Every insurance agent I know says he or she sells value. When asked to define what value is, sometimes things get a little interesting because there isn't really a standard definition. For some it's charging more and providing more; for others, it is charging the least for the most coverage. But the thing that will really provide value to your prospects and clients is your good advice. Keeping people out of insurance trouble is always much better than getting them out of insurance trouble.

Currently there is a financial talk show guru who gives advice on a wide range of subjects to guests and callers. On one show a caller had been asked by a friend to co-sign on his auto loan because he had a bad credit score. The caller was understandably concerned he would be on the hook for the loan if he co-signed and would have little control of the situation, but he really wanted to help this person out. The host of the show suggested the caller buy the car in his name, make the payments, let his friend use the car and collect what he could from the friend to offset the payments and taxes. If the friend couldn't make the payments, the caller could at least sell the car because it was titled in his name.

You're probably already ahead of me on this one, but what about the insurance? Obviously the person buying the car would add it to his insurance policy, but if he added his “friend” as a driver and the friend didn't have a good credit score, how would this affect the rates? Would underwriting even go along with it? If this person had a loss, how would that affect the policy? If the friend had a loss in a car not titled in his name and he was not carrying any insurance himself, how would a loss that exceeded policy limits be handled? Who would the court look to for the additional payments? The financial guru did not pursue this line of questioning.