Insurance carriers believe they can buy your trust. With insurance companies like State Farm, Progressive, Geico, and Liberty Mutual, all spending around $1 Billion in advertising each year, it is impossible to enjoy a social media post or stream content without seeing one of these advertisers vying for your attention.
The purpose of this kind of ad spend is to get you comfortable with a name and a brand. These companies make up about 70% of the market share in your area, and they need you to feel very comfortable with that name when your rates increase in 6 months.
There are hundreds of insurance carriers in Kentucky. But you can only name a few. Why is that? To better understand, you need to know the difference between the Captive and Independent Channels of insurance.
Insurance companies who only sell one brand product and the agents (or 1-800 numbers) who represent them are called “Captives.” When an insurance agent is captive, it means that they can only offer you one solution for home insurance or car insurance. Because they can only represent one carrier, they necessarily represent their brand interest before they represent your interest.
Of course not. A lack of options or a commitment to their carrier does NOT mean your agent is a bad person, but they can not represent your interest above their own company. Here is an example:
If you call your captive agent (State Farm, Kentucky Farm Bureau, Allstate, etc..) because you want to lower your rates, they have two options and two options only.
Option 1: They can increase your deductibles, lower your limits, or remove coverage altogether, or
Option 2: Tell you they can’t help you and send you to an agent down the road.
For a captive agent to save you money, they can either ask you to take on more risk or tell you that they have to let you go. That’s it.
Independent Agents usually represent anywhere from 3 to 15 different carriers. Because they have a relationship with many different insurance companies, they are uniquely suited to serve you AND the insurance carrier. Here is an example:
If you call your Client Experience Manager at Real Good Group (we are an independent agency based in Lexington, KY) and ask to lower your insurance rates, they will immediately start assisting you.
Because they are independent, they can take your current rates to the market. They have access to many carriers. With the information they already have on file, they can shop your prices with the click of a button. You do not have to do a thing!
That is because your local independent agent represents mostly “Regional Carriers.” These carriers do not spend billions of dollars on advertising. Instead, they invest their money in customer service, claims handling, and technology. This lets them keep costs low, and the quality of the client experience high!
When asked about the best insurance companies, Todd Kozikowski, co-founder, and chief revenue officer of Clearsurance, said :
“The companies in the top ten weren’t so much the large national companies that we see advertised all the time. But rather, it was regional carriers who offered good rates and great service, and even better service than some of the nationally known brands.”
Independent Insurance Carriers in Kentucky:
Real Good Group is an independent agency with more than 15 carriers. We hold the rare Dave Ramsey Endorsement as his endorsed insurance agency for the state of Kentucky. For families, we specialize in home insurance, car insurance, and umbrella insurance.
We also have expertise in manufacturers, contractors, dentists, and churches.
Website designed and developed by Agent Refined