Used To Calling A Service Center For Insurance Help? An Agent Is Better

When you buy a home, you need great homeowner's insurance. If your previous insurance company had you call a call center for everything instead of having one agent handling your policy, you may want to look into switching to a company where you deal with one agent. For homeowner's insurance, being able to deal with one specific agent instead of a huge call center makes claims and other processes go much more smoothly. 

You Get More Personalized Service From an Agent

At first, dealing with the agent and their staff might seem the same as dealing with a call center rep in terms of what they remember about your policy and what they have to look up. However, after a few months, you're going to feel like you're getting much more personalized service from the agent because they'll be familiar with your policy and your situation. If you have an open claim, they'll remember what's going on. With call center staff, they have to review the previous calls' notes to help you because you'll rarely get the same rep on subsequent calls.

You Can Switch Agents and Keep Your Policy

Remember that if you choose an agent and find that you and they have different ideas about what your coverage should be like, or if you don't feel like you're getting the best service, you can switch your agent and go to another one that works with the same insurance company. As with your call-center-based coverage, your homeowner's policy is with the company and not the individual person you deal with. This is the same for car, renter's, and other coverages, but it's especially important to remember that you can switch if you have homeowner's insurance because the stakes are higher. Your insurance covers this huge structure that you're responsible for, so you want to be sure you and the agent can work together to get you the best coverage.

A Good Agent Will Let You Know What Insurance Is No Longer Necessary

Homeowners sometimes bundle insurance payments by paying into an escrow account that covers both mortgage and homeowner's insurance. A good homeowner's insurance agent will keep an eye on your policies and let you know when you qualify to drop coverage, like mortgage insurance, or when you should add coverage, such as when your state government mandates new limits and minimums. You might think you'll track all of these yourself, but it's easy to lose track of where you are in terms of what you've paid and how close you are to changing requirements.

You can call insurance agents and ask about how they handle homeowner's policies if you don't already have an agent or have been using a call-center-based insurance company. While call centers have advantages, the personalized service that a homeowner's insurance agent can give you makes dealing with insurance much easier.

Contact a local home insurance agent for more information.