me that would have made me uninsurable with anyone else.  I would have been unable to buy any insurance at all let alone shop for a better price or a better company... BAD AGENT… VERY BAD.  Another agent told me when he signed me up for a life policy that it didn’t matter much about the face amount of the policy I decided upon because he was going to review with me the following year to see if my needs changed. I never heard back from him and had to search him out years later to “fire him” and do away with the plan. 

I also had agents explain to me about companies who were captive and that was the reason that they did not represent them. They didn’t represent them because they could not. However, having once been a captive agent I discovered that I was only looking out for the insurance company’s best interest and not my clients’. I chose that company because I loved their product and benefits. I was not at all upset that I was captive…until after six months passed and they completely changed their plan reducing the benefits and increasing the premiums and there was nothing I could do for my clients but offer them that product and only that product because I was forbidden to sell a better product by a better company. I no longer work for that company… I can't in good conscious represent a company who clearly does not have your best interest at heart. I choose the companies NOW, and they work for you, my client. As my client, you can rest assured that I will always look out for your best interests. The best way to do that is to represent a handful of the top companies based on their financial ratings and whose products are competitive, and varied thus allowing for different solutions for different folks. Plus, I want to be free to present new products to my clients that I feel are worthy of their serious consideration. I could not do that when I was a captive agent. I am now CAPTIVE to my CLIENTS and NOT captive to any insurance company. LIVE and LEARN...  

Now that I learned the hard way….I offer you better service, better solutions and more for your money. At Margo Kelly & Associates we bring to you SERVICE first, COMPANIES second and PRODUCTS third. The first part of this service is to help you narrow down your choices to what is most important to you so that you can choose wisely. After we determine what your needs and concerns are …then we can suggest to you which companies we think have the best plans for your needs. We will provide you with pertinent information such as the company rating, products and cost effective plans based on your needs, wants, and budgetary concerns. You may be calling for a quote, but you need to know something about the quote you are getting in order to make an educated decision.  Margo Kelly & Associates is selective in the companies we represent. While there is NO such thing as the perfect product for everyone, there is the best product for you and we want to help you determine what that is. 

Based upon the following information we will match your needs with the companies we represent. How do we know what is best for you? We don’t…until you let us know something about you and your needs and concerns.  Help us help you…..find what you are looking for.    

1. Company rating.
2. Longevity past performance to best determine future.
3. Rate increases
4. Paying claims
5. Canceling policy
6. Singling out for rate increases
7. Usual, Customary & Reasonable charges
8. The Plans coverage.
9. Optional benefits and riders
10. Network coverage.
11. Additional Benefits included.

Call Margo Kelly & Associates to discuss your options. We promise to bring you products from A rated or above insurance companies with a proven track record. We promise to bring you companies who we believe have your best interest in mind and at prices we think you can afford. If we feel for any reason that we can’t help you, we also promise to do our very best to bring you alternative solutions. 

So let’s get started. Call us to discuss your options and assess your needs. Or click here and provide us with some basic information about yourself and what you are looking for. We will get that information to you ASAP.  

  Margo Kelly & Associates
Phone: 910-538-5158