Insurance Brokers Essex: What’s better; Advice or Price?

Which is more important?

As I was travelling to a networking event the other day, I was thinking about what I could say this week to best present myself, my business, and crucially, what I actually do.

Thinking back on previous events, I recalled how I explained to people that essentially, I shop around for businesses, landlords, home and car owners to get them the best deal on their insurance.  It occurred to me (not for the first time) that whilst this is all well and good, not everyone knows what insurances need to be in their policies, to make it ”the best deal”.

That got me thinking about websites that sell insurance policies direct to the customer.  There is no doubt that the business model of a price comparison website means that the providers can offer what are perceived to be competitive prices, but the onus is firmly on the user (the person buying cover) to know a) what kind of cover they actually need/want and b) how to check that the policy they are looking at buying actually meets with those needs.

It might seem a daft analogy, but imagine you wanted to buy a car, so rather than drive from dealer to dealer, you shop around online to be sure you get a good price. Imagine then that you buy a car online that looks like a good deal, only to find when you pick it up that it is missing a vital component that actually makes it go!  The answer is quite obviously take it for a test drive, but there is no such test drive with insurance; it needs to be right first time.

In summary, this little thought process I had as I was pulling up at the meeting venue, made me realise that a lot of business or property owners don’t know precisely what commercial insurance (or landlord insurance) they need (although some have a vague idea).  What’s more, they don’t know how to tell the difference between a policy that will cover all of their requirements and one that won’t (without spending hours trawling through small print and seeking general advice from a range of experts).

…and so for me, I pride myself on giving advice, as well as addressing price (and that’s what I said when I stood up later that morning!).

But what do you think?  Are you comfortable buying a product you don’t know much about? Do you know if what you are buying is all you need?

Business Insurance Brokers & Property Insurance Brokers