How can I find out if this guy is real?

[jamestustin]

Hello all. I'm somewhat of a new agent and had a customer come in to the office today that seemed a bit "off" so to say. He insured a rented home and notified me that he will come back with an appraisal for some jewelry worth over $100K he would like to endorse either onto the same policy or another stand alone policy. He mentioned the jewelry was gifted/inherited by/through family.

Now my question is - with all this talk about identity theft, and fake this and that, how can I weed out if this guy is real or not? I let him know we might need to inspect the items in person, and he said that would not be a problem.

 

[saieddie]

He may be a robot. Get a vial of blood and have it analyzed. If they find oil or other lubricant, he may be a robot.

 

[patch36]

Quit worrying. The insurance company will require an appraisal, proof of ownership, ect. You are an insurance agent, not a detective.

Most customers seem off if you pay attention to them The ones that don't seem off are probably robots or aliens.

 

[The Rabbi]

I have accepted the fact that NO ONE knows what they're talking about. Let them prove it.

 

[jamestustin]

Quit worrying. The insurance company will require an appraisal, proof of ownership, ect. You are an insurance agent, not a detective.

Most customers seem off if you pay attention to them The ones that don't seem off are probably robots or aliens.

See that's why I'm asking this - I asked if he had sales receipts and what not, he said no the items have been inherited by him from family, and one that is a gift. I automatically said in that situation we will require an appraisal and that should be it. What other form of proof of ownership would be needed? I don't want to seem stupid to this guy, I can probably get some high-end referrals from him if his friends/family are well off.

 

[saieddie]

If he has to inherit expensive jewelry, and can't buy it himself, I don't think he's going to have any good referrals.

 

[Guest]

I was thinking the same thing, "if" he has referrals?

Just do what your supposed to do every time. Do not treat anyone any differently. You can't account for them, just for yourself.

 

[OHInsAGNT]

Being a P&C guy and being new, your company is not going to like it if this guys signs up and the jewelry gets "stolen" a month later. The loss database should speak for itself though. If he has had a lot of claims in the past that are somewhat "erroneous" or has bad credit, some companies will likely turn him down. I wouldn't bother asking though. Just do what Rob said, treat him like anyone else and let the underwriting system make the decision. It'll pull in that information.