Every day through some form of advertisement you most likely hear an advert for an insurance company bragging that they can either save you money or they give you the impression that only that insurance company can offer a certain coverage or discount. The truth is, not only can brokers also offer these services, but they also offer more services to their clients.
The brokers at Elliott Insurance Services also watch those same advertisements and we want to make sure that you know that you are not only in the best professional hands possible, but you are also not missing out by having your insurance placed with your broker.
We will try to touch on the most commonly advertised endorsements, discounts, or savings that we have seen or heard through the last few years. We will also touch base on the differences between having your insurance with a direct to consumer insurance company and with a brokerage. If we forget to put one in this article, please don’t hesitate to contact us to find out if we can offer that service to you.
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Insurance Savings up to $400!!!
This has to be the most common advertisement you will see. “Save X amount on your insurance by switching today!”. As an insurance broker, we have access to more than just one insurance company to quote your insurance policies with. By using more than one insurer, we can find you the most competitive premium and coverage combination. Let us quote your insurance today to find out if we can save you X amount on your insurance.
Driving Habits Tracker (Telematics)
Yes, we also have insurance companies that offer the telematics service to save on car insurance. You may have heard these devices called all kinds of different names, but they essentially just plug into your car or are a mobile app installed on your phone that will track your driving habits. The devices or apps will count any hard stops, fast accelerations, and the time of day the vehicle is driven. Using this information the insurance companies will offer a discount on your insurance policy if it is proven that you are a safe driver.
Accident Forgiveness
Yes, we certainly do offer that endorsement as well. Some clients take it, some don’t, but it is available. Sometimes the insurance companies like to give this endorsement fancy names such as “responsible driver guarantee” or “driving record protector”, but no matter what they call the endorsement at the end of the day, they all achieve the same purpose. We even outlined the benefits and possible pitfalls of this coverage in our blog post dedicated to the accident forgiveness endorsement. Click here to read more.
Disappearing Deductibles
Yes, we offer that endorsement as well. We work with a wide variety of insurance companies, but the majority of the companies we carry in our office also offer the disappearing deductible endorsements. As with all endorsements there are requirements that must be met before you can apply them. Call us today to find out if you qualify for the disappearing deductible.
Rental Car Coverage
Yes, we offer that endorsement as well. The majority of auto insurance customers will need a rental car in the event of an accident and they will also need the coverage to protect them while they drive the rental car. For this reason, all of the insurance companies we carry in our office offer the rental car endorsement (Loss of Use Endorsement (OPCF 20 & 27)). We also have some insurance companies that offer this endorsement on Motorcycle policies. Find out more about auto insurance on our other blog posts.
Conviction Protection
Yes, we also offer this endorsement. We carry many insurance companies that offer the conviction protection endorsement. If you get a ticket your rates will normally go up on renewal as a result of losing your conviction free discount. This endorsement will keep that conviction free discount for your first conviction on the policy.
Make Changes to Your Policy Online
We also have an online self service panel on our website that allows clients to request changes to their policy. On our self service panel you can do the following:
- Change Address on File
- Request Liability Slips (Pink Slips)
- Request Policy Documents
- Change Billing Dates
- Add Drivers
- Add and Remove Vehicles
- Request Appointments with Brokers
- Pay Bills Online
The Broker Advantage (they can’t do that)
Your insurance broker not only will try to find you the best premiums, discounts, and coverages, but they are your first advocate between yourself and the insurance companies. The broker doesn’t work for any insurance company, they work for you, the client.
Having this setup allows a broker to have more leverage on an insurance company when it comes to claims or negotiations with an insurance company as they hold a much larger volume of business with the company than a single person could.
Not only are brokers heavily invested in their clients, but we are also heavily invested in our communities. Not only Elliott Insurance Services, but if you look in any of the communities that have brokers you will find that brokers are active participants in their communities and try to always give back locally.
To find out more about brokers vs direct writers or even brokers vs agents, check out our previous blog post Why Choose an Insurance Broker?.
We Do That Too!
When the dust settles and the advertisements are gone, there is one clear picture; we do that too. Call us today to find out what we can do for you.