Which Ones Do You Believe?
Myth #1: The insurance companies that advertise that they “cut out the middle man” have the lowest insurance rates.
Fact: The insurance companies who “cut out the middle man”, spend huge amounts of money on advertising. And guess what, they still have to pay their sales force and customer service staff. By shopping the market for you, we almost always beat the pricing offered by the insurance companies who “cut out the middle man”.

Myth #2: Home and auto insurance prices are pretty much all the same.
Fact: While there may have been some truth to this in the past, it is not true at all today. In the old days, most insurance companies based homeowners pricing on the value of your home, the town it was located in, and some basic characteristics of the house. On auto they looked at the type of cars, the age of the driver and motor vehicle records. Today, most insurance companies base their pricing on computerized models that look at a great number of variables. They now understand that the people who live in the house and drive the cars are as important as or more important than the house or the cars themselves when it comes to predicating losses and rating policies. Since these models have different assumptions, they can create very large price differentials between companies. Sometimes as much as 50% or more! The only way to find whether you are overpaying for your insurance is to have an insurance professional shop the market to compare rates for you.

Myth #3: My insurance company has unique features that other companies do not have.
Fact: Insurance is a very regulated business. Almost all policies must be approved by the Connecticut Insurance Department. The overwhelming majority of companies use standard forms developed by ISO. For example, most homeowners policies are written using a HO3 form. However, companies then offer coverage options and upgrades that require careful review with an insurance professional. Your company is almost certainly not unique in being able to offer specific or additional coverage.

Myth #4: My insurance company is uniquely good. I had a $5000 claim 5 years ago and they paid it – no questions asked.
Fact: There are many good insurance companies out there. Almost any top-rated carrier has excellent claims processing. However, many people are surprised when their insurance company actually pays a claim. But if you think how much you have paid into an insurance company (let’s say $3, 000 a year for 10 years), you should not be so surprised that they happily paid you $5,000 to cover a claim.

Myth #5: My insurance company is great. I had a claim, and they didn’t cancel me!
Fact: Any good insurance company has a lot of flexibility when dealing with claims. The type and number of losses you have experienced is only part of what they look at. Remember most people experience a loss of some type over their life a good company knows that.

Myth #6: I’m sure I am getting a good rate on my insurance. It was the best I could find a few years ago and it hasn’t changed much since then.
Fact: The only way to be sure you aren’t paying more than you should be is to have an insurance professional discuss your insurance needs, analyze your existing policies, and shop the market for the best value available to you. You should go through this process at least once every 2 or 3 years. Rating variable change and companies adjust rates all the time.

Myth #7: Changing insurance companies is a difficult and time consuming process.
Fact: If you work with a knowledgeable insurance professional the process is actually very easy. It only takes a few minutes to gather the data needed to shop your insurance for you. If you like the price and company we find for you it’s as easy as reviewing and signing the applications.
If you find that you believe (or believed!) any of the above myths, you should call the insurance professionals at Standard Insurance Agency at (866) 400-3567.