In recent years, the blame game has become very popular. The object of the game is to find somebody to blame; it does not really make any difference who this is, as long as it is not the person looking for a victim to blame. Insurance professionals are guaranteed losers and at all costs should avoid involvement in the game. Your position in any given insurance transaction makes you the perfect target.

Most folks involved in any given transaction feel completely justified taking their shots at the middleman when something does not go exactly as planned. This is especially true for the insurance person because even if you win, you lose. Considering lost clients, time wasted, and the emotional distress of being involved in litigation, it is a zero-sum game.

Serving as an insurance agent/producer/broker has become a “hard hat” job. There are at least three different approaches to successfully blame the insurance representative. On one hand, we have the client whose position is, “He should have known what I needed.” On another hand, we have the insurance company, whose position is that its agent did not follow instructions or exceeded his authority. Finally, we have the legal community, which cannot proceed without finding fault. If all else fails and you cannot avoid litigation, I suggest following the often-recommended advice, “The best defense is a good offense.”