Could you tone down the rhetoric a little? The article says 65% of Gen Y does bundle. Maybe don’t insult a whole generation for being stupid when more than half of them are doing what is smart from a savings perspective.
Has he ever posted anything that wasn’t an insult to either a group, or everybody’s intelligence. He’s a fucking retard, and his entire philosophy and outlook basically boils down to hating anybody who isn’t an old white guy, and screaming, “You young punks get off my lawn.”
One of the best things the US has going for it is the eventual end to the worst generation ever when people like him are gone, and will stop trying to hold down everybody who is slightly different.
Rosenblatt, how about you read the riot act to UW for ugly language and cussing on this site or don’t you have the guts to do it? I will put in another complaint to IJ. He doesn’t need to be on this site. Obviously, he is a very angry young Gen Y’er who thinks the world owes him a living. My guess is that he has never had a promotion and is stuck doing menial work. I feel sorry for his boss having someone like him in the office.
I think the use of swears and personal attacks is unprofessional and has no place on this site. That goes for UW as well as many others who post that way.
Rosenblatt, good for you for calling out the ugly. Insults are fairly common as we have seen, but can you think of anyone else who uses cuss words as frequently as him or is as vitriolic as him? He is one sick individual and needs help with his Anger Management issue.
September 23, 2015 at 3:14 pm
Rosenblatt says:
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You wrote “He is one sick individual and needs help with his Anger Management issue.”
I think the use of personal attacks is unprofessional and has no place on this site.
September 23, 2015 at 5:51 pm
Agent says:
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Rosenblatt, with your condemnation of personal attacks, do you also believe that someone like me should just take the insults and not respond in kind? That sounds a lot like a one way street. Sorry, I won’t take it and you should know that about me.
September 23, 2015 at 6:25 pm
Rosenblatt says:
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Post however you wish, Agent. You wanted me to admonish people for making personal attacks, so that’s what I’ve done. If it’s the first attack or you responding to an attack with a personal attack of your own – it doesn’t matter. I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t call out everyone who was attacking others, regardless of who started it.
September 24, 2015 at 7:28 am
Ron says:
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Agent,
You asked Rosenblatt, “do you also believe that someone like me should just take the insults and not respond in kind?”
Answer: Jesus did. Are you better than Jesus?
September 24, 2015 at 9:52 am
Homer Simpson says:
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Well, yes – in bowling ability
September 24, 2015 at 12:52 pm
Agent says:
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Rosenblatt, I think you will be quite busy admonishing these trolls for attacking me. I do have a back bone and will not let them get away with it.
Did you see the latest on Ron saying I should just take it because Jesus did and asking me if I was better than him? What a despicable character he is! He fits right in with the Progressive Socialist crowd who are wrong on every issue and take the insult to an art form. Hey Ron, you are an ASK HOLE! Look it up on Google. They have a good definition of it and you fit it to a tee.
September 24, 2015 at 1:06 pm
Rosenblatt says:
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“What a despicable character he is!” and “Hey Ron, you are an ASK HOLE!”
I think the use of swears and personal attacks is unprofessional and has no place on this site.
September 24, 2015 at 1:16 pm
Ron says:
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Agent,
Now that’s a Christian response.
WWJD
September 25, 2015 at 11:39 am
Agent says:
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Rosenblatt, how about a little more information about ASK HOLES? Following is a good summary on the definition of one.
1. Do you always ask for advice, yet never take it to heart or act upon it?
2. Do you have it all figured out, yet you are stuck in the muck of spinning your tires?
3. After you have asked someone a question, do you tend to tune out when it is being answered?
4. Do you roll your eyes and scoff at the educated replies that come from those around you with more experience and wisdom on the matter?
5. Do you ask industry professionals pointless and mundane questions, just for the sake of getting an introduction or in the name of “networking”?
6. Do you ask, ask, ask… then constantly become distracted by your phone, rendering you mentally distant and distracted from the corresponding reply?
7. Do you find yourself asking the same question over and over again simply because you don’t like the answer you’re being given and think the answer might change the more you ask for it?
My personal favorite is #7 as regards to many on this blog who just don’t get it and don’t want to get it. Many on this blog think it is cute to type out the total reply of someone and then ask the same stupid question when the answer was already given.
September 25, 2015 at 1:10 pm
Rosenblatt says:
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Regarding definition #7 of ASK HOLE — I agree there are times you are right to think that’s what’s happening, but there are times where the reason the person keeps asking a question is your fault too.
Recent example: You said “Why do you feel the need to downplay my knowledge of the insurance business, Rosenblatt”. I disagreed I did that and asked what I said that made you believe that’s what I did.
You still have not answered me. If I keep asking you that question, it’s not because I don’t like your answer or want it to change, it’s because you haven’t given an answer in the first place.
And for what it’s worth, calling someone an ASK HOLE is a personal attack.
September 23, 2015 at 1:45 pm
Grow up! says:
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“Wah, wah, wah”, cried Agent, when he gets stuck in a corner. “Pick on someone else.” “So and so did this and you didn’t react.” Anger, insults, and the same old BS is all you’ve got to offer. Contrary to what you appear to believe about yourself, you are not always the authority. To paraphrase your statement…”I feel sorry for his employees having someone like him in the office.”
Grow up!, you need to grow up as well. I feel sorry for your employer as well. You will never achieve success with that attitude. Much like Stan! As a matter of fact, you sound a lot like Stan. Did you adopt a new moniker?
September 24, 2015 at 2:05 pm
Grow Up! says:
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Agent, you know nothing about me. I have achieved a great deal of success. Six figure success and respect in the insurance community in my region as a matter of fact. I may not own my own agency as you do, but I’ve made my way up the ladder by hard work and my employer is quite happy to have me. Owning an agency isn’t the only definition of success in the insurance industry. As I mentioned earlier, you are not an authority on all things, especially when it comes to who or what other people are – you are just an angry man with a negative attitude. I am sometimes disappointed in myself when I let your rants and raves irritate me, but I think I continue reading your posts out of disbelief of some of the thoughts you state. If nothing else, your responses are predictable.
September 24, 2015 at 2:40 pm
Agent says:
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Hey Grow up. Re-read your posts sometime and check out your level of maturity. Let me guess, you are another one of those Obama voters that thought he was the Messiah. By the way, yes there are several ways to measure success in this field. I did it my way and have succeeded and do own my own agency and am well respected in my community. Do you not have the ambition to own your own agency at some point? It is a lot different than just being a producer, believe me. Right now, your income is based on what you produce and you don’t have the responsibility of paying the bills, making payroll, establishing and maintaining carrier appointments, negotiating E&O, upgrading computer operating systems along with selling and keeping renewals, dealing with several marketing reps who tell you they want to grow and then the company does the opposite. I think this may be a little over your head. You should probably stick to what you are doing and hope the owner doesn’t die on you and leave you in a lurch or sell to someone else.
September 24, 2015 at 3:17 pm
Ron says:
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Agent,
Where are all of your friends to defend you? Even they apparently have grown tired of your irrelevant rants and insults to others.
September 24, 2015 at 3:52 pm
Grow Up! says:
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Agent, thank you for proving my point with your comment. Why do you think I am a producer? I’m not – I’m in management for a multi-state agency. I understand each and every operational item that you’ve mentioned and have been involved with many of them. Not owning my own agency isn’t a matter of ambition at all – it’s not the path I preferred. I’m where I am because of my ambition, knowledge, and skills. I’ve been an account manager for national and international commercial accounts as well. So, the ownership of an agency and the multitude of responsibilities that go along with that isn’t over my head at all. And since it seems to be of such significance to you, I’ll let you know that I didn’t vote for Obama nor do I believe he is the Messiah. I am also not a low information voter, a Socialist, an Atheist, a Progressive, or a lazy Gen Y-er or any one of the many labels that you feel are necessary. There is nothing in my comments that should lead to you believe any of those things about me, my beliefs, or my character.
