# Insurance Agent: Real Thing or Mythical Beast from the Distant Past? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 23, 2025, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insurance-agent-real-thing-or-mythical-beast-from-the-distant-past/1025973 "2025-12-23T02:20:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insurance-agent-real-thing-or-mythical-beast-from-the-distant-past/1025973/41 "2025-12-23T19:08:54Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > That’s partly because the carrier I’m with (USAA) doesn’t work with independent agents, they only write direct. And I’ve been very happy with them. (And when i worked in the claims department of a direct competitor, i looked at “customer satisfaction” scores for us and all our major competitors, and USAA was always at the top). FWIW, I wish that I could get USAA; I’ve always heard great things about them. But, I don’t qualify, as I’m not a veteran – my dad is an Army vet, and so, if he were a USAA member, I’d qualify, but he’s never been interested in switching to them, alas. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insurance-agent-real-thing-or-mythical-beast-from-the-distant-past/1025973/42 "2025-12-23T19:20:36Z")
My dad was barely a veteran, but he had USAA insurance, and i bought it fairly young. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insurance-agent-real-thing-or-mythical-beast-from-the-distant-past/1025973/43 "2025-12-23T19:25:40Z")
I didn’t know that it’s not enough to be the child of a veteran but that your father needed to be a USAA member. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insurance-agent-real-thing-or-mythical-beast-from-the-distant-past/1025973/44 "2025-12-23T19:28:33Z")
I learned this a few years ago, when USAA was running ads that said, “you don’t have to be a veteran to join, if your parent served.” I then went onto their website, and discovered that, as a child of a veteran, you need to give them your parent’s USAA membership number in order to join. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insurance-agent-real-thing-or-mythical-beast-from-the-distant-past/1025973/45 "2025-12-23T19:44:17Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Fwiw, i am a p&c actuary, I’ve also worked in the industry for many years, and i have chosen not to use an agent for many years. Actuaries are part of that 0.1% that know more than me. A _lot_ more. Frankly, you people scare me a little. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insurance-agent-real-thing-or-mythical-beast-from-the-distant-past/1025973/46 "2025-12-23T20:25:17Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Actuaries are part of that 0.1% that know more than me. A _lot_ more. Frankly, you people scare me a little. 😁 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 My interview with the Head of the Actuarial Science Department of the school I attended started with “In actuarial science, we are primarily concerned with Mortality and Morbidity. And depending on your employer, you may want more or less of each.” I signed the offer letter from the Decision Sciences department forthwith! ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insurance-agent-real-thing-or-mythical-beast-from-the-distant-past/1025973/47 "2025-12-23T20:29:14Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > priced ripoff, a low-priced bargain, or simply theft and waste when they don’t pay. > > Judging an insurer by their premiums is like judging a restaurant meal by the poop it produces. You’re missing the point! And they probably have a good idea of the coverage that’s right for _you_. For example, they have an idea of how often a hailstorm hits your area, and what a new roof costs, and can help you tailor your homeowner’s coverage such that you’re not over or under protected. That consultation role is where the value’s at for some sorts of insurance. For more cut-and-dried ones like car insurance, they don’t add that much value IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insurance-agent-real-thing-or-mythical-beast-from-the-distant-past/1025973/48 "2025-12-23T20:46:53Z")
Another longtime SF customer, who has dealt with 2 agents through most of my adult life. The OP is quite different from my practice/experience. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insurance-agent-real-thing-or-mythical-beast-from-the-distant-past/1025973/49 "2025-12-23T20:55:39Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > And I have never in my life dealt with an insurance agent. I have two, one for Home and another for auto. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2025, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insurance-agent-real-thing-or-mythical-beast-from-the-distant-past/1025973/50 "2025-12-24T00:33:41Z")
I can foresee things changing in the near future, but for now, I have home & auto insurance from a local agent (State Farm). I have had the same HO policy for 45 years (I paid for her insurance when my Mom lived here). The agent and company have been approachable, reasonable (I think) and swiftly handled several claims over the years (several large trees fell on the house during a tornado, causing roof damage, and everything was covered). If I have an auto accident, my agent asks for (one) estimate, and immediately writes a voucher for that auto shop. Of two accidents in the last 12 years, both were results of deer or turkey collisions, so there wasn’t really any dispute once the damage was shown. We have never had a dispute, and I have sat down with him occasionally to see what up- or down-grades might be appropriate. My agent has also supported my video activity at the school, and his son assisted me a few years ago with a school video production. Local collaboration like this is common in a small town, and I like it. Unfortunately, this agent retired a few months ago, and his 2-person office (him and his wife) have been replaced by 3 new agents and several office staff, not to mention a shiny new office 5 times the size of the old one in a higher-rent district. Time will tell if this will continue to work. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2025, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insurance-agent-real-thing-or-mythical-beast-from-the-distant-past/1025973/51 "2025-12-24T02:23:24Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Another longtime SF customer, who has dealt with 2 agents through most of my adult life. The OP is quite different from my practice/experience. Heheh, and another echo of that experience, here. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insurance-agent-real-thing-or-mythical-beast-from-the-distant-past/1025973.md?page=2)