In today’s age of information technology at everyone’s finger tips, shopping for life insurance online seems like an easy and convenient way to get coverage. Avoid the sales pitch, the agent visiting, and research the price you need to pay now!
This all seems straight forward and easy, however this article will explain the process for getting online quotes and what to expect when doing online shopping for life and health insurance.
The Instant Online Life Insurance Quote
When you have found a website that offers an instant online life insurance quote, there is usually some form of contact information you have to give in order to access the instant quote form. An example would be the instant life insurance quote form on Life Guard Insurance’s website. Here we ask you to become a member of the site by giving your email address and creating a user-name and password. This will allow you to get unlimited access to the online life insurance quoting tool. Other websites often ask for a phone number and/or an email address each time you want to run a quote.
The reason these online sites are asking for contact information is because they want to reach out to potential clients and market their services and insurance products directly to you. The internet site is just a conduit to reaching interested customers and possibly selling them the insurance they need.
In reality this is a good thing. If you are in the market for life insurance or health insurance and input your contact information into a website, you should be prepared to receive a phone-call or an email following up on your enquiry. Without this type of follow-up, how would you ever be able to take the next step and purchase the insurance you are looking for? Online purchasing of life and health insurance can leave you without future service and very probably the wrong type of insurance for your situation. The lowest priced policy doesn’t always mean a good fit for you. Getting contacted by a qualified insurance professional to discuss your options would likely lead you to purchasing the best life and/or health insurance plan which you can afford now.
The Request for a Quote Online
This is a bit different from the Instant Online Life Insurance Quote. Typically, the instant quote for life insurance is limited ONLY to life insurance, and specifically term life and whole life products. There is no ability to quote Universal Life Insurance, or health insurance products like Disability Insurance, Critical Illness Insurance or Long Term Care Insurance. This is because these products are too complex to just run a basic price comparison quote.
Let me give you an example: with Disability Insurance there are three main variables to classify your risk; health (including smoking status and age), occupation, and income level. Then there are multiple choices on plan design, like waiting period before benefits begin, length of benefit payout, amount of income to be insured, and many optional riders and benefits. Also, certain disability products are designed for different occupations. There are specialized plans for professionals like doctors and lawyers which are very different from plans available for construction workers. So, you can’t just run a price comparison for the cheapest rate. It doesn’t work.
When looking for a quote for more complex types of insurance products, you usually request the quote online, for either life or health insurance, and are asked to input your email and/or phone number. This is because an insurance advisor would most probably need contact you to discuss your unique needs so they can deliver a quote that is tailored to you.
Requesting a quote from the insurance company or brokerage is probably your best option. Either way (Instant Quote or Request for a Quote) you can expect to be contacted. With the insurance quote request, the advisor will be phoning to open a discussion about your situation and needs, gathering information in order to deliver a high value quotation that makes sense to you. If you just quoted 0,000 of Term 20 life insurance, the agent might be phoning to try sell you that product. Who is to say that a Term 20 life insurance plan for 0,000 of coverage is the right policy for you? No discovery has been done. No understanding of your needs and situation has been gathered. You could be paying premiums for the wrong type of insurance if you rely totally on the lowest priced instant life insurance quote online.
Internet/Online Shopping for Insurance is the Future
With the explosion of the internet and every business making a significant presence online, the future of shopping for your life and health insurance has already become an online affair. The research you do, and quotes you get online are only just the first step in your buying process. In Canada there is not yet a well developed online purchasing mechanism to buy life and health insurance directly over the internet. You typically still need to meet with an advisor to understand the insurance you want and sign paperwork to actually apply for the coverage.
I, for one, hope that online sales of life and health insurance never takes off in Calgary and across Canada. Insurance is complicated, and clients need an advisor to guide them and explain how their insurance will work. Designing the best plan for you takes the help of a qualified insurance professional. Having a relationship with your insurance broker, and explaining your needs and concerns to him/her is always the best way to buy insurance. If you trust your insurance agent/broker has your best interests at heart, and they have access to competitively price products, you will be getting the best life and health insurance you can buy.
Mitch Reynolds has been a a licensed life insurance advisor and manager since 2000. He started his career with Clarica Financial, which today is known as Sun Life. He worked in his home town of Saskatoon for two years as an advisor before moving to Toronto as a training manager. After four years in Toronto, Western Canada was calling him back, so he packed up the family and moved to Calgary to head up RBC Insurance’s Career Sales team in Southern Alberta as their Sales Director.
Most recently, Mitch was the Regional Manager for ATB Insurance Advisors Inc. Mitch has experience managing a large and diverse group of insurance sales professionals, and has been helping clients with their personal and business insurance planning. With over 10 years of industry experience, Mitch knows how to structure insurance solutions for everyone, from basic family needs to advanced corporately owned insurance products.
If you would like to contact Mitch directly, please send him an email below or phone him:
mreynolds@lifeguardinsurance.ca
Office (403) 262-7715
Cell (403)-680-7730
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