I guess that’s just the type of guy you are.
September 24, 2015 at 5:57 pm
Agent says:
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Grow up! Forgive me, but reading your rant told me that you are an immature young brat. You should try a more mature approach and I won’t have to call you on it.
By the way, do you directly deal with Personal Lines customers or are you sitting in your ivory tower like Ron does and proclaim how smart you are like him? He doesn’t do it direct either, but he is so smart. If you don’t believe it, just ask him. I deal with real customers every day of the week. They depend on me for expert advice and I advise them on their coverage needs and I often advise them to bundle their coverage because it is the right thing to do. For those with some problems, I have to advise them to split their coverage up. That is the real value of an agent and they trust me to be their advocate and agent for years.
September 25, 2015 at 7:49 am
Ron says:
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Agent,
How about you stop making assumptions and judgments about people with very limited information?
Until to show some respect, you will continue to receive none.
I have never claimed to be smarter than everyone. However, I do expect others to respect my expertise as I respect their’s. When have I ever told you how to run an agency or how to do your job? I have even admitted my limitations and weaknesses. Have you or do you not have any?
September 25, 2015 at 1:38 pm
Grow Up! says:
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No, Agent, I am not an immature young brat. I am in my mid-50s and have been working in the insurance industry for 30 years. My response to you was not a ‘rant’; it was explaining what was incorrect with your response. There was nothing immature about my approach and I’m not sure where you believe it is your duty to ‘call me out’ on anything. My response to you wasn’t an attack. And yes, I do deal with clients frequently and have for a great many years. I also deal with employees, carrier reps, and upper management of my company and our clients. I don’t need to prove my worth or value to you, Agent. With every response I give you to refute your depiction of me, you only come up with another attack.
So go ahead…take another shot.
September 18, 2015 at 9:05 am
DSB says:
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I don’t want the cheapest rate, I want the best coverage and claims service I can afford. If that means splitting up my home, auto, motorcycle and umbrella to get it, so be it.
Wow Grow up! What state are you from? Can I hazard a guess of either NY, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts or New Jersey or is it some other blue state where people take the insult to an art form? I expect it from Ron since we know he is from NY.
Someone in their mid 50’s have usually gotten over the immaturity stage, not Ron of course but most have. How do you account for your Anger Management issues and the need to insult me on this forum? You picked on the wrong guy to unload on. You clearly didn’t like it when I came back on you, did you?
Nope, wrong again – I’m not from any of the states listed. I’m in a red state; and to reiterate, no…I didn’t vote for Obama, etc., etc.
I have no anger management issues, Agent; my posts weren’t written in anger nor do I feel that I unloaded on you. I guess the most defining aspect of your posts is that you read my responses with anger. So maybe you have the anger management issue? I don’t feel like you ‘came back on me’; your commentary would have to have substance for me to feel like that. Maybe you would like to explain what is immature about my posts? After all, my posts aren’t the ones with the bully attitude, the labeling, and the insults.
Consider yourself the winner in this debate, Agent…you wore me down and I’m done. No sense continuing this battle – your quiver is much more loaded than mine.
The article also says that they unbundle to for better price and coverage. If that’s the case, they’d be stupid not to unbundle.
“Gen Y customers, for instance, unbundle to receive better coverage and price more often than Boomers, underscoring the importance of straightforward communication about price, as well as the policy and what it covers.”
For lazy, incompetent agents, totally divorced from reality, like Agent, bundling is great, because it is a lot less work. It is much smarter to get better coverage if you are unbundled and want coverage. If a company doesn’t offer coverage for a line you want it makes no sense to stay with them just to be bundled and get a couple hundred off each year.
UW, your post shows your ignorance. Why is it smarter to unbundle if there are obvious advantages to bundling? By the way, to educate you further, carriers generally don’t like customers with one line of coverage. Many of them want balance and they tell us not to write stand alone Homeowners. We don’t have that many stand alone customers and we always try to cross sell them for all lines. That is good business practice, but I know you don’t understand that concept. You are too busy ragging on successful agents who do the best job they can for their customers.
UW — just because an producer bundles, does not mean that they are “lazy, incompetent agents, totally divorced from reality”….. many many times, the protection is better in a package
Hmmmm, finally a voice of intelligence. By the way, it is not lazy to go in and put together quotes of protection and show the advantages of packaging. It is also how many of the carriers prefer to write it, if the prospect is eligible for it.
September 21, 2015 at 11:48 am
Agent says:
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Hey Rosenblatt, the title of the article is Gen Y Insurance Customers Are Not Happy Bundlers. Those who split their coverage up are paying more and they are stupid to buy it that way.
Rosenblatt, for those broker employees that don’t have exposure to Personal Lines business, they really shouldn’t spout off on things they don’t know about. Reality is that there are some customers who can’t be bundled because of problems they have in their Auto coverage. These unbundled Gen Y people often have tickets and accidents which is unacceptable to the Standard Market carriers. DUI’s are also no no. We have to handle that by placing them with Progressive for a price, therefore, they are ineligible for bundling. If a customer is clean on the Auto and is decent on the home, I have never seen one case where bundling was not an advantage and discounts are available on both lines.
You said, “…those broker employees that don’t have exposure to Personal Lines business, they really shouldn’t spout off on things they don’t know about.”
Yet you have no problem speaking about insurance scoring, rating algorithms, predictive modeling, or other real insurance topics to which you have no exposure.
Hypocrite!!!
September 22, 2015 at 11:03 am
Rosenblatt says:
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I won’t bother to talk about your new Gen-Y assumptions because you’re intentionally ignoring the only point I’ve been trying to make, but please remember one very important rule of life:
Something can be commonplace even if you don’t see it happening.
You say you’ve never seen un-bundling being more cost effective than bundling, but clearly the study proves that happens all the time.
September 23, 2015 at 11:17 am
Agent says:
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Ron, the new “insulter in chief” of this blog. I have to laugh that you keep saying you want to extend an olive branch to me and wonder why I don’t take it. Your history has been well established.
By the way, I have forgotten more about insurance than you will ever know. Put that in your Progressive pipe and smoke it.
September 23, 2015 at 1:59 pm
confused says:
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ron calling you a hypocrite is a statement of fact, unlike you telling people they don’t know anything about personal lines business or telling people they don’t know right from wrong if they don’t agree with you 100% of the time
September 23, 2015 at 2:35 pm
Ron says:
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Agent,
Until you actually accept the olive branch,you do not have a leg to stand on.
Since you know so much about insurance, please explain what a rating algorithm is and how it is constructed.
September 24, 2015 at 11:28 am
Agent says:
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Rosenblatt, knock knock, anyone home? I said that I have never seen a customer who was “clean” on the Home and Auto where unbundling was not an advantage. Unbundling is only an advantage if there are issues, usually with the Auto that cause problems trying to bundle. About 80% of our Personal Lines customers are currently bundled for the obvious advantages. The other 20% have problems where we have to split up coverage between carriers to get them insured. They are almost all related to Auto issues with young drivers having at fault accidents or the insured themselves having some problems. Progressive gladly takes them for a price.
September 21, 2015 at 12:01 pm
Rosenblatt says:
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Agent – please do a better job of reading the article before you post. Your main two points are (1) Gen Y is stupid not to bundle and (2) they pay more when they don’t bundle.
1) The article clearly said 65% of Gen Y does bundle so your insult to them is not valid when more than half is doing what you say they are stupid for not doing.
2) As BS wrote, the article also clearly said Gen Y customers…unbundle to receive better coverage and price which renders your second point moot as well.
