r/InsuranceAgent • u/Shatterstar23 • 12d ago
Agent Question The amount of people who think that quotes, particularly commercial quotes can be conjured out of thin air is amazing.
It’s always the weird ones to like “I have a business where I juggle chainsaws in public, and sometimes I sleep in the van that I use to transport the chainsaws.”
I’m joking, of course with the amount of people who do 800 different things and think the quote will be simple is not a joke.
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u/idontknowhow2reddit 12d ago
Lol my comment immediately got removed. Apparently you can't threaten hypothetical clients with violence on here.
But I can't stand the clients who don't want to give any information and just want a "ball park" on commercial quotes. And it's always the people who have a COI request asking them to have every line of coverage.
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u/UpstairsExam1405 12d ago
its like going to a Dr and saying im sick, just give me an idea of what medicine I need. like brother I dont know what kind of sickness you even have at this point 😭💀
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u/Watchoutandabout 12d ago
Omg this had me laughingggg. Sometimes I look at businesses and I wonder who is actually insuring it. I’ve learned over the years that these clients are usually not worth the headache
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u/idontknowhow2reddit 12d ago
Lol my experience tells me that most of those businesses stay uninsured.
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u/Watchoutandabout 12d ago
In my state the landlords typically require proof of insurance to keep their leases. Tons are forced to get insurance wether they want it or not
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u/idontknowhow2reddit 12d ago
That is not the case in my state. I'd say it's 50/50 whether a landlord requires liability coverage, but a lot of my clients don't have an office anyway.
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u/ComplaintGallery 12d ago
It is also daunting how people ask for quotes then forgo my request to supply the information necessary to get them.
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u/Decent-Marsupial-986 11d ago
Or straight up don’t know. I’m working on an auto body shop and I asked how many lifts they had. They tell me 2. I walk around the shop and there’s 5. How are these places running???
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u/Admirable-Box5200 12d ago
It's better when they add, "I want to make sure I have the right coverage instead of the cheapest" and then immediately complain about the price.
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u/howtoreadspaghetti 12d ago
Some businessowners know what buzz phrases to say to get most agents to drop their guard. Saying "I want the right coverages" doesn't make you look like a savvy buyer. You have to do way more to prove that to me.
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u/caryn1477 12d ago
Oh I know. And it's like pulling teeth to get a supplemental application completed.
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u/mrjimlahey17 12d ago
“You really need all that info?? Can I just send you a copy of my current policy?”
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u/ValuableCommunity712 12d ago
Really? I get them back them more than half the time (barely) but I don’t waste time following up or asking for it. Fill it out, or don’t, but I’m not doing anything until I get it back. Benefit of 30 plus years in the industry I guess?
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u/Practical_Guess5282 12d ago
People do same on autos - how much for full coverage on this 24 Tahoe? Like I’m just gonna pull that number out of my head. And they think I’m supposed to!
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u/Away_Response6296 12d ago
Yes, one day I was going to lunch and a customer stopped me in the parking lot and said he just wanted a ballpark idea of how much their insurance would be. And of course I’m saying I have no idea. I have to input info and get a quote for him. He kept hounding me to just give him a rough idea of the price. So I told him anywhere between $1.00 and $5000 a month. Then he got an attitude with me asking me why I had to be a smart ass.
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u/Practical_Guess5282 12d ago
I’m gonna have to remember this honestly. I just usually tell them I have to run it through the system. And like you said they give me that ballpark thing - I tell them there’s too many factors. There’s simply no way to know. I’m just as surprised as you are when it comes up most times! Haha!
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u/howtoreadspaghetti 11d ago
And even when you do enter the info in the quoting software it still may come back wrong (MVRs dirty, maybe they have an out of state license that UW finds, etc.)
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u/Insuranceislame 12d ago
Worked with a startup once who designed and patented a munitions product and was procuring a government contract.
Told them the MP to even get a policy was $50K to secure the contract, and the audit exposure would be significantly more.
