Posts

10 ways to prevent an E&O claim from happening

/in , /by

Guest contributor Chris Hidalgo from Gallagher MGA writes about how important documenting every interaction with your client is for managing error and omission risk. Find a link at the end of the post for a special discount offer available only through RB Insurance.

As a life and health agent, it’s important to know your customer and know the process behind how you plan to enroll your customer. Is it a worksite enrollment, a visit to a home? Is your customer a direct mail or a call center lead? Each potential enrollment situation has its own set of criteria and potential E & O exposures.


Here are 10 tips for keeping you — and your business — safe from a claim.

  1.  Always document the outcomes of key client conversations, decisions made and coverages declined. No client interaction is irrelevant. Document every call or conversation, no matter how inconsequential the subject matter.
  2. Understand your customer, anticipate questions, have literature available and be patient.
  3.  Stay current on regulatory requirements by continuing to earn appropriate designations and attending professional development courses.
  4. Practice full disclosure and be totally up front about your track record, business practices, and affiliated advisors and companies.
  5. Assess your client’s risk tolerance. Take the time to fully understand his or her situation. Uncover and document all relevant acts.
  6. Send a written confirmation with a copy of the insured’s application. Be sure your customer knows what they purchased.
  7. Make sure clients understand what their product covers and doesn’t cover as well as all moving parts, fees and expenses and any underlying risk and guarantees. Include product brochures if possible.
  8. Don’t generalize what the product offers. Avoid using common statements like “This policy is just as good as the old one.
  9. Discuss payment terms: monthly, quarterly, annual, etc. Make sure your customer knows when to expect the payment to be processed.
  10. If a client is unhappy with you, do your best to promptly resolve their complaint before it turns into a regulator sanction or lawsuit.

Chris Hidalgo is currently the Mass Communication Specialist for Gallagher MGA, an international insurance brokerage company with an office in Lakewood Ranch, Fla. Chris has been writing articles for Gallagher MGA informing agents about the latest news in the insurance industry since 2012.  He has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from the University of South Florida, where he interned at Bluewater Media, LLC, and served as writer, producer, videographer and teleprompter operator for Florida Focus, a newscast that aired daily throughout the Tampa Bay area on WUSF-TV. 

Click here to take advantage of MGA and RB Insurance’s exclusive E & O discount.

15% off Medicare leads until May 1!

/in /by

Now until May 1, we’ll send out 1,000 pieces of our guaranteed-response Medicare leads mailers for you for $380 — keep in mind that our standard price is $445 when the average cost of 1,000 pieces in our industry is $500!

As part of our Massive Response Mailer promotion, here’s a quick rundown of how we’re sharing this great value to make leads happen for you:

We start by creating our own 4.25″ x 5.5″ bifold double postcards. We have postcards for Dual-eligible, LIS, Medicare Supplement, Hospital Indemnity and Special Interest mailers available to help you reach Medicare members interested in the range of carrier products you are contracted to sell. Completely compliant, they feature a business reply card interested Medicare members can mail back with their contact information.

We don’t charge you for the mailing list you request or the business reply mail it generates, and we keep your list exclusive to you for 30 days. Responses come to our office, where we process and load your leads into your Medicare Sales Engine account.

We do all this so you can focus on starting a conversation about finding the perfect plan with your prospective clients.