I stand by my original comment to you —- maybe don’t insult a whole generation for being stupid when more than half of them are doing what is smart from a savings perspective
Rosenblatt, you and a few others just don’t understand how Personal Lines insurance works. The only time it is advantageous to unbundle is when there is a problem with either the Home or the Auto and therefore the customer is ineligible to bundle for whatever reason. If both lines are clean, it is always advantageous to bundle. By the way, it is not necessary for you to continue to use bold print in your posts. As I recall, you objected to my use of quotation marks for emphasis to make a point.
You have a very bad memory, Agent. I never once objected to your use of quotes when you wrote “measurable” in the other article.
I told you at least 3 times that I did not understand what you meant when you did that, and that I was simply asking you to explain your intent.
Asking for clarification of why you did something is completely different than objecting to it.
Use quotes for emphasis all you’d like – that’s fine by me.
September 25, 2015 at 2:48 pm
Agent says:
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Rosenblatt, here is another nugget of wisdom for you regarding Bundling vs Unbundling. There is a significant number of Gen Y’ers out there who are apartment dwellers and don’t even carry a Renters policy. They call in, want an Auto quote and when we ask about Homeowners, they say they live in an apartment and don’t need it. Then, we ask what would happen to their Personal Property if a fire happened and their belongings were destroyed? Common answer is- I don’t know, guess I would be out of luck. Then, we tell them that Renters policies will cover that for a very small premium and quote it to them. Some won’t take it so they are unbundled and pay more for their Auto as a result. We document our file that the coverage was offered in case they have a loss and try to blame us for not providing coverage.
September 23, 2015 at 3:18 pm
Agent says:
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Ron, please explain Predictive Modeling and Price Optimization for us. Both practices have been thoroughly debunked. How about re-scoring, re-tiering, both which have led to customers fleeing from companies in droves when they saw their renewals. How about the wonderful Snapshot program with Progressive? They are having a lot of trouble with it and their customers have had their privacy invaded with no real benefit. By the way, customers seeing 20-30% rate increases with no claims and their bills paid on time is unjustified and just plain stupid. Tell me why new customers get better rates than good, loss free accounts who only want to be treated fairly. Actuaries recommending this type of thing have to be the most stupid of all company employees.
I ask you a simple question, at least it is for someone who has the deep insurance knowledge you claim to have, and your response is to ask me more questions?
If you don’t know the answer, just say so.
I am done answering your questions before you answer mine, especially when I asked first.
September 17, 2015 at 4:47 pm
Nebraskan says:
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Agent, is that how you talk to your Gen Y children….that you raised to be “stupid.”
Agent – every now and then you bring a fresh perspective to a given topic to this forum; however, you consistently solidify your image as the “old, grumpy man who has something against the youth of today (for absolutely no reason).”
As a young and driven worker in the industry, it makes me so happy knowing I’m pushing bitter old men like you to retirement every day. Hold on to your business/customers/money, because we’re coming after them…
Really Underwriter? Do you think I am worried about a Gen Y underwriter taking my business? I just wrote a good buddy of mine and bundled an Auto, Home & Umbrella just this morning and saved him close to $1,000 on his annual premiums. He was very appreciative of our efforts and we even improved his limits and coverage.
I think the use of swears and personal attacks is unprofessional and has no place on this site. That goes for “Agent is a tool!” and “Agent” and “UW” as well as many others who post that way.
Planet, are you worried about your safety? I heard you say that you have lots of Muslim friends and they are great and fantastic people. Perhaps you will get some of those 85,000 Syrians that Kerry is bringing in. No doubt some of them will be ISIS and we will see how safe Iowa is then.
I do have Muslim friends. My financial advisor is one of them. I have Hindu friends, I have Jewish friends, Christian friends, and atheist friends. I even have one friend who is Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. And no, I am not worried about my safety. I don’t live my life in fear.
Planet, you are truly from another planet as we have said for years. By the way, I don’t live in fear either. I have two very good friends who protect me. Smith & Wesson.
yeah, planet, that’s crazy – having muslim, hindu, jewish, christian and flying spaghetti monster friends! what’s wrong with you? you think america is supposed to be a melting pot or something?
I said I don’t live my life in fear. Agent responded, “By the way, I don’t live in fear either. I have two very good friends who protect me. Smith & Wesson.”
I’m sure everyone here has worked for or with a carrier that was competitive on one line and not on another. Why should a carrier expect its customers to bundle if their rates are out of line in one segment? If they have great auto rates and terrible homeowners rates they shouldn’t be surprised when agents/customers place the auto but not the home. That’s common sense, not some kind of generational conspiracy.
Well said! I agree entirely with your point. Age shouldn’t matter when making these kinds of decisions. If I’m going to pay $500 for home & auto combined with carrier A, but only $200 for home with “A” and $200 for auto with “B”, I could be 18 or 81 — no way would I choose bundle from a pure cost-savings standpoint.
Rosenblatt, if you have a good agent, hopefully not a captive, he will present you with a number of options and offer to move your business to another carrier for the obvious improvements in coverage and cost. That is the advantage of the Independent Agency system. Captive agents don’t have that advantage. It is what it is, sorry, that is the best we can do. I have had a few companies go crazy with their algorithms, take rate, re-score, re-tier for large rate increases. Thankfully, we have enough other markets to find a good home. One carriers loss is another carrier’s gain.
Why did you feel the need to explain to me the benefits of an independent agency system? I never said anything about agents!
I simply agreed with ExciteBiker that the insured can be young or old and their age doesn’t matter if they decide to bundle or decide not to bundle based on the combined premium of the policies.
Why do you feel the need to downplay my knowledge of the insurance business Rosenblatt? Tell me, do you bundle or split up your coverage between carriers as a choice? If you don’t bundle, was there a problem? If you do bundle, I would assume there was a good reason like credits on both policies reducing cost.
September 24, 2015 at 1:08 pm
Rosenblatt says:
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How did I downplay your knowledge of the insurance business? I did not say you were wrong or debate anything you said about the Independent Agency system. I just asked why you brought it up when I said nothing about agents in the first place.
September 24, 2015 at 3:35 pm
Agent says:
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For someone who was short in stature, he really was a great hitter and a very good catcher even using the old mitt that looked nothing like the modern catchers mitt. He had to be agile to catch the ball with that pillow. More important, Yogi was a winner in life and everyone that knew him respected and liked him.
September 24, 2015 at 3:42 pm
Agent says:
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Rosenblatt, unfortunately age does “matter” when pricing Personal Lines Insurance. Those nasty algorithms made sure of that with many companies. I have had company people tell me there are dozens of factors that go into rating and yes, age is one of them at both ends of the spectrum. In fact, it is probably given more weight than many of the other factors.
September 25, 2015 at 4:18 pm
Agent says:
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Rosenblatt, You said, how did I downplay your knowledge of the insurance business. After I explained several times that bundling is “almost always preferable” for those accounts who “qualify” and are clean, you went to the article and agreed with the unbundlers when you didn’t even know the facts of why people don’t bundle. How many times do I need to say this? Unbundlers have issues which keep them from bundling or they are with one of those online carriers like Geico who don’t even offer Homeowners. That will keep an insured unbundled for sure when the option isn’t even offered.
September 24, 2015 at 2:58 pm
Agent says:
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Rosenblatt, allow me to bring you up to speed on how it works since you brought age into the picture. 18 year old drivers have always had high rates because they are inexperienced, tend to have accidents and think it is fine to text and drive and by the way, few pay the bills for insurance costs and in fact, many have failed to launch by age 26 since they are on the parents Health Insurance and there are so few jobs for them to do. 81 year olds are discriminated against by the Auto insurance industry and pay higher rates than they should because their credit score has declined due to not using credit much and being debt free. They may be loss free, don’t drive that much, but they get penalized. Do you see my point or are you going to disagree one more time?
I did not say you were wrong or debate anything you said about the Independent Agency system. How did I downplay your knowledge of the insurance business?
You know what, forget about the Independent Agency part where you explained something to me that we weren’t even talking about.
