Having insurance that covers most aspects of your life is an excellent way to stay secured in a time of crisis. However, with many insurance companies vying for clients, anyone can easily get confused about which insurance company to go for and the kind of insurance options to seek.
One way to overcome this confusion and make a perfect insurance choice is to ask the insurance agent some questions that’ll bring you clarity and show you which option would make a great choice.
Below are some vital questions you need to ask your insurance agent before making a decision:
1. What Type of Insurance Fits My Needs Perfectly?
The very first question to ask your insurance agent are questions revolving around what insurance option will fit your needs. You don’t want to go for an insurance package that you’ll never be able to claim after years of investing financially. You also don’t want to have an insurance that’ll be void because you chose a package you don’t understand.
Hence, one of the first things to do before approaching an insurance agent is first to figure out your needs. Your needs will also determine the type of insurance you go for, such as life insurance, home insurance, business insurance, health insurance, etc.
Keep in mind that working with a local, industry-specific agent is the best choice, as they’ll be more familiar with what you need. For example, if you’re looking for health insurance in New York City, local Medicare agents can show you which options offer you the most benefits (and the lowest prices) in and around your neighborhood.
The right insurance agent will look at your needs and give you the various options that fit into what you require. Your agent, which is supposed to be your representative, will also carefully analyze your choices to you and also advise you on what should be your best course of action.
Highlighting your needs and asking your insurance agent what type of insurance will best suit them will ensure you get the right coverage for your circumstances.
2. How Much Will My Insurance Premium Be?
For every insurance package you opt for, you’ll be required to pay a premium amount, either monthly or quarterly, to keep your insurance valid. If you fail to consistently meet up with your payment, your insurance package can be terminated or forfeited.
So, to prevent this from happening, you have to ask your insurance agent how much you’re expected to pay as your insurance quote.
It’s advisable to go for a premium that fits your budget. However, if you discover that the insurance premium is more than what you can afford, it’ll be smart of you to speak with your insurance agent and find a middle ground. Make sure that whatever package you go for, you can afford the premium in the long run.
3. What Are My Deductibles?
The next question you should ask your insurance agent is about how much you are to pay in comparison with how much your insurance company will pay you when the time comes to claim your insurance.
When you want to claim your insurance, various insurance packages offer different kinds of payment plans. What you pay in relation to what your insurance agency pays you when you want to claim your insurance is called deductibles.
When claiming your insurance, deductibles show how much your insurance agency can deduct from the total amount you need. The payment can be such that your agency is expected to give you 50% of the funds you need to recover from your loss.
It’s essential to know your deductibles before you go ahead and obtain an insurance package. This is to determine if they can cover your needs sufficiently. However, if the payment plan doesn’t suit your needs, it’s easier to change it before agreeing to an insurance plan than when you’re already committed to one.
4. Are There Discount Offers?
This is one fundamental question most people overlook when questioning an insurance agent. Most people don’t know that almost all insurance agencies have a discount offer to entice you or convince you to open an account with them.
However, if you go ahead to secure an insurance package, without asking your insurance agent, the insurance company most likely won’t tell you about the offer. Besides, your insurance agent may also not have any reason to inform you about the discount offer because they already secured your interest in the insurance package.
Discount offers are something you can leverage and benefit from. Therefore, it’s advisable to ask this vital question before agreeing to a contract. It’ll save you money and give you better insurance leverage.
5. What About the Availability and Accessibility of My Agent?
Insurance is a long-term investment. As such, complications do arise along the way. These complications can come from failure to pay a monthly premium and other unforeseen, unplanned circumstances.
When this happens, you’ll need to be able to contact your insurance agent and explain your situation to see if you can be given an extension in the payment option. You also may need to contact your insurance agent to ask questions or to upgrade your insurance option.
Whatever reason it is, you’ll need to have a readily available and easily accessible insurance agent to contact for assistance when you need it.
So, one of the most important questions you’ll have to ask your insurance agent is their availability and accessibility, which is why you need the contact details of the insurance company, particularly that of your insurance agent.
6. How Do I Claim My Insurance?
It’ll be unwise not to get detailed clarifications on how to go about claiming your insurance when the need arises. Most insurance agencies have extremely complicated processes in order to claim your insurance package when you need it.
The purpose of such a tedious process is to discourage you from claiming your insurance when a crisis arises. It is, therefore, essential to ask your insurance agent about the company’s method of claiming insurance.
If the process looks too cumbersome, you don’t have to go ahead with obtaining such insurance. Nothing can be as painful as not being able to claim your coverage when you need it the most, i.e., during a crisis.
Therefore, ask questions to find out if you’ll be able to go through the processes of claiming your insurance or not.
Conclusion
When a crisis arises, having insurance will be to your advantage. However, to make sure you’re getting the right coverage, you’ll need to ask your insurance agents some specific questions before making that investment.
Some of the questions that’ll find helpful are: what is the process of claiming insurance, what type of coverage will fit my needs, what are my deductibles, are there discount offers, among others?
Don’t hesitate to ask these questions. Doing this can significantly improve your chances of getting the right insurance package that suits your needs and budget.
