Top 3 reasons you should trust your insurance agent

By: Blake Wimsey
Special to Guthrie News Page

Blake Wimsey operates Foundation Insurance in downtown Guthrie.

1. Insurance is BORING

How many of you reading this think insurance is fun? When you find yourself with some free time on a Sunday afternoon, do you cuddle up with your auto insurance policy and a cup of coffee and have a good read? Of course not! (If you do, please reach out, I have a job opening).

But seriously, your insurance agent should be a professional you trust, just like your doctor, attorney or CPA. They are specialized in their industry. A trustworthy insurance professional should also be very comfortable telling their clients that they don’t know the answer to their question, and then go and make it a priority to get them a straight answer.

Unfortunately, the insurance industry is not unlike any other, and there is room for unethical behavior. That “gut feeling” you get about certain things is usually all of your life experiences, good and bad, all wrapped up with a nice little bow on it. It’s your instinct or your intuition, go with it. Sometimes that’s worth paying a little more to have someone you trust in you corner.

2. Claims come suddenly, and inconveniently

If everyone knew the day in which they’d need to use their insurance, well they’d plan for that much differently the week before they needed it. Obviously, the nature of an insurance policy is to cover yourself against pure risk, not speculative risk. Therefore, the only possible outcome of taking out the policy is a loss, and an unexpected one at that.

So, knowing that you can’t plan when you’re going to use your insurance policy, you should plan on using an agent you trust to set you up for those unexpected losses. Why would anyone purchase a storm shelter? Do they have it done the day before the tornado comes? Of course not. People put in storm shelters much in advance, knowing that if they live in Oklahoma long enough, you’re eventually going to use it. Well if you live in Oklahoma long enough, you’ll eventually find yourself in a situation where you’ll regret or appreciate the insurance plan you’ve got.

3. Insurance is a game-changer

Anyone ever purchased insurance on their favorite shirt? Why not? What about your sunglasses? Why aren’t movie theatres selling insurance for potentially bad movies? Why can’t I buy insurance on my carton of milk in case it goes bad prior to me using it all?

It wouldn’t make financial sense to pay money each month to transfer the risk of any of these things to an insurance company. That’s because none of these represent a potential for large financial loss. We insure ourselves against things like accidentally causing a car accident that hurts and/or kills another person. Big risk. We insure our homes, the single biggest investment most of us make, against serious perils and total losses. We should be insuring our lives. This insures our spouse and kids would be taken care of since they are dependent on your income.

Not having the proper insurance in place really opens you to exposure in circumstances that are largely out of your control, like someone else’s negligence or the weather. Insurance is so much more than just something you legally have to have. So instead of searching out strictly the cheapest insurance or going online to buy your own, find yourself a trustworthy agent that is willing to educate you and answer your questions… because who knows when you’ll need it?