With the financial year set for closure merely three months from now, insurance agents could come knocking on your door anytime now.
Here’s the checklist to ensure you don’t fall into the wrong hands
MUMBAI: With the financial year set for closure merely three months from now, insurance agents could come knocking on your door anytime now. They have their yearly targets to meet, after all.
Time you had a tax saving plan, for otherwise, you would fall for the tax-benefit baits they drop. Also, make sure you don’t pick an agent who disappears after collecting the first premium cheque.
Here is a checklist to help you zero in on an insurance agent or advisor who can be trusted:
*When an insurance agent is nominated, he is known to sell policies to his kith and kin first and others later. But, if your remote cousin tries to sell you a policy that you don’t want to buy, you are free to deny it with the best of smiles.
*Get a list of the agent’s current clients and check whether they are satisfied enough for you to take the plunge.
*Enquire with these clients about the last time the agent had called. Did he miss an important event like a salary appraisal or the policyholder’s marriage? If he did, there is a possibility he is not professional enough.
*Check with the agent about the number of claims he has settled and get the names and contacts those policyholders.
*Has the agent changed numbers too often? If yes, opt for someone else.
*Check for the designation of the insurance seller. Usually, there are two types of agents. The first kind is comprised of financial consultants who are on the payrolls of an insurance company and have a professional obligation to serve you, while the other kind includes part-time workers who may be selling insurance for that extra buck while doing other things.
*If he is a part-time agent, get the contact details of the person he reports to and find out about him. You could even contact the unit manager to check his credentials.
*Attrition rates in the insurance industry are very high. So, apart from the unit manager, you should take down the contact numbers and email ID of the customer care department as well.
*An agent is mandated to disclose his commission if the prospective client so desires. Ask the agent for the commissions he gets on various policies, especially the product he is pushing the most, and see if he is trying to sell you a product that earns him a higher commission.
*He is an unorganised person if he is scribbling details and numbers behind an envelope or at the free end of a brochure.
*Even after you have selected an agent, you have the option of not giving him a cheque if he is not asking for or taking down the relevant details, or if he fails to put across the policy details convincingly.
*If you have written out a cheque and find the going difficult for some reason, please know that the policy can be rejected within the first 15-30 days, depending on the insurance company.
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