Can you nicely explain how you think I downplayed your knowledge of the insurance business? I’m pretty sure I didn’t do what you’ve accused me of doing.
September 24, 2015 at 3:46 pm
Agent says:
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Rosenblatt, I am trying to educate you. Are you reading what I have to say on this subject or is it sailing over your head. What we have here is a failure to communicate.
September 24, 2015 at 8:03 pm
Rosenblatt says:
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I have understood all that you told me. That is not the problem. I don’t understand what I said that makes you think I “downplayed your knowledge of the insurance business.” That’s the only part I don’t get.
September 25, 2015 at 7:53 am
Ron says:
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Agent,
So, when I try to educate you on insurance pricing and underwriting, you ignore what I say and insult me. But when you educate someone, you expect them to just sit there and listen without questioning you.
Hypocrite!!
September 25, 2015 at 11:18 am
Agent says:
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Excite, it is true some carriers are out of line on one segment on rates. They are not the ones who bundle as much. However, an agent has to look at the complete picture on every account and every account is different. You don’t know going in which carrier will step forth with the best overall quote. It all depends on the carriers algorithms and how they view the risk on rating factors.
Carriers will almost uniformly tell you that they want high credit score, newer autos with no underage drivers, recently built homes with bells and whistles like alarms, sprinkler systems in order to get their best shot. Average customers with lower scores, living in older homes which haven’t been updated and 20 year old roofs will get average or higher rates. Call it discrimination if you like, but that is how it works.
Agent sounds like a disgruntled Trump supporter and, well, an agent who sells price over coverage hence his comments about bundling being cheaper. Trolls exist everywhere but they are rare on the IJ forums…..so we deal with and ignore the rare exception who is Agent. Let’s channel our energies elsewhere.
Hey Vet, are you truly a Vet or are you impersonating one? How about that VA? 307,000 have died waiting for treatment and 850,000 vets awaiting treatment on that wonderful government program. By the way, I have never sold price over coverage. If you were smart enough to read, I earlier posted that I bundled a customer for Home, Auto & Umbrella and improved his coverage, all because I know what I am doing and I have a very high retention rate for my customers. You are right about me being disgruntled. I have had 7 years of the worst President in US history and won’t it be great to replace him in about 16 months.
Agent sells price over coverage hence his comments about bundling being cheaper. Trolls exist everywhere, but rare on IJ forums… so we deal with and ignore the rare exception who is agent.
Where is your condemnation for that insult Rosenblatt?
By the way, there are trolls galore on IJ. Would you like me to name moniker names or can you scroll through them and get it for yourself? Let me know if you need help identifying them.
Hi FFA. We lost a great man Yogi Berra yesterday. He had a unique way with words like – It ain’t over until it is over and when you reach a fork in the road, take it. There are dozens of Yogi sayings and he was the real deal.
“Forget about the Yogi-isms” After all, he didn’t say everything he said anyway! :) Somehow, I think he is underrated as a catcher. That guy could mash the ball.
FFA, did you hear the joyous news that John Boehner will be leaving office as Speaker and Representative? Another RINO who didn’t look after our interests and promote the Conservative viewpoint. He just didn’t do the job he was hired to do. Hopefully, he will be replaced by someone better who does have the right ideas. I don’t think they will be offering the job to Pelosi.
Agent – you seem to be hung up on this age/pricing item and you’re so far away from my point that I want to come back to where we started.
I will lay out this scenario and end with a simple question. Assume all quotes were given with the exact same coverage options and each carrier has similar excellent customer service and reputation for paying claims fairly and quickly.
Company A quote: auto only @ $1,000/yr. home only @ $500/yr. bundled home & auto for $1,300/yr.
Company B quote: auto only @ $500/yr. home only @ $1,000/yr. bundled home & auto for $1,300/yr.
If your client was basing his decision on price, would you suggest bundling, or would you suggest they take home from “A” and auto from “B”?
Sorry you don’t understand Rosenblatt. It doesn’t work that way in the real world. Stand alone policies get “no” credit at all since they are not bundled. If you start with a bundled price and your quote shows the Auto to be $1,000 and the Home is $500 and then you decide not to bundle and use two separate companies, the credit goes away on both policies. The Auto may end up being $1,200 and the Home $750 on an unbundling situation. It is very hard to compete with a bundled carrier with a stand alone quote. They have the advantage of doing both with credits for both. Do you get it yet? I knew this would be hard, but I am making an attempt anyway.
I don’t think you understand what I’ve laid out, so let me try again using your numbers. Suppose I asked for 3 separate quotes from two companies.
Quote 1, Carrier 1 – $1,500 bundle auto & home
(Bundled policy has auto at $1,000 and home at $500)
Quote 2, Carrier 1 – $700 auto only
Quote 3, Carrier 1 – $1,200 home only
Quote 1, Carrier 2 – $1,500 bundle auto & home
(Bundled policy has auto at $500 and home at $1,000)
Quote 2, Carrier 2 – $1,200 auto only
Quote 3, Carrier 2 – $700 home only
So I could bundle auto & home with the both companies and have a $1,500 premium. Or I could buy auto from Carrier 1 at $700 and home from Carrier 2 at $700, for a total of $1,400.
If your client wanted to save as much money as possible, what would you suggest? Bundle at $1,500 or un-bundled with 2 different carriers at $1,400 total?
Bundling does not make financial sense in this scenario, correct?
September 26, 2015 at 8:39 pm
Rosenblatt says:
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I’m sorry. Please ignore my last post. It was totally unnesessary. I hope we can just put this to an end here and move on. I concede.
September 27, 2015 at 2:18 pm
Confused says:
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even I thought that was too much Rosenblatt. i hope that’s the end of that
September 28, 2015 at 9:39 am
Agent says:
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Rosenblatt, my recommendation is that you call your agent up and ask him all your questions and have him quote you all the scenarios possible in the universe. If you are better off bundling, do it. If not, then stay unbundled. If you are with GEICO on your Auto, they won’t be able to help you since they are Auto only.
I am through with this discussion.
September 28, 2015 at 11:41 am
Ron says:
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Rosenblatt,
Look, Agent finally admitted that there is a chance someone could be better off if they do not bundle.
Yay progress!!
September 28, 2015 at 12:07 pm
Agent says:
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Look, Ron took another opportunity to insult me. By the way, I was becoming rather frustrated with Rosenblatt since several posts were not making any headway in his level of understanding. If you don’t believe anything a seasoned professional has to say about this business, the only avenue is to check with someone else. I believe the majority of unbundled insurance consumers are those who have stand alone Auto and are with someone like GEICO or another stand alone carrier. Eligibility for bundling is the key.
How did I insult you? I only indicated that you changed your position. If you think that is an insult, you truly are hopeless and extremely thin-skinned.
I agree that bundling is the preferred method. The point Rosenblatt was making, which you flat out discounted, was that it is not for everyone.
You don’t believe anything I say about insurance pricing, underwriting or rating algorithms even though I am a seasoned insurance professional.
You said, “I believe the majority of unbundled insurance consumers are those who have stand alone Auto and are with someone like GEICO or another stand alone carrier. Eligibility for bundling is the key.” While I agree with you, many of those people with GEICO are probably eligible for bundling, but the total premium of the bundle is higher than keeping the home and auto separate. This does happen,even with preferred risks.
Ron, you can’t help insulting me at every opportunity. That is in your genetic makeup. Perhaps you forgot all the other articles where GEICO, Allstate & Progressive are raising their rates. It is very hard for someone to go stand alone and beat the price of most good full market companies. I will state once again that I have not seen 1 account who was good, clean and eligible ever come out ahead by unbundling their coverage, but then again, I represent good markets who compete for business instead of substandard companies with poor rates, bad algorithms, ignorant actuaries.
The reason I copy/paste from your post so you and everyone else knows to what I am specifically replying.
