Nothing's Wrong With 800-Insurance Companies, Except...

...except for the fact that you almost never talk to the same person twice. And except that no one's going to be pro-active and check with you every 6-12 months to find out if your needs have changed. Also, they typically only sell one kind of insurance, e.g., auto coverage, so they don't bring to your attention any other kind of policy and they can't answer your questions about any other kind of coverage. If you should have a claim, you might talk to Mary today and when you call again, you may talk to Harry or Rasneesh.

There's nothing wrong with these companies (examples: Progressive and Geico) or their people, but there's no continuity and no relationship between you and them, other than your monthly payment.

If you've been insured by one of these companies, you already know what I mean. In fact, I used to be insured by each of the companies I mentioned. I never had a problem with their people (though I know others who have, occasionally), and I assume their insurance was fine, but I never had a claim, so there was no real test.

That said, I'm sure they handle most claims well. The issue though is that you have no agent (this isn't still universally true, since one of them has started selling through independents), and an agent can help you with: navigating your way through the shoals, to get your claim paid; taking care of your other insurance needs; and, looking out for your best interest and answering questions you have about other insurance.

Is that worth the extra price you pay, in order to have an agent? The answer isn't a simple yes or no. It's also a false choice. I've had an opportunity to go head-to-head against the prices of companies like this and we (Farmers) usually provide a lower price, in which case you get your "hands-on" agent free.

In fact, today I sold an auto policy and saved the client over $100 per month on his auto coverage, as compared to what he was paying Geico.

We don't ALWAYS beat the competition on price, but we usually do. And when we don't we're still worth it. Let me explain how and why. Please give me a call at 602-466-2636 or 480-628-9786. I'll provide a no-obligation quote on auto, life, homeowner's, renter's, or insurance for your company. Let's see whether we can save you money. I'm betting we can.

Thanks for your attention.

You Get To Pick All Three

There used to be a popular saying in the business world.

"Good price, high quality, good service. Pick any two."

Implied is that you can't have all three. The concept is that if you're getting a low price, you might get high quality if you're lucky, or you might get great service, but that no one could afford to give you all three.

You can get all three, but it's rare. I like to think it's what I provide my clients. Insurance doesn't have to be expensive. In fact, homeowner's and renter's insurance are both surprisingly affordable. Service comes with no extra charge and it's what I do.

I've been referred to as "The Social Worker Insurance Agent," and what that means is that I'm really concerned with the best interests of those who are my clients, and I'll look out for them. If I hear about changes taking place that affect a client, that client will know about it quickly. Likewise, if we set up a life insurance program for you, I'll contact you at least every two years to see how your circumstances have changed. That way, for example, you and I will both know that it might be time to change some of your term coverage (available, of course from Farmers) into whole life coverage (likewise).

While I try not to be intrusive, I will contact you occasionally to make sure your desires and needs are taken care of.

So high-quality service is a given.

When it comes to price, that's what Farmers Insurance does. We've recently lowered our rates on both personal auto and commercial insurance of all kinds, so considering Farmers is definitely worthwhile.

Quality is both Farmers' job and mine. You get a quality insurance product and (I hope you'll agree) a quality insurance agent.

Price, quality, service. Pick Three.

You can reach me at 602-466-2636 or 480-628-9786. Thanks for your attention.

Not About Insurance - You Should Know...

Sometimes, we all do business with people and discover they're really good at what they do, and that other people should know about them.

I'll do this again, in coming posts, but for now just the following. By the way, you can't buy these recommendations. If you see one here, it's legitimate. You could conceivably disagree (though I don't think you will), but the recommendations are sincere and heartfelt.

If you need to get a message across and it requires a voice to communicate it, Rob Trygg's your guy. In addition to having a great voice (he's spent years in radio), he understands that what the voice says is as important as the voice that says it.

He does so many things that I can't do him justice. Just take a look at his site, and you'll see what I mean.

You can find his website at http://www.robtrygg.com. If you haven't read my other posts, after you visit him, come back here, OK?

Next time, more on insurance. And if you have questions on life, home, auto, or business insurance, please give me a call at 602-466-2636 or 480-628-9786. Thanks.

What's Up, Doc?

If you're a physician or an office manager for one or more doctors, you know that insurance takes a big chunk out of your budget.

You've got medical malpractice coverage, workers' compensation ("work comp"), and commercial liability, including auto coverage. And sometimes, you probably wonder whether your agent is doing the best possible job for you.

The whole process doesn't have to be painful. And you shouldn't have to wonder

You can probably spend less money and have a better agent relationship (that's thrown in, free) than you do now.

If you're interested in a quote on your commercial coverage and your work comp, give me a call. I'm reachable at 602-466-2636 or 480-628-9786 (the latter's my cell phone).

And here's something REALLY SPECIAL and FREE!!! (They teach in Sales 101, that the word "free" is a really big sales tool, but this really is free without cost to your practice, and the striking out of that word's a sad attempt at a bit of humor.

OK, what we're talking about is the combination of an affinity program and Farmers Preferred Plan.

If you're a doc, you get an extra discount on your auto insurance with Farmers. If your office signs up for Farmers Preferred Plan (easy and -- again -- free), anyone with your office is entitled to the same discount as doctors get.

