Be on your own guard against the Insurance agents

Submitted by carol on Thu, 07/19/2012 - 10:16
Insurance agents try their best to sell their products to you. The sales techniques used by them might be so convincing that you'll be swept right off your feet. Subsequently, you may end up buying a coverage that you may not even need. Thus, it’s advisable to stay on your own guard so that the insurance agents can’t hurt you financially. Several tactics are used by the agents when they play on their own ground. A bit of intelligence and expert advice might give you an upper hand, if you want to determine whether your insurance agent is actually helping you out or is only concerned about his own selfish means. Learning to recognize the right signs might come in handy at this point. Check out the below mentioned tips to save yourself from being sweet-talked into signing an insurance deal.

Tips to identify the witty tactics of an insurance agent

It’s not an easy task to identify the sales techniques used by the agents, since lots of experience might have led them to perfection. You can however make use of the following tips, to identify their gestures and avoid being manipulated.
  1. Watch out for the grin - Smirks and half-hearted grins reveal a lot about an individual. In case of an insurance agent, those might be signs of superiority and contempt. Beware of the insurance agent who might be smirking a lot, instead of smiling in a whole-hearted way. Smiles are encouraging, smirks are not.
  2. Don't ignore the 'gut' instincts - Every individual has the ‘sixth sense’, and paying heed to that might be helpful at times. If you feel that an insurance offer is too good to be true, well it might be so! There might be some hidden clauses that come along as accessories with the policy. If you feel that an agent is lying, immediately put up your barriers. Make sure that you don’t fall prey to a fraud.
  3. Notice the shrugs - Shrugs indicate uncertainty and hesitation. You’ll obviously not want to follow the advice of an insurance agent who has limited knowledge about the industry etc. He might not be the best help during a crisis situation. So, if your insurance agent shrugs a lot, trace back your steps politely. Start looking for an experienced agent instead.
  4. Make yourself heard - Insurance agents might bully you into signing a deal, without you even realizing it. Don’t let an agent control the conversation, and speak up for yourself if something bothers you. You can consider his suggestions but you’ll need to identify your insurance requirements on your own. Take your time and make sure that the final decision is yours, since you’ll have to bear the costs for the policy.
  5. Don't fall for the emotional tricks - Emotions are good and makes you humane. However, those might be damaging when you’ll be making important financial decisions. An insurance agent may try to influence you emotionally and convince you into buying a policy. You need to be cautious since his concerns for you and your family might be pretentious. He might be doing all of it to make you sign the deal so that he can earn his commissions.
  6. Note the tone carefully - The tone of voice reveals how the insurance agent will be treating you. If he’s in too much of a hurry, or speaks inaudibly, he might be lying or concealing information. Again, if he speaks too authoritatively, show him the door politely. Make sure that he explains the benefits of your policy patiently and in a happy tone which would mean that he is positively concerned about your well being.
Above everything else, you’ll need to know which type of coverage you’ll need. An agent shouldn’t be able to talk you into buying unnecessary or excess insurance coverage. Do your own research before you meet up with an insurance agent.
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