Personal insurance and health insurance are totally different but consumers often get the two confused. Hello I’m Chip Fridrich and I am here to set the record straight.
These two types of insurance are in the same family per se, but how they operate couldn’t be more different. Personal insurance- which consists of home and automobile coverage should be used for major events like automobile accidents, fires, thefts, acts of vandalism, or claims involving liability. It should not be used as a maintenance policy.
I literally have had customers call me and say “Chip, my air conditioning has stopped working, and I need to turn in a claim to get a new one”. Thirty to forty years ago, personal insurance was pretty basic. It covered automobile accidents and basic perils of theft, fire, and wind on your home policy. That was pretty much it. Coverages evolved to start including more and more frivolous coverage exceptions and here we are today.
People go to the drug store and file a claim with their health carrier for prescriptions all the time. In everyone’s mind is the thought of “when am I going to meet my deductible?” With personal insurance you cannot have that same thought process or you will eventually get cancelled by your carrier.
Too many claims are frowned on by your personal lines carrier. If you turn in three claims to your health provider, nothing happens. Why????? Because you are mainly being rated in a large group across your area or state with health insurance coverage. With personal insurance, you are on your own.
My professional advice to you is to know the difference between the two. Explain these differences to your family. Consider higher deductibles for your home and auto coverage to save premium dollars. This will in turn keep away the temptation of turning in small claims which will count as marks on your insurance record. Keep claims for that rainy day when you really need it.
In summary, your personal insurance plan should never be used as a commodity like your health plan is. At some point this train of thought came about, and it needs to be corrected for the benefit of consumers. Turning in claims that are only a hundred dollars over your deductible will get you cancelled. Getting cancelled in the personal lines market leads to being placed in high risk markets with inferior coverage and sky high rates.
The insurance industry is confusing and there are many moving parts. There are no dumb questions for me or my staff. If you want honest answers and sound advice, contact our agency. We will listen to your concerns and help you iron them out. That’s why we are in business.
We’ve been in business since 1957 as a family owned, truly independent insurance agency. That’s over sixty years of serving the families and businesses of Nashville, Middle Tennessee, and multiple states across the country. If you are interested in knowing more about our agency, contact us at info@fpa.insure.
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