Recently, I received a request from a real estate agent and friend. She wondered why I turned away quotes from real estate agents and Realtors looking for lower rates (namingly her). After explaining that giving me a name and an address is not enough information to get a quote, she responded with the following:
If Realtors and loan officers calling you quotes, that’s a good thing; don’t you think so? Sometimes (quotes), work for their clients and sometime the quotes do not work for their clients.
My main goal is to get the lowest insurance for my clients and an insurance quote is too high it won’t work for DTI which means have to fine cheaper quote to fit for his DTI so they can get an approval.
I do not understand what the problems is getting quotes from you. The numbers got to work for an individual borrower in order for borrower to get an approval. You can always change the policy on next renewal; can’t you?
How long does it take to rebuild a home that has the wrong insurance?
My response to her question was candid. Unfortunately, it takes less than a year to burn a house down and gets sued by the insured for failing to properly cover them at the time of closing. I’ve witnessed too many instances where doing what you request leads to financial devastation. It is important to understand that things happen and when you JUST get a LOW RATE. Your clients should expect and deserve better.
When I realtor or a loan officer sells a home, they get their commission and move on. When I sell a home, I marry the customer and deal with the late night calls. As a result, make sure to I look out for 3 parties on every transaction. Not only do I write policies, but I protect my client, my agency, and the insurance company relationships. If I fail to properly protect my client, many people get hurt. Ultimately, I find that good protection always trumps lows rates.
Remember the 2012 Tornadoes in Lancaster, TX
This reminds of a story. A church member that told me my rate was too high. She purchased a house for the loan amount, which was well below the actual replacement cost. Unfortunately, she was one of the poor folks caught in the Lancaster Tornado. Her $60k policy was enough to pay off the loan and satisfy the lender, but the level of coverage kept her from getting her home properly rebuilt. As a result, she had to worry about whether she could get assistance from local charities, the state of Texas, and FEMA.
Getting the right homeowners insurance protection is everything!
Understanding this makes it I make a policy to only offer policies that will allow me the ability to sleep during a storm rather than worry about whether one of my clients is missing coverage. If the margins are that tight for your clients, then I may not be a good fit for your clients. If they want protection, then I am the agent for them.