They don’t get paid enough to answer your questions.

Does it feel like the insurance agent is trying to rush you into a decision? That’s because they are. They get paid a percentage of the premium you pay. If you’re only insuring one car, they may only get $100. If you have a home and two cars, it could be up to $500.

But they have to pay for salaries, advertising, billing, computer systems, etc. After their costs, their profit is likely under $100 per customer. Therefore, they want to spend as little time with you as possible so they can move to the next customer.

If you don’t understand your policy or aren’t sure what coverages you need and you ask a lot of questions, the agent will view you as a burden. Their job is to make sure you get all your needs met and have an appropriate policy, but their compensation doesn’t give them any incentive to actually do that.

They may have been paid extra commission by the insurer they suggested you buy from.

Are you under the impression that your agent is recommending to you the same policy they would buy for their own family? Don’t be so sure.

Some insurance companies pay higher commissions than others. Thus, some insurance agents will lean towards pushing a policy on you from one of those companies who pay them more commission.

Is this always the case? Most certainly not, but why would some of these insurers offer extra commission if it wasn’t bringing them more business?

You should ask your agent how much they are being paid by the carrier and whether it is the same amount other carriers pay them. Make sure you are getting what is best for you, not best for the agent.

They paid the realtor/mortgage broker/homebuilder to refer you.

Did you find your insurance agent when you bought your home? Let me guess, the realtor told you they know this amazing agent who will really help you out. What they meant to say is “I know this amazing agent who pays me a referral fee for sending you to them”.

That doesn’t mean they are a bad agent, but you should be suspicious why the realtor or lender is trying to push a certain agent on you and ask what their kickback is.

The more effort they make to explain your policy, the less likely you’ll buy.

We discussed above how agents don’t have a financial incentive to spend more time with you. But there is a related problem. The more the agent asks you questions, the more chances they give you to object to something. And the more chances you have to object, the less likely you will buy.

Want to know why agents prefer to show you the cheapest policy rather than figure out what is the best one for you? Because cheap is easy. Pretend people will never have a claim and show them the lowest price. It means more sales.