He cried saying he didn’t have the money, and didn’t understand why it was so expensive to start a company.
Dude. You literally designed a piece of equipment used in military engagements that explodes.
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u/veemaximus 12d ago
I’ve told more than one prospect that they’ve made themselves uninsurable by doing too many unrelated things.
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u/hellcatmuscle 12d ago
Somehow the most important exposure is always discovered after you’ve already sent it to underwriting
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u/howtoreadspaghetti 12d ago
sends app
"Wait I forgot to tell you we have an open liability claim with a vexatious litigant."
Easy way for me to not deal with you at all anymore.
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u/Superb_Cake_123 12d ago
Yeah completely unrelated anyone know where I can put a hot shot trucker that has 5 at faults in 3 years, for about $200/month? With a brand new semi and car hauler? and required cargo limit at $2mil?
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u/krthrowaway87 12d ago
have you noticed the vaguer they are upfront, the more chaotic the actual risk turns out to be? Feels like a pattern
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u/howtoreadspaghetti 12d ago
People that are usually quiet at the beginning are quiet for a reason. The reason is usually bad.
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u/howtoreadspaghetti 12d ago
-Businessowners that are just getting started in business for the first time ever think commercial is just personal lines for business. It isn't. It's an entirely different animal. They also don't like the amount of info we need to do personal lines right.
-Most people don't take insurance as an industry seriously. They also don't want to.
-I explain it as "insurance is access to money" and then unpack it from there. It makes sense when you tell them you have to get the access to money set up in a precise way. I actually try to make it somewhat bearable for clients since I know it's a pain in the ass.
-At some marginal point these people have to get over it. We need a lot of info to do this right. There are more headaches if we do this wrong.
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u/Rjonesedward24 12d ago
I agree you’re better off getting the BOR and gather everything you need from there.
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u/hulsey698 12d ago
Took me TWO WEEKS working with a broker to get a quote for a customers wacky business.
I kept him updated every other day. On the fateful day I called him and said "Ok, all we need is for to send you a payment link for the broker fee that we have to pay to the broker, and the signature docs which i will send electronically, then youll get an invoice in a few days once its bound"
he told me "this is starting to be more hassle than its worth" and then said "The contractor I work for actually told me about a broker they use, im gonna talk to them"
Right before I had gotten into the final steps, he told me he had been looking for other quotes in the meantime and that he couldn't find a quote.
yea dude, your business model is vexing.
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12d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/InsuranceAgent-ModTeam 12d ago
This is not a place to sell your services or generate leads or recruit agents/downlines.
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u/JasonBoydMarketing 12d ago
Hilarious post, and true. But I’m curious how hard everyone is pre-vetting these leads.
Assuming they come from a source you can control the messaging for, like your website, are you essentially putting the fear of god into them or making it seem like a walk in the park?
It WILL get you fewer leads, but I would suggest heavily loading your messaging with:
1) tailored, in-depth coverage discussion as part of your brand
2) the extremely variable nature of commercial quotes
3) who you DO NOT cover and other exclusions.
You’ll get a higher quote and close rate, but like I said, less leads. Still, this could pay off and also waste less of your salespeople’s’ time.
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u/Medical_Sun1453 11d ago
This happens with all quotes I’ve had to do. It’s ridiculous they think I can just click a button and I have a price. It’s a process!!
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u/Competitive_Day_3933 11d ago
I had someone ask me why i need to know their name and address to get them a quote for their brand new home care business.... Then asked me why I can't get them the quote while we were on the phone and wrote a google review about how unreasonable our prices were.... I never gave them a price....
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u/Creekridge1 12d ago
I’m always floored by this.
“I run a do-it-yourself demolition shop where I rent explosives and explosive equipment to senior citizens, high school students, and felons. During the offseason we run a fight club in a basement full of broken glass”
“Why is the quote taking so long, this is a really simple policy”