After you take out a life insurance policy you may think that your duty is done and you will not have to look at your policy ever again.
But the truth of the matter is that as your life changes over the years, chances are that you will need to make changes to your life insurance policy as well.
The primary goal of a life insurance policy is to give your beneficiaries financial security should something happen to you; but there are various other benefits and reasons to take out a policy.
Life insurance can also be a vehicle for building wealth and some policies also incorporate an investment component.
There are a variety of different options.
But as you find your needs changing over the years, you will want to contact your agent again to make any necessary changes to your plan or plans.
But what if it has been years since you last took out a policy and talked to your agent? What if they no longer work at the company?
These are just a few of the questions and problems that could arise and a January 22, 2007 article by Bridget S. Leena of rediffnews.com, “Don’t get fooled by your insurance agent,” looks at what to do if you find yourself in a situation without an agent.
This is actually quite a common occurrence in this industry since there is a relatively high turn-over rate.
“Going over the documents a few days after she had bought a money-back policy, hospital employee Suganthy Soundararaj discovered her name had been misspelt. She tried contacting her agent, but had no luck. ‘There was no clue where he had disappeared,’ she says.”
“You could face such a situation anytime. Perhaps, you want your residential address updated or the nominee changed. Or, maybe the policy is nearing maturity. If your insurance agent is missing when you need him, industry jargon calls you an orphan policyholder (OP).”
If you find yourself in this situation, the first thing you need to do is contact the insurance company. But to prevent this situation from even happening, it is best to try and stay in touch with your agent periodically through the years to ensure that they are in it for the long hall. Unless you really do not like the agent, this should not be very hard.
You should call every few months to be sure that your policy is still up to date and to see if there are any interesting new products or policies that are now out.
“Insurance not only acts as life cover, but also as long-term investment. Therefore, customers have to pay as much attention to buying insurance - and who they are buying it from - as they do to, say, buying stocks. Not only the policy but also the agent has to suit your needs.”
Be sure that you interview your agent before you sign into a policy to protect yourself. Find out how long they have been in the business and get references from their past clients. Contact an LEI life agent with any questions you may have about a policy.
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