How insurance agents get your number
You might be wandering how all insurance companies get your number? Possibly you have filled a lucky draw form/coupon at a mall.
You didn’t get lucky but the company which got your form was lucky to have sold your number to insurance brokers/agents for a small fee.
Type of Insurance
There is no dearth of types of insurance. Most sold ones include –
- Term Life Insurance
- Endowment Plans
- Health Insurance / Hospitalisation Plans
- Travel Insurance
- Fire Insurance
- and the list goes on….
What agents are going to tell you
Agents may usually take you for coffee or drinks when they try to sell you an insurance product.
They will start with the policy highlights which are usually all the good things. After hearing them, you might be tempted to buy one.
They won’t tell you bad things like exclusions, waiting period , pre existing illness etc
Common non claimable scenarios
Scenario 1 – You buy a hospitalisation insurance and fall sick after 2 months and need to be hospitalised
Outcome - Insurance plan may have a waiting period of 90 days and your claim is rejected
Scenario 2: You buy a hospitalisation insurance and get hospitalised. You get a bill of 2 lacs but only 1.5 lacs is approved.
Outcome - Your agent most likely would not have told you about exclusions. All items that a hospital bills you are not claimable. Some examples could be disposables , over the counter medicines such as probiotics.
Scenario 3: You buy a vehicle insurance and get a third party claim
Outcome : Third party claim is not covered
Scenario 4: You have purchased a travel insurance policy and are told that bag damage and loss is covered and your bags are damaged when you receive them at the airport belt.
Outcome : What is the most likely part that gets damaged - Wheels / handle - which are usually not COVERED
Scenario 5: You buy a travel insurance and flight delay is only covered if it is more than 12 hours. Your flight is delayed by 10 hours overnight.
Outcome : You end up paying for a lounge or hotel room , food etc and no claims can be made
Why agents won’t tell you the bad part
- They get hefty commissions, losing a potential sale / client may not be beneficial for them
- They have sales targets to achieve. They may offer a small gift for buying an insurance which may further tempt you
What your should do next
- If you have an insurance and have a policy document ready. Try giving it some time and try to understand the coverage. The problem is you will get it only when you buy the insurance.
- Most insurance policies (by law) have a free look out period for 14 days or 28 days. Please ask it from your agent even before you buy.
- Read the policy document carefully once you get it ( most of them are now digital copies which can be accessed through your insurance portal account or you might have received it in your mailbox as a password protected pdf file .
- If you are not satisfied , inform the insurance company and they are obliged to refund you the initial premium back.