Avoiding Insurance Fraud: Finding a Reliable Agent and Company
When you want to purchase an insurance policy to protect yourself and your loved ones, you expect full honesty from your agent. Unfortunately, there have been many cases of insurance fraud from dubious agents or companies.
In order to ensure that we understand a policy fully, especially its terms and conditions, we usually need to rely on an insurance agent. This is why finding a reliable insurance agent in Malaysia is important.
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What Makes a Good Insurance Agent or Company
There are many qualities to look out for in an insurance agent that makes them stand out. Of course, no agent is perfect. However, they should have most if not all of the following qualities:
Be Able to Explain Things Easily
A trustable insurance agent should be able to explain complicated terms and conditions truthfully. This is crucial so that you can understand the terms and conditions of your insurance payouts.
There can sometimes be many complicated concepts and terms in the insurance field. As a lay person, you may not have encountered these concepts before. Having someone who can explain to you is therefore a relief.
Certain policy terms and conditions may not be favorable to your needs, and therefore may be unsuitable for you. Therefore, understanding them thoroughly will be important for making decisions.
The Ability to Compare Different Policies
Insurance providers will often offer more than one package when it comes to a type of insurance. These different packages will consist of add-ons, riders, and the like.
A good insurance agent will be able to tell you the similarities and differences of each package, so that you can weigh the pros and cons of each package. They should be well versed with all the policies offered by the provider too, as well as the latest news and trends related to the insurance field.
A Good Personality
A good insurance agent is one that is patient and understanding. It is important to engage an insurance agent that is not pushy and demanding. Although being persuasive is a good trait to have, the agent you find should prioritize your needs above all else.
It also helps to have an agent that’s highly motivated, and will be willing to answer your questions in a prompt and efficient manner.
Willing to Follow Up
In addition to being transparent, a good insurance agent is one that will check up on you regularly even after you’ve purchased your policy. They will also be accessible when you want to make a claim, or want to make changes/additions to your current policy.
In short, they shouldn’t go missing after your initial policy purchase and should be on standby, especially during emergencies.
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Finding a Trustable Agent: What You Can Do
In order to ensure that the insurance agent that you deal with has the best qualities, especially honesty and transparency, you can follow these useful tips.
These methods will increase the likelihood of you receiving the best service, and safeguard you and your savings from mishandling.
Recommendations are Great
One good place to start looking for an insurance agent is to ask for recommendations. If your family or friends have had good experiences with an agent, chances are that you’ll also have a good experience with that agent.
Word of mouth may seem like a rather old fashioned way of determining an insurance agent’s quality, but it’s also dependable. The more people recommend a certain agent or company, the more you’ll be able to trust them.
Do Your Own Background Checks
In Malaysia, there’s a very easy way to check if your insurance agent is trustable. You can visit the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia’s website and check if the agent you want to engage is registered.
Only individuals registered with LIAM are allowed to promote, market and distribute life insurance products on the market. LIAM also has a register of insurance companies who are members.
Being registered with LIAM means that your agent has submitted to the required regulations and is committed to being authentic and honest in their dealings. Usually, agents who have committed misdemeanors will not be allowed to stay on LIAM’s register of agents.
Carrying out this basic background check is necessary no matter where you have sourced your insurance agent, even if they’ve been recommended by someone close.
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Search for Feedback
Doing the necessary background checks also includes searching for feedback on the agent you want to engage. This also applies to the company and insurance provider that your agent represents.
You would like to deal with an agent and provider that will process your insurance claims in a fair and efficient manner. Therefore, running through the company or agent’s social media pages will hopefully turn up customer reviews or independent posts reviewing their services.
Remember to always weigh how reasonable the complaints against these companies are, as some negative feedback may not be the agent or company’s fault. In short, it helps to have a balanced view and gain two sides of the story before making an informed decision.
Decide Based on Credentials
Insurance agents in Malaysia will usually have special certificates to show that they have studied and passed their knowledge tests.
One institute in Malaysia that issues these certificates is The Malaysian Insurance Institute, and the certificate they issue is known as the Pre-Contract Examination for Insurance Agents (PCEIA) certificate.
Making sure your insurance agent has a PCEIA certificate adds another layer of authenticity to ensure that the agent isn’t a fraud, as they’ve put in the necessary effort to obtain qualifications needed for the post.
We are doing our best to ensure that both our company and agents have been registered with all the necessary regulatory bodies, and obtained all the required credentials to serve you better and meet your needs.
Contact us at any time to learn more about the insurance policies we offer, and how we can help you with your financial planning for now and for the future.