The Insurance Policy: What Did You Buy and What Did We Sell?

If we (insurance agents) are going to make sense of the property and casualty insurance industry, the educational process must start with you (the consumer) – understanding what you purchased from your local independent agent.

The first obvious answer is that you purchased financial security for you and your family should a catastrophic event occur.

The next obvious answer is that you purchased peace of mind, knowing that you are protected from common everyday occurrences such as water and fire loss. (Or, maybe the peace of mind comes from knowing you are protected if an injury occurs on your property and you get sued.)

Now, here’s the most important part: the part about what you purchased and didn’t even realize you were purchasing.

Few consumers actually know that the insurance policy is a legal contract. (Contracts are legally binding and enforceable agreements that contain the duties and obligations of all parties to that contract.)

 You purchased the conditions, the duties, and the obligations that come with the insurance policy. We sold you conditions, and duties, and obligations that come with the insurance policy.
That’s right! We sold you a commitment and you purchased responsibility.

So…your question is What responsibilities did I purchase?

Well, simply put and with no intention of condescending, the first step in being responsible is reading your policy. The insurance policy does not provide absolute financial security or absolute peace of mind. But you may never know that… until you read your policy. How can you augment your policy with the necessary riders /endorsements unless you read and understand what you purchased?

As an experienced insurance professional, I would be retired by now if I had a dollar for every time policyholders shared that they have never read their policies.

Unfortunately, these comments generally come after they experience loss and find out the loss is not covered under their policy, but could have been covered through other means – had they read the policy.

Please understand, I am not bashing or blaming you, the consumer; rather, I want to help further educate and inform you. We as insurance professionals have not always done the best job of speaking clearly and providing you with information that is in plain English. We all know education is free, but not always easy. Too often, the carrier and the consumer learn only after something has hit us in the pocketbook.

Which reminds me of the purpose of these blog entries: We want to help you keep your money in your pocket through better understanding of the insurance contract and what you can do to prevent loss.

 Check in with us here as we explore the insurance contract deeper. I’ll speak to the duties and obligations of the policyholder in greater detail. Let me help educate you on what the insurer’s duties and obligations are.

We have commitments to you we have to keep and want to keep. I am confident that as we continue to share ideas and thoughts, you’ll know how to better protect your property and valuables, and we will insure a better risk.

It is no secret that we want to retain you as a customer. The true goal we want to maintain you as partner!

                                      Contact us for all your Insurance needs! (321)725-1620

Bob Lancaster Insurance

Serving Florida since 1964