Quote:
Originally Posted by retiredguy123
You are asking for too much. Insurance agents are not really "agents" in the legal sense. They do not have the power to commit the insurance company to any legal obligation. So, basically, they are just salespeople. If you really want to know what is covered in your policy, you need to either read the policy yourself or hire a lawyer to read it. The insurance company doesn't care what the agent tells you as long as they sell you a policy, which is all they are paid to do. Why should they bother to train their agents to know what the policy covers? They do not represent you or the company.
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Have to disagree with some of your post - I worked for a carrier, who’s sales agents were employees of the same company. If a sales rep misrepresented the policy to a customer (and can be verified) - then that became a “Claims Coverage Question” and had to be investigated. And often times, we had to respond to complaints made directly to the Department of Insurance by the insured. At times, we would have to afford coverage where it didn’t exist because of an error made by a sales rep, and we would then subrogate against them, through their “errors and omissions” insurance coverage. (This is west coast by the way, unfamiliar with Florida Dept of Insurance).
All good carriers train their sales force, you state “ why should they bother to train agents to know what the policy covers?” That’s a pretty cavalier statement. I personally would not purchase an insurance policy from someone who doesn’t understand the product they are selling you. As I stated previously, there are many agents who don’t know the policy they are selling, but there are some “really good” agents out there that fully understand and can explain the policy (usually sales reps who are former claims adjusters) - why wouldn’t you choose the most knowledgeable insurance professional for something this important? If that is not something you value, then you can ignore my entire post.