Years ago, it seemed every town had a local television stationthat aired a show designed to scare kids out of their wits. Theformat was always the same. Some local personality or stationemployee would draw the short straw and get made up as a zombie,mummy or (usually) vampire, be given the corniest name possible,and then host the weekly low-budget horror flick.

When I was a kid, my faithful guide to the gore was one M.T.Graves, who lived in the dungeon below the station, rising from hiscoffin only when commanded by the warden every Saturday afternoon.Each week, he would root for the giant ants, spiders, space aliensor creatures mutated by atomic accidents (always in Japan or onsome remote Pacific island) to triumph over the pathetic efforts ofpuny mortals. And each week, of course, he was doomed todisappointment but promised to have another go at scaring the pantsoff us if we dared return next week.
Viewing these movies as adults, we find them hilarious andamateurish. How in the world did we ever take them seriously? Yet Iclearly remember feelings of abject fear, more than once leading tonightmares and a need to seek comfort from the nearest availableadult. I knew M.T. Graves wasn't real, but those humongous spidersswallowing those poor soldiers whole–aaiiieeee!!
How appropriate then, in the month of Halloween, that weacknowledge seemingly comical yet potentially terrorizing eventsoccurring in our agencies every day. Turn down the lights, lightthe candle in the jack-o-lantern and permit me to step into thedecrepit shoes of M.T. Graves. In the sonorous tones of BorisKarloff, I now lead you on a journey to the dark side of agenciesone could only wish were located far, far away, on a remote Pacificisland.
While the following queries will appear humorous or farfetched toexperienced agents and brokers (let's call you “adults”), there arefolks working in your very office (“kids”) who would find themfrighteningly familiar. Each question is absolutely real, chosenfrom the online mailbag of the IIABA Virtual University Ask theExperts service. As my friend Mary Eisenhart is wont to say, “Beafraid; be very afraid.” To wit:
–”Where does business income derive from? Is it property orliability?”
–”How is an all-risk policy better than a named-perilspolicy?”
–”What's the easiest way to explain to an insured the HO 1732endorsement on a condo policy (Spec. Cov. A) vs. not having thisendorsement?”
–”I received a question today from a client's spouse, who asked ifit's really a big deal if she's added as named insured along withher husband. You know how with some policies just one of thespouses is listed as named insured? I told her that as long asshe's listed as a driver, that's what matters. Is there anythingelse missing?”
–”Is it not true that you would not be fully covered under thehomeowners policy for boat liability?”
–”I have a situation where an insured is purchasing a home thathe'll be renovating for a year, so it will be vacant. The lenderfaxed over the appraisal. At this time, the only market I have is aDP1 and that is written as ACV for the dwelling. What I wanted toknow is how do I explain to the lender that I can't write it atfull replacement value?”
–”Please advise the best way to let a client know that a DP3 is abetter policy than DP1. I hope you can help me.”
–”I was wondering … let's say an insured's home's square footage is1,400 and the Costimator reflects the replacement of the home at$210,000. Then later we find out that the true square footage ofthe home was really 1,700, thus making the replacement valuehigher. Can the company at time of loss come back and penalize theinsured?”
Aaiiieeee!!
What's truly terrifying is that this is just a small sampling. Ihad a veritable ocean of similar queries to choose from.
Last month, I shared several questions from supposedly competentinsurance folks I called “coasters”–those who seemed too lazy ordistracted to find the correct answers to simple coveragequestions. (I really need to stop publishing these things or nobodywill write in anymore!) Rather than–God forbid–peek at the policy,coasters take a guess and hope they pin the tail on the coveragedonkey. If they miss, their insureds take it in the neck while theystumble on to the next client. Sure, an E&O claim may laterprovide the client some payback, but the insured would much ratherhave had the coverage. That's why people buy insurance.
What makes the queries cited here even scarier than last month's isthat the folks weren't coasting. This is not a “Look how stupidsome people must be to ask such questions” column. Quite theopposite: These folks are scared. You can almost smell thefear that drove them to their keyboards to query our experts. Can'tyou hear the trembling voice behind that plaintive “I hope you canhelp me”?
If you're an owner, manager or only a more experienced insurancepractitioner, you should be scared too. Let us count theways:
Scare No. 1: These folks are real employees inreal insurance agencies. None of the queries above is hypotheticalor has been doctored in any way. They are from real peopleinteracting daily with real insureds who have every right tobelieve they're placing their real risks into the hands of realinsurance professionals. What will those insureds do when theylearn the truth–that their agents don't really know what they'redoing–especially if this unpleasant revelation comes at claimtime?
Scare No. 2: These folks have big gaps in basicinsurance knowledge. This isn't about being confused by obtusewording in forms or misinterpreting gray areas. This is “I have notyet completed my first insurance class” stuff. Yet someone outthere is hiring these folks and placing them in the direct line offire without proper preparation. Who's more at fault when someoneis floundering in waters far too deep for their currentabilities–the person going under, or the fool who threw them offthe dock, yelling, “Swim for it! This is how you learn!”?
Scare No. 3: These folks came to us instead ofyou.
“You” meaning their supervisor, fellow team member or agencyprincipal. It reminds me of teaching teenagers in Sunday school.Sometimes one would come to me with a confidential question. I feltgratified by the level of trust the student showed in me, but Ialso felt sad that they needed to ask me a question that shouldhave been directed to their parents. When I gently suggested thatperhaps they should go to Mom and Dad, guess what they told me?Bingo: They were scared. Scared of being humiliated, scared of notliving up to expectations, scared of what repercussions revealingthis ignorance might create.
Are your people afraid of you?
Do you provide ready access to learning resources andopportunities? Does everyone in your agency know whom they can goto with a coverage, underwriting or procedural question? Doeseveryone who works for and with you know such questions will bereceived in a positive manner? Or are they afraid that such querieswill be seen as signs of weakness or incompetence that will beanswered with disdain, loss of respect or even termination?
Scare No. 4: You believe you're receptive, butthey don't.
School counselors, religious leaders and anyone who works withyouth will tell you they're amazed at how many parents are unawaretheir child is afraid to confide in them. “Oh no,” they insist. “Mychild and I have a wonderful relationship! He knows he can come tome anytime.” Does he? Evidently some well-meaning parents aresending totally different signals with their attitudes and actions.It's a sad clich? that such parents often learn of their error atthe worst time–when their child is already deep in trouble.
Sounds a bit like your learning of an employee's ignorance at thetime of a claim, doesn't it? You may feel you're doing all theright things to foster an environment in which employees feel it'ssafe to ask questions, but don't assume anything. Continuallyreinforce the message that what seems to be a stupid question ismuch better than what is definitely a stupid mistake.
And the payoff? Just as with those horror films, someday you'llfind you've outgrown your fears and these situations will seemcomical. Until then, remember: It's a lot more fun to get the joke,than to be the joke.
Chris Amrhein is an insurance educator and speaker with morethan 30 years in the industry. He is also chief fun officer ofwww.insuranceisfun.com,where his newest book of insurance musings, “Yes, Virginia, ThereIs Insurance,” is now available. Readers may contact Chris at[email protected]