We are paid by the insurer, and here is what that means
A broker who reads you the exclusions before you sign, and tells you which of the three quotes pays us most.
What we actually do
Three things. The third is the one people come back for and the one nobody sells on.
Compare, with the commission shown
Three quotes on one sheet, with the premium, the exclusions that differ and what we earn on each, in rupees. The cheapest is not always the one we recommend and the recommendation says why in a sentence.
Read the document out loud
Before anybody signs, we go through the exclusions and the waiting periods aloud, in the room or on a call. It takes twenty minutes and it is the single thing most likely to stop a refused claim two years from now.
Handle the claim
When something happens you ring us, not the insurer. We do the paperwork, we chase, and we tell you honestly when a claim is not going to be paid rather than keeping you hopeful for six weeks.
Nine years, counted honestly
The incentive in this trade runs the wrong way
A broker is paid a commission by the insurer whose policy you buy, and the commissions are not equal — which means the incentive in this trade runs in exactly the wrong direction and everybody in it knows. We handle that by telling you: every quote we put in front of you carries what we earn on it, in rupees, on the same page as the premium.
What we commit to
The questions worth asking any broker
Four. Ask them of us and of whoever else you are speaking to.
How much do you earn on this policy?
It is printed on the comparison sheet next to the premium, in rupees, for all three quotes. It varies between insurers and between products, which is exactly why it is worth knowing before you take a recommendation.
What is not covered?
This is the question that decides whether a claim gets paid, and it is on page four of a document almost nobody reads. We go through it aloud before you sign — waiting periods, sub-limits, room-rent caps, what counts as pre-existing and what a claim needs in writing on the day.
Would I be better off going direct?
Sometimes, and we will say so. On simple motor cover with no claims history the direct price is often the same and you would be dealing with the insurer anyway. Where a broker earns their place is a refused claim, a complicated health history or a business policy nobody has read properly.
What happens when I claim?
Ring us first. We fill in the forms, we chase the surveyor and we tell you what the insurer is actually saying rather than a summary of it. If a claim is going to be refused we say so early — a refusal you find out about in week six is worse than the same refusal in week one.
From people we have placed cover for
They told us the policy paying them the most was not the one they were recommending, and then explained the room-rent cap on the cheaper one until I actually understood it. Nobody had ever done either.
The claim after the water damage took eleven weeks and they chased it every one of them. At week four they told me part of it was not going to be paid, which I did not want to hear and needed to.
They said I would be better off renewing direct because my policy was simple and there was nothing for them to add. I came back the next year with something complicated, which is presumably the whole idea.
Talk to us
Including if a claim has been refused and you want somebody to read the document with you. That conversation is free and we are not going to sell you anything during it.