The Insurance Mistakes That Still Scare Me After 50 Years

DEPARTMENT 6 — 50 YEARS IN INSURANCE

After 50 years in the insurance business, I've learned something that still surprises me.
The mistakes that cause the biggest problems aren't always complicated.
Sometimes they're incredibly simple.

• A question wasn't asked.
• A change wasn't reported.
• An assumption was made.
• A conversation wasn't documented.
• A coverage limitation wasn't explained.
• A producer was in too much of a hurry.

And sometimes everyone involved thought everything was perfectly fine—until it wasn't.
Those are the mistakes that stay with you.

Mistake #1: Assuming Nothing Changed.
I've heard it thousands of times:
“Nothing has changed. Just renew it like last year.”
But people change.

• Families change.
• Homes change.
• Businesses change.
• Vehicles change.
• Occupancy changes.
• Use changes.
• Risks change.

Sometimes the customer doesn't even realize that the change is important to insurance.
That's why a renewal shouldn't be treated as simply pushing the same button another year.
Ask another question.

Mistake #2: Believing the Customer Knows What Matters.
Customers generally aren't insurance professionals.

• They don't necessarily know that moving a family member into the house could matter.
• They may not realize that a home business could create a coverage question.
• They may not think about a detached structure being used differently.
• They may not realize that renting the property occasionally creates a different conversation.
• They aren't necessarily withholding information.
• They simply don't know what they don't know.

That's why discovery belongs to the producer.

Mistake #3: Giving the Fast Answer.
A customer asks:
“Am I covered?”
The producer wants to be helpful.
So the answer comes quickly:
“Yes.”
Or:
“No.”
But insurance often requires something more useful:
“Tell me what happened.”
That simple sentence can prevent the producer from answering a question before understanding the facts.
I've learned that speed isn't the same thing as service.
Sometimes the best service is slowing the conversation down.

Mistake #4: Trusting Memory Instead of the File.
Every experienced insurance person has a memory bank.

• You remember how a carrier handled something years ago.
• You remember what an underwriter told you.
• You remember a claim that looked similar.
• You remember what you were taught.

But memory isn't a policy.
And what was true five years ago may not be true today.
That's why experienced producers can sometimes make a particularly dangerous mistake:
They remember the answer—but don't verify it.
Experience should make you better at knowing what to check, not less willing to check it.

Mistake #5: Failing to Document the Conversation.
This one has followed me for decades.
Someone says:
“I talked to the customer.”
Fine.
What did the customer say?
“I don't remember.”
What did you explain?
“I'm not sure.”
What did the customer choose?
“I think they wanted the lower option.”
That's when you discover the difference between having a conversation and documenting a conversation.
A good file doesn't depend upon someone's memory six months later.
If it matters, write it down.

Mistake #6: Thinking the Cheapest Quote Solves the Problem.
Price matters.

• Customers care about price.
• Agents care about price.
• Carriers compete on price.

But insurance isn't simply a contest to see who can produce the smallest premium.
The real question is:
What risk is the customer trying to transfer, and what does the proposed policy actually do about it?
A cheaper policy may have different limits, deductibles, exclusions, endorsements or other terms.
A producer's job isn't to make the customer buy the most expensive policy.
It is to help the customer understand the insurance decision being made.
Price should be part of the conversation—not the entire conversation.

Mistake #7: Assuming “No” Means the Conversation Is Over.
Sometimes a customer declines an option.
That's their decision.
But the producer can still educate.
“I understand. Let me make sure you understand what we're declining.”
Then document the conversation appropriately.
The customer may still say no.
That's okay.
A professional producer doesn't pressure the customer into buying something they don't want.
But a professional producer also doesn't confuse:
“The customer declined it”
with:
“The customer didn't need to understand it.”

Mistake #8: Forgetting That the Customer May Remember Your Words Forever.
The producer may think:
“I was just talking.”
The customer may hear:
“My insurance agent told me I was covered.”
Those two things can become very different memories.

• That's why producer language matters.
• Be careful with absolute statements.
• Be careful with promises.
• Be careful with assumptions.
• Explain what you know.
• Identify what needs to be verified.

And when the answer depends on the policy and circumstances, say so.

The Mistake That Still Scares Me Most.
After 50 years, I don't think the biggest danger is that a producer doesn't know something.
Nobody knows everything.
The bigger danger is when a producer doesn't realize they don't know.

• That's when assumptions become answers.
• That's when memory replaces verification.
• That's when a shortcut replaces discovery.
• And that's when a small conversation can turn into a big problem.
• I've made mistakes.
• I've watched other insurance professionals make mistakes.
• I've seen agencies learn expensive lessons.

And the older I get, the more convinced I am that many of those lessons could have been avoided by doing something remarkably simple:
Slow down. Ask another question.

What 50 Years Has Taught Me.
If I could put five rules on every producer's desk, they'd be these:
1. Don't assume.
Ask.
2. Don't guess.
Verify.
3. Don't promise what you don't control.
Explain.
4. Don't trust your memory when the file can tell the story.
Document.
5. Don't let speed become the enemy of good insurance practice.
Slow down when the situation deserves it.
That's not complicated.
But I've learned that simple doesn't mean easy.
It means repeatable.

Eddie's Takeaway: Insurance is a business of details.
But it's also a business of people.

• People move.
• People marry.
• People divorce.
• People buy things.
• People sell things.
• People start businesses.
• People change jobs.
• People add drivers.
• People buy boats, motorcycles, RVs and second homes.
• People rent property.
• People change how they use property.

And they don't always think to call their insurance agent when they do.
That's why we ask.
After five decades in this business, I still believe one of the most valuable things an insurance professional can say is:
“Tell me more.”
Because that's where discovery begins.

TAKE THIS TO YOUR NEXT AGENCY MEETING.
Ask each producer to write down the three most common assumptions they see customers make about insurance.
Then ask:
Which one of those assumptions could create the biggest problem if we never asked about it?
Don't turn this into a lecture.
Let the producers tell you what they're seeing.
You'll probably learn something from them.
And if you're the agency owner, that's worth remembering too:
The best producer-training conversations often begin with a question—not an answer.

Want to Know More?
The lessons above are really about developing better insurance professionals—people who know how to discover the risk, ask better questions, verify the facts, communicate clearly and take the next safe action.
That's the philosophy behind the FYI Express+ After the License — Producer Development Academy.

LEARN MORE →

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