Recently I received a “quote” on my homeowners from a direct seller. I hadn’t requested a quote, so this was clearly a direct mail solicitation. The problem is, it is not my home. It is our home and the “quote” was in my name only. In the State of Texas a deed for a home is in the name of both husband and wife, typically with the husband’s name being first.
Out of curiosity my husband call the agent. He asked them where they got the property ownership information. The young lady in the agent’s office say that they took it from a deed list that they had purchased. He advised her that they may need to get their money back on the purchase of the list. She asked why and he advised that the information they had on our home was incorrect.
Of course, she had no way of knowing this when the list was purchased and at this point all she could do was apologize.
A number of years back I too purchased lead lists. Based on the number of envelopes returned as “Addressee Unknown” I only did that once. That process was a huge waste of money. Not only in the cost of the list, but wasted printing, paper, envelopes and postage. There are reliable resources, it is just important that you know what a trusted choice is.
What did it matter that the “quote” was only in my name and not the proper name that is on the deed? It was apparent immediately that this agent knew nothing about me or my family. Was the quote cheaper than what we are currently paying? Yes. But the coverage “quoted” was not equal to the coverage we currently have.
If I were not an educated consumer, I could be tempted to just move my coverage based on the price alone. Then when a claim occurs that would have been covered on my previous policy, but is not covered on the new policy, they may be wrong, but we would be the ones to suffer.
I would have been much more inclined to talk to a new agent about our insurance coverage if they had a different approach. Tell me you would like to opportunity to review my needs and provide me with the best coverage for us at the best price.
Are your marketing efforts effective or do they turn off the prospect immediately?
