In this episode, we discuss things that can indicate someone is a bad insurance agent. Please keep in mind that this does necessarily mean that your insurance agent is a horrible person. The biggest tip we can give you is to contact your insurance agent if you have questions or concerns of any kind. Your agent likely does not know you have an issue if you do not tell them. We will share a couple of tips on how to spot a bad agent here.

One thing we know bad agents do is forging documents. Forging documents would be signing someone's name or entering their information without permission. Honestly, even if an agent notifies the person they are signing their name it is still a shady thing to do. An agent should NEVER sign a client's name for any reason.

Another thing closely related to forging documents is an agent calling into a carrier, without the client's knowledge, pretending to be the client. I have seen a scenario where an agent called into a company and stopped a policy with the sole purpose being for them to write a replacement insurance policy. It was not in the best interest of the customer. That is not something an agent should be doing.

Another tip to spot a possibly bad insurance agent would be an agent asking you to fill out a check or payment directly to them instead of an insurance company. Unless working in a consulting position, which most agents would notify you of upfront, you should not have to pay an agent, especially in the event that the money is supposed to cover your insurance policy. The payment should be made out directly to the carrier. It is possible in the event of investments, Medicare supplements, life insurance, etc that an agent could take a payment but they should not be depositing the money into their own account. As an agent, it is best to never comingle money with your client's money.

An agent lying on an application or encouraging you to lie on an application is a very big red flag. If the insurance carrier finds out that the application has been lied on, regardless of the client or the customer doing the lying, the insurance company can rescind the coverage. In the event of life insurance, if an application was lied on they can deny paying out the death benefit if the insured dies within two years. In the event of health insurance, the carrier can deny paying for services and terminate the coverage if they discover the lie. Lying on an application is considered defrauding an insurance company and is a very big deal.

Watch the YouTube video or listen to the Podcast to hear the rest of our great tips.