# I think it's time for a new insurance agent **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 16, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-for-a-new-insurance-agent/532702 "2010-03-16T21:55:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-for-a-new-insurance-agent/532702/21 "2010-03-17T16:21:19Z")
You last two posters must be psychic. It’s a State Farm agent. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-for-a-new-insurance-agent/532702/22 "2010-03-17T16:21:24Z")
Let’s look at the gap insurance. Based on your payments and interest rate you put down $6,000 and financed $25,500. In the first year a $31,500 auto would lose no more than 20% of its value, so the gap between the amount owed and the market value is going to end up being $300 or less. That gap will do nothing but decline as the loan amortizes. The cost for the gap insurance is $21.33 a month for 48 months, (I figured the payments at 4.69% to be $583.67) so it costs $1,023.84 over the life of the loan. It certainly is obvious why they don’t like to do a loan without it, it costs the customer $1,000 for $300 worth of protection. I’d like to sell a lot of that insurance myself. You have to ask yourself if the risk of losing $300 is worth the cost. You might want to pay it down in three years instead of four. That would put a thousand dollar bill in your pocket instead of the other way around. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-for-a-new-insurance-agent/532702/23 "2010-03-17T16:36:54Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I think it’s unreasonable to get all pissy just because a salesman tries to sell you something. It’s like being mad at a dog for humping your leg–that’s just what they do. If that dog is mine, he gets castrated. I do not have the same degree of control over the salesperson, but if they annoy me (and I use _my_ definition of annoy) then they get fired. ---
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-for-a-new-insurance-agent/532702/24 "2010-03-17T16:42:55Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > Let’s look at the gap insurance. Based on your payments and interest rate you put down $6,000 and financed $25,500. In the first year a $31,500 auto would lose no more than 20% of its value, so the gap between the amount owed and the market value is going to end up being $300 or less. That gap will do nothing but decline as the loan amortizes. > > The cost for the gap insurance is $21.33 a month for 48 months, (I figured the payments at 4.69% to be $583.67) so it costs $1,023.84 over the life of the loan. It certainly is obvious why they don’t like to do a loan without it, it costs the customer $1,000 for $300 worth of protection. I’d like to sell a lot of that insurance myself. > > You have to ask yourself if the risk of losing $300 is worth the cost. You might want to pay it down in three years instead of four. That would put a thousand dollar bill in your pocket instead of the other way around. Of course, this assumes that the insurance company is interested in giving you maximal value for your totaled car… ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-for-a-new-insurance-agent/532702/25 "2010-03-17T17:07:58Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > **Hampshire** , I think you have a good agent but her customer service/sales skills suck. She does risk management for a living, you do not. She see’s all kinds of claims, accidents and financially devastating situations that you don’t because of where she is and what she does. How about you do what you do and spread your expertise around for the benefit of all, and let her do the same? > [@Rumor\_Watkins](#): > > You also strike me as someone who can’t fucking negotiate his way out of a paper bag. Her response to “can i get it without the gap insurance” isn’t “absolutely not” it’s “i don’t like to”. Your response to that? It’s not “well if you want my business you’ll offer it without the insurance” it’s “bla bla bla (insert snarky, passive aggressive bullshit here)… I’ll pass” Well, there you go. The OP should’ve both deferred to the agent’s wisdom and forcefully demanded things his way. ---
**Author:** ![ivn1188](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e480ec/32.png) [@ivn1188](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivn1188)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-for-a-new-insurance-agent/532702/26 "2010-03-17T17:16:11Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Well, there you go. The OP should’ve both deferred to the agent’s wisdom and forcefully demanded things his way. Either is acceptable, as is switching to a new insurance provider. What’s not acceptable is writing a whiny OP about your insurance that makes you sound like an oversensitive dipshit (as well as the whole $6000 down payment thing, when you can get such tremendously good financing on autos that’s it’s often cheaper than inflation). ---
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-for-a-new-insurance-agent/532702/27 "2010-03-17T17:36:19Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Well, there you go. The OP should’ve both deferred to the agent’s wisdom and forcefully demanded things his way. Um, your juxtaposed clips are saying this: 1. maybe she knows better than you so maybe taking her advice is warranted 2. if you still don’t want to take that advice, it’s really simple to make a request that the loan not have gap insurance i don’t really see the the conflict. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-for-a-new-insurance-agent/532702/28 "2010-03-17T17:51:37Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Well, there you go. The OP should’ve both deferred to the agent’s wisdom and forcefully demanded things his way. Never said he should defer to her wisdom. But she’s got more than he does in this arena and he’s a fool to at least not consider it. Hampshire is simply buying from the wrong business model. He’s paying for an agent to provide insight, what he wants is to make his own decisions and buy just what he wants–there are online companies that can do that for a lot cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-for-a-new-insurance-agent/532702/29 "2010-03-17T18:19:09Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > I disagree. Being a glorified salesman myself (although in a completely different market), you should respect the way the prospect or client wants to interact with you. Whether that’s online, mail, phone, or never (except in emergencies). Whoever spends the money gets to decide (A Mark Cubanism in this month’s Inc. mag). I have been in sales ( unrelated field ) for a long time now. I have often heard (especially during sales trainings) that it never hurts to ask. I totally disgree. You have to know your customer and have a sense of ( as Mr. Smashy said) how THEY want you to relate to them. If the customer always says no to the last thing you try to sell them then you are pushing too hard. This may seem harmless but you are then in a “relationship” where every conversation ends on a negative tone and it tends to make the customer not to look forward to dealing with you. A good salesman needs to know when to stop and your insurance agent doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-for-a-new-insurance-agent/532702/30 "2010-03-17T18:34:10Z")
> [@ivn1188](#): > > What’s not acceptable is writing a whiny OP about your insurance that makes you sound like an oversensitive dipshit . Oh yeah, that’s right. You’re the guy who doesn’t like people posting “rants about the world” in a forum who’s decription is “rants about the world”. [Lamest pit thread ever](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=539342). You’re dismissed. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-for-a-new-insurance-agent/532702/31 "2010-03-17T19:11:55Z")
When you look for a new agent, check for an independent one. Those that are affiliated with a specific company will only sell you that insurance, so you might be missing out on deals that agents who sell for a variety of companies can find. Luck to you. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-for-a-new-insurance-agent/532702/32 "2010-03-17T19:26:39Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > Never said he should defer to her wisdom. But she’s got more than he does in this arena and he’s a fool to at least not consider it. Hampshire is simply buying from the wrong business model. He’s paying for an agent to provide insight, what he wants is to make his own decisions and buy just what he wants–there are online companies that can do that for a lot cheaper. But this agent is being pushy in a way that I would find unacceptable in an agent that I’m currently in a business relationship with. Cold calls from my current agent that say “Please call me immediately about your policy” make me think there’s an urgent problem of some sort with the policy that I already have - like the premiums are way behind, or the company has decided to cancel me because of some info they’ve received. I’d be pissed too if I called her back and found she just wanted to sell me some unrelated insurance. And if she’s getting info on refinancing, she should add the totally unrelated gap insurance as an option, and not just include it in the price - I’m guessing if the OP hadn’t questioned it, she would have gleefully included it without even bringing it up. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-for-a-new-insurance-agent/532702/33 "2010-03-17T19:32:28Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > But this agent is being pushy in a way that I would find unacceptable in an agent that I’m currently in a business relationship with. Cold calls from my current agent that say “Please call me immediately about your policy” make me think there’s an urgent problem of some sort with the policy that I already have - like the premiums are way behind, or the company has decided to cancel me because of some info they’ve received. I’d be pissed too if I called her back and found she just wanted to sell me some unrelated insurance. And if she’s getting info on refinancing, she should add the totally unrelated gap insurance as an option, and not just include it in the price - I’m guessing if the OP hadn’t questioned it, she would have gleefully included it without even bringing it up. Pretty much on the nose. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-for-a-new-insurance-agent/532702/34 "2010-03-17T19:38:17Z")
