Posted On: June 5, 2007, 1:32 pm CDT

Posted By: Gill Fin

protect insureds (fire policies morphed into all-peril policies) insurance sales and service has been dumbed down so that it can be sold quickly and inexpensively.
Meanwhile, the pitfalls that humans face have become more prevalent such that we now concern ourselves with a greater number of potential catastrophes such as identity theft, unreasonable lawsuits etc.
Add to that homes being built in areas that historically were considered unbuildable, and the unwillingness of insureds to meet their agent (if they have one) the way they would meet their accountant, lawyer, or financial advisor to discuss their needs. I actually had a client call me last week after meeting with his financial advisor. He surprised me when he told me his advisor suggested earthquake for his $1.5 Million home.
Good thinking - insuring for something you have no control over. Agents used to fill that need. But with insurance companies pushing financial services there seems to be an assumption that we all know what we need to know about property and casualty, and so do our clients. What about the concern for liability lawsuit by homeowners? That shows the level of ignorance on the part of insureds. The REAL liability exposure is driving a car. One more piece of data
as evidence of how far out of whack our industry is after years of dumbing down.