It is always best to assess insurance brokers and companies before committing to buying their insurance policies.
You invest in insurance policies because you want to protect your future and the next minute from any eventualities that might upset your life and that of your family; and you sure don’t want to fall into the hands of insurance fraudsters or even do business with an insurer that goes bankrupt within a year or two – and these are the more reasons why you must research and assess the professional standings of any particular insurer before signing the dotted lines.
1. Qualifications and licenses
You can’t be too careful when you request for the qualifications and licenses of any insurance agent, broker or firm before buying their insurance policy. The reason for this is because you don’t want to fall victims to insurance frauds or companies that have no rights doing insurance business in the first place.
Double-checking on the authorities of any particular insurance agent or firm is to protect you from losing your investments and cover when insurance claims arise.
2. Industry experiences and expertise
You must also ask to know the industry experiences and expertise of insurance agents and companies. The reason for this is because insurance agents and firms have areas of core interests and specializations according to the various kinds of available insurance categories like life insurance, travel insurance, auto car insurance, health and medical insurance, and workplace or personal injury insurance among several others in the industry.
3. Industry references and authorities
Nothing stops an insurance agent or company from citing references and authorities that they have insured and also point to insurance claims and compensations that they have settled. If they dilly-dally over attending to these queries, then you must take a walk.
4. Settled claims and litigations
The insurance firm should cite credible instances of settled claims and must give satisfactory answers to cases of litigations if you demand them. This gives you a sense of transparency and confidence of what you’re walking into with any relevant insurance policy.
5. Financial strengths and ratings
You must determine the financial strengths and ratings of any insurance firm before going ahead to buy their policies. You sure do not want to buy a policy and dutifully pay premiums when there is little possibility that the insurance company has the financial brawn to pay your claims when you suffer fatalities.
You could use the ratings of A.M Best, Standard and Poor’s, and Moody’s to assess the financial and professional strengths of insurance firms.
6. Be there in 30 years and not go bankrupt?
You must also find ways to ascertain that the insurance company will be stronger and in place in the next 30 years without any signs of bankruptcy or financial stresses.
Many insurance houses are fly-by-day gone-by-night and you sure don’t want an insurance company that would be rattled by a single major lawsuit. So ensure its strengths and potentials as a lifetime entity before signing the dotted lines.