Nobody is questioning your personal experience as an agent. It is you that is questioning the experiences of other insurance professionals. How come we need to respect your experience and expertise, but you are free to ignore, disrespect, and/or question the experience and expertise of others?
THAT IS THE PROBLEM!!
How do you know about the algorithms and actuaries of companies you do not even represent? That is awfully ignorant and arrogant of you.
you can’t just say you have been insulted or someone was demeaning your knowledge without being able to explain how someone did such a thing to you.
maybe ron has insulted you a million times, but he hasn’t here and yet you are on the defensive saying he insulted you. support your argument with facts. what exactly did he say that you thought was an insult?
Hey Gen Y, you are stupid not to bundle and you pay more as a result.
Could you tone down the rhetoric a little? The article says 65% of Gen Y does bundle. Maybe don’t insult a whole generation for being stupid when more than half of them are doing what is smart from a savings perspective.
Has he ever posted anything that wasn’t an insult to either a group, or everybody’s intelligence. He’s a fucking retard, and his entire philosophy and outlook basically boils down to hating anybody who isn’t an old white guy, and screaming, “You young punks get off my lawn.”
One of the best things the US has going for it is the eventual end to the worst generation ever when people like him are gone, and will stop trying to hold down everybody who is slightly different.
UW, I wish I could ‘thumb up’ your first paragraph hundreds of times!
Rosenblatt, how about you read the riot act to UW for ugly language and cussing on this site or don’t you have the guts to do it? I will put in another complaint to IJ. He doesn’t need to be on this site. Obviously, he is a very angry young Gen Y’er who thinks the world owes him a living. My guess is that he has never had a promotion and is stuck doing menial work. I feel sorry for his boss having someone like him in the office.
I think the use of swears and personal attacks is unprofessional and has no place on this site. That goes for UW as well as many others who post that way.
Rosenblatt, good for you for calling out the ugly. Insults are fairly common as we have seen, but can you think of anyone else who uses cuss words as frequently as him or is as vitriolic as him? He is one sick individual and needs help with his Anger Management issue.
You wrote “He is one sick individual and needs help with his Anger Management issue.”
I think the use of personal attacks is unprofessional and has no place on this site.
Rosenblatt, with your condemnation of personal attacks, do you also believe that someone like me should just take the insults and not respond in kind? That sounds a lot like a one way street. Sorry, I won’t take it and you should know that about me.
Post however you wish, Agent. You wanted me to admonish people for making personal attacks, so that’s what I’ve done. If it’s the first attack or you responding to an attack with a personal attack of your own – it doesn’t matter. I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t call out everyone who was attacking others, regardless of who started it.
Agent,
You asked Rosenblatt, “do you also believe that someone like me should just take the insults and not respond in kind?”
Answer: Jesus did. Are you better than Jesus?
Well, yes – in bowling ability
Rosenblatt, I think you will be quite busy admonishing these trolls for attacking me. I do have a back bone and will not let them get away with it.
Did you see the latest on Ron saying I should just take it because Jesus did and asking me if I was better than him? What a despicable character he is! He fits right in with the Progressive Socialist crowd who are wrong on every issue and take the insult to an art form. Hey Ron, you are an ASK HOLE! Look it up on Google. They have a good definition of it and you fit it to a tee.
“What a despicable character he is!” and “Hey Ron, you are an ASK HOLE!”
I think the use of swears and personal attacks is unprofessional and has no place on this site.
Agent,
Now that’s a Christian response.
WWJD
Rosenblatt, how about a little more information about ASK HOLES? Following is a good summary on the definition of one.
1. Do you always ask for advice, yet never take it to heart or act upon it?
2. Do you have it all figured out, yet you are stuck in the muck of spinning your tires?
3. After you have asked someone a question, do you tend to tune out when it is being answered?
4. Do you roll your eyes and scoff at the educated replies that come from those around you with more experience and wisdom on the matter?
5. Do you ask industry professionals pointless and mundane questions, just for the sake of getting an introduction or in the name of “networking”?
6. Do you ask, ask, ask… then constantly become distracted by your phone, rendering you mentally distant and distracted from the corresponding reply?
7. Do you find yourself asking the same question over and over again simply because you don’t like the answer you’re being given and think the answer might change the more you ask for it?
My personal favorite is #7 as regards to many on this blog who just don’t get it and don’t want to get it. Many on this blog think it is cute to type out the total reply of someone and then ask the same stupid question when the answer was already given.
Regarding definition #7 of ASK HOLE — I agree there are times you are right to think that’s what’s happening, but there are times where the reason the person keeps asking a question is your fault too.
Recent example: You said “Why do you feel the need to downplay my knowledge of the insurance business, Rosenblatt”. I disagreed I did that and asked what I said that made you believe that’s what I did.
You still have not answered me. If I keep asking you that question, it’s not because I don’t like your answer or want it to change, it’s because you haven’t given an answer in the first place.
And for what it’s worth, calling someone an ASK HOLE is a personal attack.
“Wah, wah, wah”, cried Agent, when he gets stuck in a corner. “Pick on someone else.” “So and so did this and you didn’t react.” Anger, insults, and the same old BS is all you’ve got to offer. Contrary to what you appear to believe about yourself, you are not always the authority. To paraphrase your statement…”I feel sorry for his employees having someone like him in the office.”
Grow up!, you need to grow up as well. I feel sorry for your employer as well. You will never achieve success with that attitude. Much like Stan! As a matter of fact, you sound a lot like Stan. Did you adopt a new moniker?
Agent, you know nothing about me. I have achieved a great deal of success. Six figure success and respect in the insurance community in my region as a matter of fact. I may not own my own agency as you do, but I’ve made my way up the ladder by hard work and my employer is quite happy to have me. Owning an agency isn’t the only definition of success in the insurance industry. As I mentioned earlier, you are not an authority on all things, especially when it comes to who or what other people are – you are just an angry man with a negative attitude. I am sometimes disappointed in myself when I let your rants and raves irritate me, but I think I continue reading your posts out of disbelief of some of the thoughts you state. If nothing else, your responses are predictable.
Hey Grow up. Re-read your posts sometime and check out your level of maturity. Let me guess, you are another one of those Obama voters that thought he was the Messiah. By the way, yes there are several ways to measure success in this field. I did it my way and have succeeded and do own my own agency and am well respected in my community. Do you not have the ambition to own your own agency at some point? It is a lot different than just being a producer, believe me. Right now, your income is based on what you produce and you don’t have the responsibility of paying the bills, making payroll, establishing and maintaining carrier appointments, negotiating E&O, upgrading computer operating systems along with selling and keeping renewals, dealing with several marketing reps who tell you they want to grow and then the company does the opposite. I think this may be a little over your head. You should probably stick to what you are doing and hope the owner doesn’t die on you and leave you in a lurch or sell to someone else.
Agent,
Where are all of your friends to defend you? Even they apparently have grown tired of your irrelevant rants and insults to others.
Agent, thank you for proving my point with your comment. Why do you think I am a producer? I’m not – I’m in management for a multi-state agency. I understand each and every operational item that you’ve mentioned and have been involved with many of them. Not owning my own agency isn’t a matter of ambition at all – it’s not the path I preferred. I’m where I am because of my ambition, knowledge, and skills. I’ve been an account manager for national and international commercial accounts as well. So, the ownership of an agency and the multitude of responsibilities that go along with that isn’t over my head at all. And since it seems to be of such significance to you, I’ll let you know that I didn’t vote for Obama nor do I believe he is the Messiah. I am also not a low information voter, a Socialist, an Atheist, a Progressive, or a lazy Gen Y-er or any one of the many labels that you feel are necessary. There is nothing in my comments that should lead to you believe any of those things about me, my beliefs, or my character.
I guess that’s just the type of guy you are.
Grow up! Forgive me, but reading your rant told me that you are an immature young brat. You should try a more mature approach and I won’t have to call you on it.
