With open enrollment periods for Medicare and the Health Insurance Marketplace around the corner, many will look to the insurance agent community for assistance. Decisions for the 2024 plan year range from selecting first time coverage, to determining whether to keep the current plan or move to another one, and a host of other needs and concerns.
There’s the stress of uncertainty and those without a go-to agency or adviser may ask who they can trust to help with their needs.
With so many agencies and advisers to choose from, finding the right one during the insurance journey can be exhausting.
Experts advise clients to seek word of mouth recommendations, use due diligence to research and screen a few agents, then determine which they feel most compatible and comfortable with.
Those who already have a go-to agency or adviser may question whether to continue trusting their current adviser to be the best resource for their needs. If the current adviser communicates industry trends and happenings, delivers on promises, maintains regular contact, and strives to be attentive, those are signs that you are valued. Advisers with the best of intentions will fall short sometimes but when neglect is evident and occurs often, that’s a sign to take your business elsewhere.
In the end, a rewarding relationship requires client input as well, like being open and honest in communications, setting clear and realistic expectations for coverage, and sharing significant life changes or circumstances as they occur. Without these key ingredients, the agent or adviser is not equipped to deliver the best service.
It’s unfortunate, but agents and advisers do have trust issues with clients as well. After all, they’re the ones who need to prove they’re trustworthy, not the client. Knowing that a client can take their business elsewhere at any given moment is a real concern. This is why the agent community should strive to always act in their client’s best interest, provide accurate and timely information, commit to providing excellent service, and exhibit professionalism.
Trust is the glue that holds client/advisor relationships together for the Annual Open Enrollment Periods this fall.
Owner & Principal Adviser at Forty7 Benefits, Kim Parker is an independent insurance adviser. Contact Parker at 810.350.4117 or kim@47benefits.com.