A life insurance agent is a person who makes you aware of the different policies that provide life risk coverage to you. They get commission in return of the policies they sell to you. They convince their clients to buy the policies by making false claims, which is quite a common phenomenon. The insurance agents may show hand written calculations to you that demonstrate a very high rate of return. It is advisable to carefully check the policy for manipulations if it appears too good to be true. It is also clever to ask for a written assurance on a letter pad of the insurance company with authorization. You can also look it up online at the official site of the insurance to company to verify what the agent claimed was true or not.
Some of the different ways by which life insurance agents mis-sell policies are as follows
- The agent claims that the return on the insurance policy will be more than the fixed deposit
- The agent promises a return rate that is abnormally high
- The agent convinces you to trust him and buy the insurance plan
- The agents states that the insurance company offers a cash back or commission on the first premium
- The agent says that the policy is a limited time offer and urges you to buy it urgently so that you don’t get much time to debate over the deal
- The agents says that you will get lots of benefits on tax
Given below are some tips to save yourself from falling prey to the mis-selling of insurance policies
- Ask the agent to show standard illustrations or calculation: If the agent shows you a calculation before purchasing an insurance policy that indicates very high rate of return, you should compare it with the standard examples given on the official website of the company.
- Do not get over captivated by the product: The life insurance agent may resort to different methods to tempt you purchase the policies. They may distribute fascinating leaflets which advertises great deals that seem too good. Before buying the plans, you should carefully read all the documents. Days should be converted to months and years to get the payable premium amount.
- You should clarify your doubts with the agent: Before purchasing the policy you should clear all you doubts with the agent and keep no room for any confusion. If the agent fails to clarify your doubts properly, it is possible that he is trying to mis-sell the policy to you
- Carefully study the product document: Carefully read every terms, conditions and benefits offered by the product
- Limitations and exit clauses of the policy should also be checked: Before buying the policy you should go through the limitations and exit clauses to make sure that you are comfortable with them.
- You should carefully fill the form by yourself: You should never let your insurance agent fill your application form as he may fill it as per his benefit and include additional riders that require higher premiums.