I have USAA, also. They are the cheapest I’ve ever had and they are fantastic. When the tires and rims were stolen from my car, I had a check the next day that covered everything and more. I got a follow up call two weeks later to make sure I was satisfied and treated well. In all the years I’ve been with they have never tried to sell me anything I haven’t asked for. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-for-a-new-insurance-agent/532702/35 "2010-03-17T19:38:55Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > But this agent is being pushy in a way that I would find unacceptable in an agent that I’m currently in a business relationship with. Cold calls from my current agent that say “Please call me immediately about your policy” make me think there’s an urgent problem of some sort with the policy that I already have - like the premiums are way behind, or the company has decided to cancel me because of some info they’ve received. I’d be pissed too if I called her back and found she just wanted to sell me some unrelated insurance. And if she’s getting info on refinancing, she should add the totally unrelated gap insurance as an option, and not just include it in the price - I’m guessing if the OP hadn’t questioned it, she would have gleefully included it without even bringing it up. [QUOTE=me] good agent but her customer service/sales skills suck [/QUOTE] I believe we have an accord. Her heart’s in the right place but I agree that her tactics are a tad slimy. ---
**Author:** ![Gruntled](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/34f0e0/32.png) [@Gruntled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gruntled)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-for-a-new-insurance-agent/532702/36 "2010-03-17T19:54:49Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > “Well, no, I don’t like to do loans without it.” Did she say **why** she “doesn’t like” to do this? ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-for-a-new-insurance-agent/532702/37 "2010-03-17T20:10:06Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > I can tell you, she stood to make very little, like maybe $10, on the GAP policy. Huh?? Per the OP, the gap insurance came to an extra $20 _per month._ I agree with **Bill Door** , it’s a lot of paying in for a relatively small amount of protection. And in my experience, as good as insurance companies are at collecting your money, they’re even better at finding ways to avoid paying it out when a claim is filed. How else could they stay in business? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-for-a-new-insurance-agent/532702/38 "2010-03-17T20:26:42Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > And in my experience, as good as insurance companies are at collecting your money, they’re even better at finding ways to avoid paying it out when a claim is filed. How else could they stay in business? As someone who has been trained to “Try and find a way to pay the claim” I take exception to that broad brush comment. I guess it’s a bit of a thread hijack, but that line of thinking completely ignores legal recourse available to the consumer, and the severe consequences levied against insurers when they wantonly break contacts with their customers. Punitive damages alone make it a very bad business practice to say “NO!” without being damned sure a jury will side with you. There’s no shortage of ravenous plaintiff attorneys just aching to sue my clients and then hop the fence and woo them into a bad faith suit–that’s where the _real_ money is. Now, if you want to get into being dropped after a claim gets paid you might have a point. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-for-a-new-insurance-agent/532702/39 "2010-03-17T20:29:11Z")
> [@Gruntled](#): > > Did she say **why** she “doesn’t like” to do this? Not sure. Maybe she thinks it’s not worth her time to set up the loan unless she’s getting something out of it? ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Smashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mr\_Smashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Smashy)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-for-a-new-insurance-agent/532702/40 "2010-03-17T20:36:03Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > I have been in sales ( unrelated field ) for a long time now. > > I have often heard (especially during sales trainings) that it never hurts to ask. > > I totally disgree. You have to know your customer and have a sense of ( as Mr. Smashy said) how THEY want you to relate to them. If the customer always says no to the last thing you try to sell them then you are pushing too hard. This may seem harmless but you are then in a “relationship” where every conversation ends on a negative tone and it tends to make the customer not to look forward to dealing with you. A good salesman needs to know when to stop and your insurance agent doesn’t. In my opinion, that’s because successful salespeople don’t try to get rich off of one deal; they get rich off of multiple deals, longterm relationships, and perhaps most importantly, referrals. The hard sell only, at best, gets the short term deal (and as **Hampshire’s** case illustrates, sometimes not even that). People hate to be sold. But they love to buy (usually emotionally; I would imagine that life insurance, even though I wouldn’t try to sell that at gunpoint, is even more of an emotional close). One of the greatest quotes from Glengarry Glen Ross: > [@](#): > > “You don’t get rich selling a guy a car. You get rich selling him 5 cars over 25 years” And his buddies cars, his kids’ cars, etc. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-for-a-new-insurance-agent/532702.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-for-a-new-insurance-agent/532702.md?page=3)