Which is the best company for auto insurance- State Farm or Allstate?
Total Comments: 10
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 08:25 pm Post Subject:
Impossible to answer...too many variables. "Best" as in premium? Coverage? Customer service? Claims? Anything "best" in particular?
InsTeacher 8)
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 09:35 pm Post Subject:
Best as in which buys the most commercials?
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 11:23 pm Post Subject:
Best as in which buys the most commercials?
Ooooooh...that one would be a toss-up! :cry:
InsTeacher 8)
Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 02:15 am Post Subject:
The gecko wins.
Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 04:10 pm Post Subject: Independent agents are best
Pardon me if this appears bias, but I would say neither are the “best”. When you are dealing with a State Farm or Allstate agent, you are only being offered their coverage at their rate. When you deal with an independent agent, an agent that represents multiple insurance companies, you have someone that is shopping multiple companies, comparing multiple policies, to get the best rate. In my particular agency, we have several clients that have switched from State Farm and Allstate because we were able to offer them better coverage at a better rate. We work for the client, not for the insurance company.
Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 05:42 pm Post Subject:
Larry is correct, Avoid companies that have only one product to sell. They will tell you its the best but you won't know until you shop yourself. An independent agent can shop for you, you can also compare their products to State Farm/Allstate or whomever. Know what you are buying!
Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 05:58 pm Post Subject:
I don't necessarily agree with these statements:
Larry is correct, Avoid companies that have only one product to sell.
When you deal with an independent agent, an agent that represents multiple insurance companies, you have someone that is shopping multiple companies, comparing multiple policies, to get the best rate.
I have seen plenty of people get the best rates and coverage from one of the captive carriers...you cannot make a blanket statement like those above. As well, I have seen plenty of Independent Agents choose the carrier that pays them the highest/best commission and these producers could care less about the client.
I have experienced both IAs and Captives...my best rates and coverage are through a captive. I checked out all delivery systems as well.
InsTeacher 8)
Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 09:49 pm Post Subject:
I stand corrected. Don't avoid the companies that have only one product to sell but don't limit your search to one of those companies either. An independent agent can shop several where a captive cant. I guess I did mention comparing the IA products to the Captives.
Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 12:37 am Post Subject:
I have to weigh in on the side of InsTeacher. As a former captive agent who is now independent, I can say that whenever a client has asked me, "Can't I get this for less somewhere else?" my answer has always been, "Of course! But when you get it somewhere else, there's one thing you don't get . . . me."
I have never been afraid to tell someone that my product offerings were not the least expensive, because I also know they are not the most expensive either.
But I've known so-called "independent agents" who claim to represent 20 or 30 different companies, and place all of their business with just one. How is that any different than a captive agent who you KNOW only represents one insurer?
In my book, to give a client the impression you're going to price their coverage with more than one company, but only bring a quote from the one company that promises you the biggest commission, or the free trip, or laptop computer, or whatever, you've committed a crime known as misrepresentation. And it would allow the client to rescind their coverage and get back 100% of their premiums . . . if they could prove it.
My insurance license is given to me with the mandate that I bring the best product I have available to meet the client's needs at the best price available. I can do that as a captive, and I can do that as an independent, and remain true to my license mandate.
I don't represent 20 or 30 companies. I'm far more selective than that. But even representing 4 or 5 health insurers, as an example, means I have to know and understand 50 or more competing products, and must have the ability to identify which two or three are going to meet the client's needs at the best price, in order to make a sales presentation that will make sense to them.
Ours is an industry that demands the highest sense of ethics and fair dealing. Unfortunately, there are some who are only here for the money. And they make money, for a while. Until they lose interest, run out of friends and family to sell to, or get busted for doing something unlawful, like using a client's premium check for their own personal expenses. That goes by another name: theft!
Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 01:50 am Post Subject:
Max, absolutely agree. I have been both a captive and an IA, and I have to say- both had their pros and cons. Whatever the product and whatever the price, the separating component is the producer.
The best producers I have ever worked with were not primarily concerned with commissions. Of course, commissions played into the equation; I would be lying if I ever said they didn't. But they weren't the prime drivers of their motivation. There's something that the rookie producers need to learn.
Commissions take care of themselves. The difference is in how you take care of your clients!
Rookies are so excited over commissions, and they should be, but not at the expense of their clients. At first, you have to get the commissions rolling, but the key is to get those clients working for you, and that only works if they're willing to do that. They'll only do that if you've proven that you'll take care of them. That does take a while, but start with the first one.
Another thing to consider is your fun friend Errors and Omissions. The fastest growing segment of E&O lawsuits are the idiots who play with annuities and think they're doing a favor for the old lady with $500k liquid capital and throwing it into a fixed annuity with a boatload of penalties. Nice commission, nice whack upside the head from your state and an entertainment filled lawsuit on the side!
Neither the captive nor IA is immune from these issues. Therefore, the second most important aspect of a producer should include a moral and legal imperative- to stay a student of their industry. It's critical for the producer to keep up with law changes that affect the industry. Ignorance is no excuse for anyone, especially these days.