By the way, do you directly deal with Personal Lines customers or are you sitting in your ivory tower like Ron does and proclaim how smart you are like him? He doesn’t do it direct either, but he is so smart. If you don’t believe it, just ask him. I deal with real customers every day of the week. They depend on me for expert advice and I advise them on their coverage needs and I often advise them to bundle their coverage because it is the right thing to do. For those with some problems, I have to advise them to split their coverage up. That is the real value of an agent and they trust me to be their advocate and agent for years.
Agent,
How about you stop making assumptions and judgments about people with very limited information?
Until to show some respect, you will continue to receive none.
I have never claimed to be smarter than everyone. However, I do expect others to respect my expertise as I respect their’s. When have I ever told you how to run an agency or how to do your job? I have even admitted my limitations and weaknesses. Have you or do you not have any?
No, Agent, I am not an immature young brat. I am in my mid-50s and have been working in the insurance industry for 30 years. My response to you was not a ‘rant’; it was explaining what was incorrect with your response. There was nothing immature about my approach and I’m not sure where you believe it is your duty to ‘call me out’ on anything. My response to you wasn’t an attack. And yes, I do deal with clients frequently and have for a great many years. I also deal with employees, carrier reps, and upper management of my company and our clients. I don’t need to prove my worth or value to you, Agent. With every response I give you to refute your depiction of me, you only come up with another attack.
So go ahead…take another shot.
I don’t want the cheapest rate, I want the best coverage and claims service I can afford. If that means splitting up my home, auto, motorcycle and umbrella to get it, so be it.
Wow Grow up! What state are you from? Can I hazard a guess of either NY, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts or New Jersey or is it some other blue state where people take the insult to an art form? I expect it from Ron since we know he is from NY.
Someone in their mid 50’s have usually gotten over the immaturity stage, not Ron of course but most have. How do you account for your Anger Management issues and the need to insult me on this forum? You picked on the wrong guy to unload on. You clearly didn’t like it when I came back on you, did you?
“Someone in their mid 50’s have usually gotten over the immaturity stage, not Ron of course” and “How do you account for your Anger Management issues”
I think the use of personal attacks is unprofessional and has no place on this site, Agent.
Nope, wrong again – I’m not from any of the states listed. I’m in a red state; and to reiterate, no…I didn’t vote for Obama, etc., etc.
I have no anger management issues, Agent; my posts weren’t written in anger nor do I feel that I unloaded on you. I guess the most defining aspect of your posts is that you read my responses with anger. So maybe you have the anger management issue? I don’t feel like you ‘came back on me’; your commentary would have to have substance for me to feel like that. Maybe you would like to explain what is immature about my posts? After all, my posts aren’t the ones with the bully attitude, the labeling, and the insults.
Consider yourself the winner in this debate, Agent…you wore me down and I’m done. No sense continuing this battle – your quiver is much more loaded than mine.
The article also says that they unbundle to for better price and coverage. If that’s the case, they’d be stupid not to unbundle.
“Gen Y customers, for instance, unbundle to receive better coverage and price more often than Boomers, underscoring the importance of straightforward communication about price, as well as the policy and what it covers.”
For lazy, incompetent agents, totally divorced from reality, like Agent, bundling is great, because it is a lot less work. It is much smarter to get better coverage if you are unbundled and want coverage. If a company doesn’t offer coverage for a line you want it makes no sense to stay with them just to be bundled and get a couple hundred off each year.
UW, your post shows your ignorance. Why is it smarter to unbundle if there are obvious advantages to bundling? By the way, to educate you further, carriers generally don’t like customers with one line of coverage. Many of them want balance and they tell us not to write stand alone Homeowners. We don’t have that many stand alone customers and we always try to cross sell them for all lines. That is good business practice, but I know you don’t understand that concept. You are too busy ragging on successful agents who do the best job they can for their customers.
UW — just because an producer bundles, does not mean that they are “lazy, incompetent agents, totally divorced from reality”….. many many times, the protection is better in a package
Hmmmm, finally a voice of intelligence. By the way, it is not lazy to go in and put together quotes of protection and show the advantages of packaging. It is also how many of the carriers prefer to write it, if the prospect is eligible for it.
Hey Rosenblatt, the title of the article is Gen Y Insurance Customers Are Not Happy Bundlers. Those who split their coverage up are paying more and they are stupid to buy it that way.
Nebraskan, my Gen Y kids have some common sense and they do bundle and save money.
Rosenblatt, for those broker employees that don’t have exposure to Personal Lines business, they really shouldn’t spout off on things they don’t know about. Reality is that there are some customers who can’t be bundled because of problems they have in their Auto coverage. These unbundled Gen Y people often have tickets and accidents which is unacceptable to the Standard Market carriers. DUI’s are also no no. We have to handle that by placing them with Progressive for a price, therefore, they are ineligible for bundling. If a customer is clean on the Auto and is decent on the home, I have never seen one case where bundling was not an advantage and discounts are available on both lines.
Agent,
Posts like this from you are what make me laugh.
You said, “…those broker employees that don’t have exposure to Personal Lines business, they really shouldn’t spout off on things they don’t know about.”
Yet you have no problem speaking about insurance scoring, rating algorithms, predictive modeling, or other real insurance topics to which you have no exposure.
Hypocrite!!!
I won’t bother to talk about your new Gen-Y assumptions because you’re intentionally ignoring the only point I’ve been trying to make, but please remember one very important rule of life:
Something can be commonplace even if you don’t see it happening.
You say you’ve never seen un-bundling being more cost effective than bundling, but clearly the study proves that happens all the time.
Ron, the new “insulter in chief” of this blog. I have to laugh that you keep saying you want to extend an olive branch to me and wonder why I don’t take it. Your history has been well established.
By the way, I have forgotten more about insurance than you will ever know. Put that in your Progressive pipe and smoke it.
ron calling you a hypocrite is a statement of fact, unlike you telling people they don’t know anything about personal lines business or telling people they don’t know right from wrong if they don’t agree with you 100% of the time
Agent,
Until you actually accept the olive branch,you do not have a leg to stand on.
Since you know so much about insurance, please explain what a rating algorithm is and how it is constructed.
Rosenblatt, knock knock, anyone home? I said that I have never seen a customer who was “clean” on the Home and Auto where unbundling was not an advantage. Unbundling is only an advantage if there are issues, usually with the Auto that cause problems trying to bundle. About 80% of our Personal Lines customers are currently bundled for the obvious advantages. The other 20% have problems where we have to split up coverage between carriers to get them insured. They are almost all related to Auto issues with young drivers having at fault accidents or the insured themselves having some problems. Progressive gladly takes them for a price.
Agent – please do a better job of reading the article before you post. Your main two points are (1) Gen Y is stupid not to bundle and (2) they pay more when they don’t bundle.
1) The article clearly said 65% of Gen Y does bundle so your insult to them is not valid when more than half is doing what you say they are stupid for not doing.
2) As BS wrote, the article also clearly said Gen Y customers…unbundle to receive better coverage and price which renders your second point moot as well.
I stand by my original comment to you —- maybe don’t insult a whole generation for being stupid when more than half of them are doing what is smart from a savings perspective
Rosenblatt, you and a few others just don’t understand how Personal Lines insurance works. The only time it is advantageous to unbundle is when there is a problem with either the Home or the Auto and therefore the customer is ineligible to bundle for whatever reason. If both lines are clean, it is always advantageous to bundle. By the way, it is not necessary for you to continue to use bold print in your posts. As I recall, you objected to my use of quotation marks for emphasis to make a point.
You have a very bad memory, Agent. I never once objected to your use of quotes when you wrote “measurable” in the other article.
I told you at least 3 times that I did not understand what you meant when you did that, and that I was simply asking you to explain your intent.
Asking for clarification of why you did something is completely different than objecting to it.
Use quotes for emphasis all you’d like – that’s fine by me.
