Medical emergencies happen anytime. Health insurance may prove to be your anchor in those emergencies but if you are careful. Insurance companies advertise their policy with appealing messages and celebrities. But this can’t verify their credibility. A bigger web is the pool of insurance agents. They could be removing your workload but the future remains uncertain. You can’t have blind faith in them. To explain why here are the 5 reasons not to hire agents for health insurance.
1. It’s about health for you but business for them
Your priority is saving the life but for the agents, you could be the prey to achieve their target or a step towards promotion. It is harsh, but true.
Many people are working in health insurance as a businessman. They think of their profit more and less about the customers. Even the relatives or mutual friends who keep persuading you to buy a particular insurance could be the secret agent. Keep eyes open!
2. You don’t want a twisted agreement
A layman cannot understand the terms and conditions of an agreement. You would be contacting the insurance agent to clear doubts. And that’s where the real trap is set up.
There are many cases where the agents have either not supplied the complete information or lied. Buyers get to know about it only when the claim is rejected. And at that time one would be helpless because agents would be showing their signature on ‘I agree’ form.
If your agent is stopping you from asking too many questions and saying “believe me”, “trust me”, “I’ve issued hundreds of such policies” bla…bla… then you should be careful. Proceed ahead only after getting all your doubts cleared.
3. What if their focus is their bank balance?
With every policy, some money is fixed for the agents. This commission adds money to their purses but the money is taken from the customers.
For the commission, agents can attract buyers for low standard policies by offering fake promises. Some will say that they have merged from a big insurance company so your policy and money is safe.
Suppose there is an insurance company ‘HealthyYou Insurance’. An agent says that he will get insurance for you but from ‘HealthYou Insurance’. You might not spot the difference but later you will get the shock knowing that the company was fake or unlicensed.
So, if your agent repeats “Trust us,” think twice before doing so.
Also, check out other companies’ policy details and pricing than the one your agent is recommending. It maybe that your agent is recommending a particular company’s policy because of high commission rate he/she’s getting from that company. In such a case you’ll miss out on a better policy available in the market from other companies.
4. ‘Who-are- you- attitude?’ once the policy is taken
We all experience change of attitude of a seller once their item is sold. And health insurance business is no different.
The agents sugar-coat their words initially but later they will not pick your calls, ignore your emails or make the universal excuse – ‘I am out of town.’
The worst scenario at the time of your claim could be that you found that the agent has run away with your money, documents, and hopes.
Sometimes after buying the policy, you might want to cancel it. And then your agent starts behaving irresponsible or ignoring you because there’s no commission to earn for him/her. In this situation, the agent can tell you to contact the company directly for cancellation/refund, stop picking your calls or making excuses to help you with your refund/cancellation process. Also check you get the promised refund amount in your account.
5. Choose not to be the centre of the blame game
Imagine you claim for the insurance and your agent helps. You will have a sigh of relief there but difficulty does not end there.
On handling the bills your agent will explain that you have to pay some portion of the claim amount according to the company policy because your disease is not covered. You will argue that they haven’t informed about that. And then, knowing it’s his mistake the agent will blame your carelessness.
To save money, spend some efforts. Proceed for the health insurance yourself. Now-a-days you can easily buy health insurance policies online directly from your preferred health insurance company. Even you can also process claims online, in case required. Sometimes companies also offer discounts for buying policy online.
Even if the agent gives you the example that famous Mr. Sharma has bought their insurance, think twice before you sign the agreement. A sharp eye on clauses will prove saviour in future. Ask for complete policy details including all terms and conditions before buying the policy so that you can be assured that what will be covered and what not.
Only you can prevent financial emergencies when medical emergencies hit hard. Be your guide; do not let any agent decide about your life.
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