Insurance Agent Forum

[Markingriffin]

I want to take a moment to talk about Underwriters and underwriting and give you something to think about.

Underwriters are what make an insurance company work. They are a very important part of any company. They have a lot of power.

But there are some things that you need to know about them.

When you are brand new to a company, they will judge you by your first couple of applications that you write. Then will look to see if you tell the truth and put all of the health history down. This will determine which underwriter you will get assigned to from now on. I can usually tell which underwriter they assign to you, what they really think about you.

Examples, at PFL/PBL if you got Kay O. then you were a good agent. But if you got Monica, which meant that you were going to get an a.p.s and P.H.I. on every app and they were really looking at you very close.

The underwriters want to get as many applications out the door as they can. They try to go to the applications from agents that always tell the truth and put a lot health history down first. That way they can get the most applications out each day. Next they start working on the application from the agents that have history of not always putting down everything on the app or has been caught lying on an app. Or they assign the bad agents to a certain underwriter.

You are the eyes and ears of the underwriter. You are the field underwriter. Take some time to read the underwriting guide for any company that you are with. If you have a case you are not sure about, then call the underwriting dept and speak with them about your case and get a case assessment.

Try and get to know your underwriter. Always be nice to them. Never get rude with them no matter how mad they make you. Let them know that you will always try your best to put everything down on an app.

Example one time I was writing an application on an entire family that had young kids. I noticed they had a swimming pool in the back yard and I asked her about it and she told me that none of the kids could swim yet. So believe it or not, I wrote that down in the agents report. I wanted the underwriter to know that I would put down anything that I thought would help them. I knew that this would not change anything on the app and they would still get issued. But it showed the underwriter that I was always going to put all the details down. I noticed that my apps started getting issued faster and that I got assigned to a different underwriter and from that point on, I was on the good list.

If the client takes something for High Blood Pressure then write it down and give us the last two readings. If something is now under control, tell us. If they have something like arthritis, tell them how bad it is. Tell them the name of the last doctor they saw for any reason.
To review what I think is important and will help you with underwriters.
Never lie on an application for any reason.
Get to know the underwriters.
Don’t be afraid to talk to them and get to know them.
Read and study the underwriting guide.
Put all of the health history down on the app with details.
You can also use the agent report to talk to an underwriter or give them notes.

I have touched on this subject a little bit on responding on another post, but I want to make sure to cover the topic. So I wrote this long post on the subject.

[DJM]

Amen to that.

[Hollywood Broker]

Thank you very much for that much needed information. I contact my underwriting department almost every day just to stay on top of things. The advise you gave was very intelligent and i'm sure everyone else feels the same way. Thank you.