Let The Seller Beware!
We were disappointed but not surprised to hear that a survey of car owners on behalf of a leading insurer revealed substantial ignorance among the public when it comes to the factors influencing auto insurance costs.
It was so bad that a sizable portion said they believed that a vehicles paint job is a rating factor. Indeed, 11 percent of those surveyed by the Hartford Financial Services Group said they had avoided buying a red or yellow car to save on insurance, when, in fact, color has no bearing on premiums.
In addition, only one-third of those participating in the survey–a total of 879 adults responsible for making auto insurance buying decisions–knew that installing safety devices can have a significant impact on their insurance costs.
Savvy agents and insurers could benefit both their clients and their own bottom lines by being more proactive in educating consumers about how to properly shop for coverage.
Agents or carriers that point out to an insured how to lower premiums by, for example, taking a higher deductible, or buying multiple-policies with the same insurer, will help consumers save money, will expand their books of business, and, most importantly, might earn the loyalty of a grateful customer.
On the other hand, customers who learn through friends or the media that they haven't benefited from simple discounting policies are not going to blame themselves for not being more careful shoppers. They will blame their agent and/or carrier for leaving them in the dark or cheating them.
As the saying goes, an educated consumer is still your best customer.
Reproduced from National Underwriter Property & Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, January 13, 2003. Copyright 2003 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.
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