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 08:25 pm Post Subject:
Impossible to answer...too many variables. "Best" as in premium? Coverage? Customer service? Claims? Anything "best" in particular?
InsTeacher 8)
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 09:35 pm Post Subject:
Best as in which buys the most commercials?
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 11:23 pm Post Subject:
Best as in which buys the most commercials?
Ooooooh...that one would be a toss-up! :cry:
InsTeacher 8)
Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 02:15 am Post Subject:
The gecko wins.
Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 04:10 pm Post Subject: Independent agents are best
Pardon me if this appears bias, but I would say neither are the “best”. When you are dealing with a State Farm or Allstate agent, you are only being offered their coverage at their rate. When you deal with an independent agent, an agent that represents multiple insurance companies, you have someone that is shopping multiple companies, comparing multiple policies, to get the best rate. In my particular agency, we have several clients that have switched from State Farm and Allstate because we were able to offer them better coverage at a better rate. We work for the client, not for the insurance company.
Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 05:42 pm Post Subject:
Larry is correct, Avoid companies that have only one product to sell. They will tell you its the best but you won't know until you shop yourself. An independent agent can shop for you, you can also compare their products to State Farm/Allstate or whomever. Know what you are buying!
Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 05:58 pm Post Subject:
I don't necessarily agree with these statements:
Larry is correct, Avoid companies that have only one product to sell.
When you deal with an independent agent, an agent that represents multiple insurance companies, you have someone that is shopping multiple companies, comparing multiple policies, to get the best rate.
I have seen plenty of people get the best rates and coverage from one of the captive carriers...you cannot make a blanket statement like those above. As well, I have seen plenty of Independent Agents choose the carrier that pays them the highest/best commission and these producers could care less about the client.
I have experienced both IAs and Captives...my best rates and coverage are through a captive. I checked out all delivery systems as well.
InsTeacher 8)
Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 09:49 pm Post Subject:
I stand corrected. Don't avoid the companies that have only one product to sell but don't limit your search to one of those companies either. An independent agent can shop several where a captive cant. I guess I did mention comparing the IA products to the Captives.
Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 12:37 am Post Subject:
I have to weigh in on the side of InsTeacher. As a former captive agent who is now independent, I can say that whenever a client has asked me, "Can't I get this for less somewhere else?" my answer has always been, "Of course! But when you get it somewhere else, there's one thing you don't get . . . me."
I have never been afraid to tell someone that my product offerings were not the least expensive, because I also know they are not the most expensive either.
But I've known so-called "independent agents" who claim to represent 20 or 30 different companies, and place all of their business with just one. How is that any different than a captive agent who you KNOW only represents one insurer?
In my book, to give a client the impression you're going to price their coverage with more than one company, but only bring a quote from the one company that promises you the biggest commission, or the free trip, or laptop computer, or whatever, you've committed a crime known as misrepresentation. And it would allow the client to rescind their coverage and get back 100% of their premiums . . . if they could prove it.
My insurance license is given to me with the mandate that I bring the best product I have available to meet the client's needs at the best price available. I can do that as a captive, and I can do that as an independent, and remain true to my license mandate.
I don't represent 20 or 30 companies. I'm far more selective than that. But even representing 4 or 5 health insurers, as an example, means I have to know and understand 50 or more competing products, and must have the ability to identify which two or three are going to meet the client's needs at the best price, in order to make a sales presentation that will make sense to them.
Ours is an industry that demands the highest sense of ethics and fair dealing. Unfortunately, there are some who are only here for the money. And they make money, for a while. Until they lose interest, run out of friends and family to sell to, or get busted for doing something unlawful, like using a client's premium check for their own personal expenses. That goes by another name: theft!
Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 01:50 am Post Subject:
Max, absolutely agree. I have been both a captive and an IA, and I have to say- both had their pros and cons. Whatever the product and whatever the price, the separating component is the producer.
The best producers I have ever worked with were not primarily concerned with commissions. Of course, commissions played into the equation; I would be lying if I ever said they didn't. But they weren't the prime drivers of their motivation. There's something that the rookie producers need to learn.
Commissions take care of themselves. The difference is in how you take care of your clients!
Rookies are so excited over commissions, and they should be, but not at the expense of their clients. At first, you have to get the commissions rolling, but the key is to get those clients working for you, and that only works if they're willing to do that. They'll only do that if you've proven that you'll take care of them. That does take a while, but start with the first one.
Another thing to consider is your fun friend Errors and Omissions. The fastest growing segment of E&O lawsuits are the idiots who play with annuities and think they're doing a favor for the old lady with $500k liquid capital and throwing it into a fixed annuity with a boatload of penalties. Nice commission, nice whack upside the head from your state and an entertainment filled lawsuit on the side!
Neither the captive nor IA is immune from these issues. Therefore, the second most important aspect of a producer should include a moral and legal imperative- to stay a student of their industry. It's critical for the producer to keep up with law changes that affect the industry. Ignorance is no excuse for anyone, especially these days.
Good post, Max.
InsTeacher 8)
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