As part of our series on what it costs not to have an agent I have an example of someone who had no idea that their liability coverage was so low and the effect it could have, they were completely focused on the great premium they were paying.

I was contacted by an existing insured who had their home insurance with us but wanted to check on the auto premium. During our discussion of the coverage he indicated that he had liability coverage in the amount of $20,000 per person and $40,000 per accident. I stopped him in his tracks when I asked the following question: If you had an accident in which you were at fault and the other person had injuries greater than $20,000 do you have the assets and income to pay the balance? His response was a very scared but emphatic “Yes”.

Insurance company call centers do not ask questions to uncover assets and income that need to be protected, the call center employees  job is to provide the low cost solution, sometimes that means low coverage.

Luckily an accident did not occur and this person did not have to find out the hard way. He now has much more effective coverage that provides peace of mind.