Every insurance credential I’ve ever studied and took a test for contains specific questions on the duties and responsibilities of insurance agents and their role in the disability claims process. It’s important for insureds to understand what insurance agents are, and what they’re not.
Basically, insurance agents work for the insurance company and have no role or input beyond selling policies and collecting their renewal commissions. Agents are salesmen, and generally know very little, if anything, about the claims review process.
Most purchasers of Individual Disability Income policies are unaware their agents continue to be paid “renewal” commissions every year policies sold remain in force. Although I’ve been told many times, “my insurance agent is a member of our family and comes to dinner quite often.”
For insureds, this means annual phone calls from agents with offers of assistance as “kind and subtle” gestures hoping you will continue to pay premiums or have waivers for disability. But, depending on agents to have all of your “insurance” answers is a mistake.
The reality is that insurance agents are generally unaware of the particulars of the claims process and deal mostly with customer service reps to obtain forms and information on behalf of insureds. Although States add “fiduciary duty” in some form or other, insurance agents aren’t going to be able to move mountains for your claims when thing don’t go well.
Agents, for example may not be able to obtain disability forms for insureds because it could mean legal disaster since requesting forms is regarded as legal “Notice of Claim” by the insurance company. If forms are not provided by the insurer within 15 days, there could be legal issues regarding “late filing” and “prejudice. All states have this written in their insurance law.
Since “agents” are the first persons insureds often contact when it’s necessary to file a claim, it has always been my experience that the involvement of unknowing agents disrupts the process and doesn’t help at all. “Agents” work for the insurance company, are an AGENT of the insurance company, and have no vested interest in insureds beyond their annual renewal commissions.
I’ve had many discussions with insurance agents over the years, involving criticism because they continue to sell Unum policies when they know only 50% of them, or less, will be paid long-term. Most agents eventually tell me, “Linda don’t try to take the silver spoon out of our mouths. Unum pays well.”
I think this statement says it all!