Rosenblatt, here is another nugget of wisdom for you regarding Bundling vs Unbundling. There is a significant number of Gen Y’ers out there who are apartment dwellers and don’t even carry a Renters policy. They call in, want an Auto quote and when we ask about Homeowners, they say they live in an apartment and don’t need it. Then, we ask what would happen to their Personal Property if a fire happened and their belongings were destroyed? Common answer is- I don’t know, guess I would be out of luck. Then, we tell them that Renters policies will cover that for a very small premium and quote it to them. Some won’t take it so they are unbundled and pay more for their Auto as a result. We document our file that the coverage was offered in case they have a loss and try to blame us for not providing coverage.
Ron, please explain Predictive Modeling and Price Optimization for us. Both practices have been thoroughly debunked. How about re-scoring, re-tiering, both which have led to customers fleeing from companies in droves when they saw their renewals. How about the wonderful Snapshot program with Progressive? They are having a lot of trouble with it and their customers have had their privacy invaded with no real benefit. By the way, customers seeing 20-30% rate increases with no claims and their bills paid on time is unjustified and just plain stupid. Tell me why new customers get better rates than good, loss free accounts who only want to be treated fairly. Actuaries recommending this type of thing have to be the most stupid of all company employees.
Agent,
I ask you a simple question, at least it is for someone who has the deep insurance knowledge you claim to have, and your response is to ask me more questions?
If you don’t know the answer, just say so.
I am done answering your questions before you answer mine, especially when I asked first.
Agent, is that how you talk to your Gen Y children….that you raised to be “stupid.”
Agent – every now and then you bring a fresh perspective to a given topic to this forum; however, you consistently solidify your image as the “old, grumpy man who has something against the youth of today (for absolutely no reason).”
As a young and driven worker in the industry, it makes me so happy knowing I’m pushing bitter old men like you to retirement every day. Hold on to your business/customers/money, because we’re coming after them…
Really Underwriter? Do you think I am worried about a Gen Y underwriter taking my business? I just wrote a good buddy of mine and bundled an Auto, Home & Umbrella just this morning and saved him close to $1,000 on his annual premiums. He was very appreciative of our efforts and we even improved his limits and coverage.
Hey Agent, You are stupid…period. Now go puff your chest, slap your CSR on the ass and write a policy or something useful old man.
Hey idiot! Why don’t you go over and blog on Media Matters if that is the best you can come up with.
I think the use of swears and personal attacks is unprofessional and has no place on this site. That goes for “Agent is a tool!” and “Agent” and “UW” as well as many others who post that way.
Hey Generation Y –
Get off Agent’s lawn.
Agent – are you worried for Trump’s safety? I heard him say he has lots of Muslim friends and they are great and fantastic people.
Planet, are you worried about your safety? I heard you say that you have lots of Muslim friends and they are great and fantastic people. Perhaps you will get some of those 85,000 Syrians that Kerry is bringing in. No doubt some of them will be ISIS and we will see how safe Iowa is then.
I do have Muslim friends. My financial advisor is one of them. I have Hindu friends, I have Jewish friends, Christian friends, and atheist friends. I even have one friend who is Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. And no, I am not worried about my safety. I don’t live my life in fear.
Planet, you are truly from another planet as we have said for years. By the way, I don’t live in fear either. I have two very good friends who protect me. Smith & Wesson.
yeah, planet, that’s crazy – having muslim, hindu, jewish, christian and flying spaghetti monster friends! what’s wrong with you? you think america is supposed to be a melting pot or something?
I said I don’t live my life in fear. Agent responded, “By the way, I don’t live in fear either. I have two very good friends who protect me. Smith & Wesson.”
Thank you for making my point, Agent.
I’m sure everyone here has worked for or with a carrier that was competitive on one line and not on another. Why should a carrier expect its customers to bundle if their rates are out of line in one segment? If they have great auto rates and terrible homeowners rates they shouldn’t be surprised when agents/customers place the auto but not the home. That’s common sense, not some kind of generational conspiracy.
Well said! I agree entirely with your point. Age shouldn’t matter when making these kinds of decisions. If I’m going to pay $500 for home & auto combined with carrier A, but only $200 for home with “A” and $200 for auto with “B”, I could be 18 or 81 — no way would I choose bundle from a pure cost-savings standpoint.
Rosenblatt, if you have a good agent, hopefully not a captive, he will present you with a number of options and offer to move your business to another carrier for the obvious improvements in coverage and cost. That is the advantage of the Independent Agency system. Captive agents don’t have that advantage. It is what it is, sorry, that is the best we can do. I have had a few companies go crazy with their algorithms, take rate, re-score, re-tier for large rate increases. Thankfully, we have enough other markets to find a good home. One carriers loss is another carrier’s gain.
Why did you feel the need to explain to me the benefits of an independent agency system? I never said anything about agents!
I simply agreed with ExciteBiker that the insured can be young or old and their age doesn’t matter if they decide to bundle or decide not to bundle based on the combined premium of the policies.
Why do you feel the need to downplay my knowledge of the insurance business Rosenblatt? Tell me, do you bundle or split up your coverage between carriers as a choice? If you don’t bundle, was there a problem? If you do bundle, I would assume there was a good reason like credits on both policies reducing cost.
How did I downplay your knowledge of the insurance business? I did not say you were wrong or debate anything you said about the Independent Agency system. I just asked why you brought it up when I said nothing about agents in the first place.
For someone who was short in stature, he really was a great hitter and a very good catcher even using the old mitt that looked nothing like the modern catchers mitt. He had to be agile to catch the ball with that pillow. More important, Yogi was a winner in life and everyone that knew him respected and liked him.
Rosenblatt, unfortunately age does “matter” when pricing Personal Lines Insurance. Those nasty algorithms made sure of that with many companies. I have had company people tell me there are dozens of factors that go into rating and yes, age is one of them at both ends of the spectrum. In fact, it is probably given more weight than many of the other factors.
Rosenblatt, You said, how did I downplay your knowledge of the insurance business. After I explained several times that bundling is “almost always preferable” for those accounts who “qualify” and are clean, you went to the article and agreed with the unbundlers when you didn’t even know the facts of why people don’t bundle. How many times do I need to say this? Unbundlers have issues which keep them from bundling or they are with one of those online carriers like Geico who don’t even offer Homeowners. That will keep an insured unbundled for sure when the option isn’t even offered.
Rosenblatt, allow me to bring you up to speed on how it works since you brought age into the picture. 18 year old drivers have always had high rates because they are inexperienced, tend to have accidents and think it is fine to text and drive and by the way, few pay the bills for insurance costs and in fact, many have failed to launch by age 26 since they are on the parents Health Insurance and there are so few jobs for them to do. 81 year olds are discriminated against by the Auto insurance industry and pay higher rates than they should because their credit score has declined due to not using credit much and being debt free. They may be loss free, don’t drive that much, but they get penalized. Do you see my point or are you going to disagree one more time?
I did not say you were wrong or debate anything you said about the Independent Agency system. How did I downplay your knowledge of the insurance business?
You know what, forget about the Independent Agency part where you explained something to me that we weren’t even talking about.
Can you nicely explain how you think I downplayed your knowledge of the insurance business? I’m pretty sure I didn’t do what you’ve accused me of doing.
Rosenblatt, I am trying to educate you. Are you reading what I have to say on this subject or is it sailing over your head. What we have here is a failure to communicate.
I have understood all that you told me. That is not the problem. I don’t understand what I said that makes you think I “downplayed your knowledge of the insurance business.” That’s the only part I don’t get.
Agent,
So, when I try to educate you on insurance pricing and underwriting, you ignore what I say and insult me. But when you educate someone, you expect them to just sit there and listen without questioning you.
Hypocrite!!
