When shopping for a disability insurance policy, it is important to distinguish the difference between working with an agent and a broker.
An agent is an employee of a company. Agents typically have incentives to sell the products from their company and are discouraged or even disallowed to shop around. If you work with an agent, you are only seeing a small part of the picture. It is analogous to shopping for a car at one dealership. While the products may be quality, it may or may not be in your best interest. Without knowing all of the available options, it is difficult to make an educated decision if the product being shown is the best for your situation.
A broker does not work for an insurance company. Instead, they independently contract with each company and can sell products from multiple companies. A good broker will work on your behalf and shop around to find the best product suitable for your needs. Brokers tend to be objective since they do not work for the insurance company and do not have pressure to sell products from any particular company. Their objective should be to make you happy and acquire your business regardless of the company.
It is usually easy to distinguish the difference between working with a broker and an agent. If you are working with someone who is showing you one product, you are most likely working with an agent. If you are working with someone who is showing you several options, you are most likely working with a broker.
For more information about shopping for individual long term disability insurance or to request an objective quote comparison, contact Set for Life Insurance today!
