The Moments When You Could Really Use Support from Your MGA

If you are an insurance advisor then you likely work with either an MGA or an insurance company directly. Insurance advisors who work with MGA’s have increased benefits over insurance advisors who work for insurance companies because they are able to offer a more competitive range of insurance products. Instead of only being able to arrange insurance through a single insurer, they are able to offer insurance products from many different insurance companies. Working for a good MGA can be enriching, but like any business, some MGA’s are better than others. 

As an insurance advisor, the level of service you provide your clients will largely depend on the support provided by your MGA as well as the support provided by the insurance companies who you broker insurance policies for. Sometimes it is the insurance companies who present the biggest challenge to the success of insurance advisors.  

Of course you would think that insurance companies would be highly motivated to act quickly to lock in an application that they receive from an insurance advisor, but often their own internal bureaucracy and disorganization can cause an insurance advisor to lose a deal.

Some examples of ways that insurance companies have been known to let down insurance advisors include:

1.       Not living up to time lines. Selling an individual on an insurance product can be hard enough, but when an insurance company takes too long to approve an application it can create an opportunity for the customer to shop around, or they may forget their reason for purchasing the insurance in the first place, resulting in lost deals.

2.       Lost information. There are instances from time to time where insurance companies actually lose information. This can be frustrating and can mean extra work for you.

3.       Requesting more piecemeal information. This is a huge challenge because when insurance companies do this, it gives a customer the impression that you don’t know what you're doing. Ideally, an insurance company should provide you with all of the questions they would like you to ask your client at once- but this often is not the case.

4.       Sales that result in substandard service. When insurance companies promote sales it can cause them to get really busy, really fast. This can impact customer service and service delivery which will ultimately impact the level of service that you provide to your clients.

The insurance business is a service business. The level of service that you provide to your clients will directly impact your ability to be successful in this business. When insurance companies give you grief and you work with an MGA, this is one of those moments when you will need to be able to count on your MGA to step up to the plate and support you.

Some MGA’s are not prepared to intervene and stand up for their advisors when an insurance company is providing substandard service. This is because they are often more concerned with “not bothering” the insurance company than with seeing their advisor be successful. Or they may fear losing their good standing relationship with the insurers.

If you work for an MGA who doesn’t stand up for you with insurance companies who are making it difficult for you to process your deals then it may be time to look at switching to an MGA who will. While it can be an involved process to do so, it will be worth it in the long run because it will likely lead to increase job satisfaction and profitability.

If you are unhappy with the support provided by your MGA please contact Gary Mandel at 416-849-2939 at Independent Financial Concepts Group or visit www.joinifcg.com for information about the benefits that come with joining IFCG. “In business for yourself, but not by yourself.”