Additionally if you or someone on your staff already has Farmers auto coverage (BTW - we just lowered our rates by almost 25%), when you sign up for the Farmers Preferred Plan, they get the added discount, without having to do anything (other than notifying us that they're Farmers customers).

Also, if you're not interested in the Farmers Preferred Plan, the doctor(s) and nurse(s) in your practice are eligible for the affinity discount, just for being who they are and doing what they do.

Not bad, right?

Naturally, we'd like to be able to answer questions that other staff members or you might have about Farmers, and have a chance to quote the cost of your coverage and that of any interested staff members.

That's about it for this post. Same deal as earlier - for more info, please give me a call. 602-466-2636 or 480-628-9786.

Thanks for your attention.

Why Bother With Renter's Insurance?

If you rent your residence instead of being a homeowner, you may not have thought of what it would cost you if your building (house or apartment) were to burn down or be destroyed in some other way.

First the bad news (the good news is coming). Your landlord's insurance won't cover the loss of your property.

Now the promised good news. Insurance on the property in the rented residence (your property) is remarkably inexpensive.

I just quoted a woman whose personal property in her apartment is worth an estimated $40 thousand and her monthly cost of insurance is under $20.00 per month.

The reason that most folks who don't have it, haven't bought renter's insurance, is that they think their "stuff" isn't all that valuable. But if you think about it, you'll realize that replacing simple things like linens, towels, dishes, furniture and your clothing would cost a bunch of bucks.

One advantage of Farmers renter's insurance coverage is that if your personal property is destroyed, we pay for replacement of that property, if it's available (we can no longer obtain Timex/Sinclair computers or genuine original buggy whips, for example). Many companies only offer the depreciated value on what you purchased 10 years ago or 20 years ago or last week. In other words, if your purchases were a long time ago, they'll pay you what they estimate that piece of property's value, now.

As said on our page, though I'm a Farmers agent, this blog doesn't necessarily represent the views, policies, or opinions of Farmers Insurance. That said, the Farmers renter's policy will replace your old, destroyed items with new stuff.

And the premium's still very low.

Realistically, if you rent, you can't afford to be without renter's coverage.

Thanks for your attention. If you're in Arizona and have any questions about the topics covered here, or insurance in general, please give me a call - 602-466-2636 (office) or 480-628-9786 (cell).

Odd News From Here and There

As part of our "And More" section, we bring you the following.

In Europe, there's a really low-priced airline called Ryan Air, that's based in Ireland.

To save money for the airline and presumably to offer lower prices to passengers, the CEO, Mr. O'Leary has suggested that the airline might do away with the co-pilots.

He says flight attendants can be instructed on how to fly the planes in the event of an emergency. The pilot could ring a bell, the attendant would come forward and the plane could proceed. Of course, he didn't mention what could happen if the pilot passes out or dies without the opportunity to ring the bell.

None of this is surprising when you hear about some of Mr. O'Leary's other ideas for making flying less expensive. He's suggested a section on each plane for travelers who would pay less and stand up during the entire flight, holding on to rails. He also came up with a plan for vertical seats, in which passengers would be belted to the seat while standing up. In that way, you could fill a plane with a much larger number of passengers.

And don't even ask about his plan for coin-operated lavoratories.

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In a story out of Roanoke, Virginia, the local humane society has taken a page out of the book belonging to Priceline.com. Name Your Own Price, they're saying. The shelter is overcrowded, and for one day next week, they're allowing people who would otherwise qualify to adopt a pet, to do so at a price the adopter names. Normally the adoption fees come out to about $100.00 in that community.

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If you want to let us know something you think others would enjoy hearing about, please send me an e-mail to jbushman@farmersagent.com. If you have questions about insurance in general or your needs in particular, please call or e-mail me. The phone numbers are 602-466-2636 or 480-628-9786. Thanks for your attention.

Nothing To Do With Insurance

I love dogs, and if you do, you'll understand and enjoy this. If you're more of a cat person, pretend that I'm talking about cats, and it'll apply. The reason I'm including this, in this blog is for the "more" part of Insurance and More.

We have a tendency to treat our animals as our children. Maybe that statement only applies to those of us older than a "certain age," whatever that is, but I know it's true in our house.

The proof (besides our kissing and cooing to the point that makes non-animal lovers nauseous) is seen in the following two stories. Though they involve my wife as the human, I could've done the same thing.

About 4 weeks ago, our Chihuahua, Autumn, needed a vet's appointment. My wife called, they answered the phone and asked how they could help. Without thinking, Alicia said that she wanted to make an appointment for "our daughter." She realized what she said and corrected herself, but she and the receptionist had a long, good laugh about it. Apparently, this had happened before.

At our home, the third bedroom is referred to as "the office," for an obvious reason. When I came home today, I asked where Autumn was and was told, "she's in her office." I immediately had a craving to get our puppy some coffee and make copies for her.

Have your own animal stories? I'd love to hear them (and share them if you don't mind). Just drop me a note or give me a call. The contact info is: 602-466-2636, 480-628-9786, and jbushman@farmersagent.com.

And, if you don't want to talk about your insurance, let me know and I won't ask whether you'd like to save a boatload of money on insurance for your car, home, business or that boat.

Thanks for your attention.

Jeff Bushman