Excite, it is true some carriers are out of line on one segment on rates. They are not the ones who bundle as much. However, an agent has to look at the complete picture on every account and every account is different. You don’t know going in which carrier will step forth with the best overall quote. It all depends on the carriers algorithms and how they view the risk on rating factors.
Carriers will almost uniformly tell you that they want high credit score, newer autos with no underage drivers, recently built homes with bells and whistles like alarms, sprinkler systems in order to get their best shot. Average customers with lower scores, living in older homes which haven’t been updated and 20 year old roofs will get average or higher rates. Call it discrimination if you like, but that is how it works.
Agent sounds like a disgruntled Trump supporter and, well, an agent who sells price over coverage hence his comments about bundling being cheaper. Trolls exist everywhere but they are rare on the IJ forums…..so we deal with and ignore the rare exception who is Agent. Let’s channel our energies elsewhere.
Hey Vet, are you truly a Vet or are you impersonating one? How about that VA? 307,000 have died waiting for treatment and 850,000 vets awaiting treatment on that wonderful government program. By the way, I have never sold price over coverage. If you were smart enough to read, I earlier posted that I bundled a customer for Home, Auto & Umbrella and improved his coverage, all because I know what I am doing and I have a very high retention rate for my customers. You are right about me being disgruntled. I have had 7 years of the worst President in US history and won’t it be great to replace him in about 16 months.
“If you were smart enough to read”
I think the use of personal attacks is unprofessional and has no place on this site.
Agent sells price over coverage hence his comments about bundling being cheaper. Trolls exist everywhere, but rare on IJ forums… so we deal with and ignore the rare exception who is agent.
Where is your condemnation for that insult Rosenblatt?
By the way, there are trolls galore on IJ. Would you like me to name moniker names or can you scroll through them and get it for yourself? Let me know if you need help identifying them.
So guess what the most spoken words from Health Care.Gov are?
I’m Sorry….
Hi FFA. We lost a great man Yogi Berra yesterday. He had a unique way with words like – It ain’t over until it is over and when you reach a fork in the road, take it. There are dozens of Yogi sayings and he was the real deal.
Forget about the Yogi-isms.
He was one of the 2 greatest catchers, ever. Between him and Bench.
3 MVPs
18 All Star games
10 time World Series Champion
Caught to only perfect game in post season history.
“Forget about the Yogi-isms” After all, he didn’t say everything he said anyway! :) Somehow, I think he is underrated as a catcher. That guy could mash the ball.
I agree FFA. They are truly “sorry” in every way possible as they have proven since 2010 when this monstrocity was passed.
FFA, did you hear the joyous news that John Boehner will be leaving office as Speaker and Representative? Another RINO who didn’t look after our interests and promote the Conservative viewpoint. He just didn’t do the job he was hired to do. Hopefully, he will be replaced by someone better who does have the right ideas. I don’t think they will be offering the job to Pelosi.
Agent – you seem to be hung up on this age/pricing item and you’re so far away from my point that I want to come back to where we started.
I will lay out this scenario and end with a simple question. Assume all quotes were given with the exact same coverage options and each carrier has similar excellent customer service and reputation for paying claims fairly and quickly.
Company A quote: auto only @ $1,000/yr. home only @ $500/yr. bundled home & auto for $1,300/yr.
Company B quote: auto only @ $500/yr. home only @ $1,000/yr. bundled home & auto for $1,300/yr.
If your client was basing his decision on price, would you suggest bundling, or would you suggest they take home from “A” and auto from “B”?
Sorry you don’t understand Rosenblatt. It doesn’t work that way in the real world. Stand alone policies get “no” credit at all since they are not bundled. If you start with a bundled price and your quote shows the Auto to be $1,000 and the Home is $500 and then you decide not to bundle and use two separate companies, the credit goes away on both policies. The Auto may end up being $1,200 and the Home $750 on an unbundling situation. It is very hard to compete with a bundled carrier with a stand alone quote. They have the advantage of doing both with credits for both. Do you get it yet? I knew this would be hard, but I am making an attempt anyway.
I understand what you are telling me, but please just answer the question.
Here is my answer once again. “Bundle”, because you can’t get to the price you want by unbundling. Is that clear enough for you?
I don’t think you understand what I’ve laid out, so let me try again using your numbers. Suppose I asked for 3 separate quotes from two companies.
Quote 1, Carrier 1 – $1,500 bundle auto & home
(Bundled policy has auto at $1,000 and home at $500)
Quote 2, Carrier 1 – $700 auto only
Quote 3, Carrier 1 – $1,200 home only
Quote 1, Carrier 2 – $1,500 bundle auto & home
(Bundled policy has auto at $500 and home at $1,000)
Quote 2, Carrier 2 – $1,200 auto only
Quote 3, Carrier 2 – $700 home only
So I could bundle auto & home with the both companies and have a $1,500 premium. Or I could buy auto from Carrier 1 at $700 and home from Carrier 2 at $700, for a total of $1,400.
If your client wanted to save as much money as possible, what would you suggest? Bundle at $1,500 or un-bundled with 2 different carriers at $1,400 total?
Bundling does not make financial sense in this scenario, correct?
I’m sorry. Please ignore my last post. It was totally unnesessary. I hope we can just put this to an end here and move on. I concede.
even I thought that was too much Rosenblatt. i hope that’s the end of that
Rosenblatt, my recommendation is that you call your agent up and ask him all your questions and have him quote you all the scenarios possible in the universe. If you are better off bundling, do it. If not, then stay unbundled. If you are with GEICO on your Auto, they won’t be able to help you since they are Auto only.
I am through with this discussion.
Rosenblatt,
Look, Agent finally admitted that there is a chance someone could be better off if they do not bundle.
Yay progress!!
Look, Ron took another opportunity to insult me. By the way, I was becoming rather frustrated with Rosenblatt since several posts were not making any headway in his level of understanding. If you don’t believe anything a seasoned professional has to say about this business, the only avenue is to check with someone else. I believe the majority of unbundled insurance consumers are those who have stand alone Auto and are with someone like GEICO or another stand alone carrier. Eligibility for bundling is the key.
Agent,
How did I insult you? I only indicated that you changed your position. If you think that is an insult, you truly are hopeless and extremely thin-skinned.
I agree that bundling is the preferred method. The point Rosenblatt was making, which you flat out discounted, was that it is not for everyone.
You don’t believe anything I say about insurance pricing, underwriting or rating algorithms even though I am a seasoned insurance professional.
You said, “I believe the majority of unbundled insurance consumers are those who have stand alone Auto and are with someone like GEICO or another stand alone carrier. Eligibility for bundling is the key.” While I agree with you, many of those people with GEICO are probably eligible for bundling, but the total premium of the bundle is higher than keeping the home and auto separate. This does happen,even with preferred risks.
Ron, you can’t help insulting me at every opportunity. That is in your genetic makeup. Perhaps you forgot all the other articles where GEICO, Allstate & Progressive are raising their rates. It is very hard for someone to go stand alone and beat the price of most good full market companies. I will state once again that I have not seen 1 account who was good, clean and eligible ever come out ahead by unbundling their coverage, but then again, I represent good markets who compete for business instead of substandard companies with poor rates, bad algorithms, ignorant actuaries.
Agent,
Please cite exact words where I insulted you?
The reason I copy/paste from your post so you and everyone else knows to what I am specifically replying.
Nobody is questioning your personal experience as an agent. It is you that is questioning the experiences of other insurance professionals. How come we need to respect your experience and expertise, but you are free to ignore, disrespect, and/or question the experience and expertise of others?
THAT IS THE PROBLEM!!
How do you know about the algorithms and actuaries of companies you do not even represent? That is awfully ignorant and arrogant of you.
you can’t just say you have been insulted or someone was demeaning your knowledge without being able to explain how someone did such a thing to you.
maybe ron has insulted you a million times, but he hasn’t here and yet you are on the defensive saying he insulted you. support your argument with facts. what exactly did he say that you thought was an insult?