Fiduciary Responsibility to the Client A fiduciary is a person in a position of financial trust. Attorneys, accountants, trust officers, pension plan trustees, stockbrokers and insurance agents are all considered fiduciaries. Insurance agents and brokers may owe a fiduciary duty to both to the companies they represent and to the insurance buying public. Agents who make recommendations to clients have an obligation to be knowledgeable about the features and provisions of the products they sell, as well as the prudent use of these products. Agents also must take the time to become acquainted with the client's financial needs, situation and objectives. (I'm sure slamming clients on a phone call meets all there needs) Agents collect premiums on behalf of the insurers they represent, so they also have a fiduciary duty to submit those monies to the insurer promptly. Insurance agents and brokers voluntarily accept this fiduciary responsibility and implicitly agree to carry out that duty in good faith. That has been interpreted by the courts to mean that fiduciaries must act reasonably to avoid negligence and to not favor anyone else's interest (including their own) over that of their clients or the companies that appointed them. Fiduciaries owe their principals (the person they represent):
I can only conclude that you struggle with outlining benefits in a clear and concise way over the phone and quite possibly struggle with the use of email including attachments. Furthermore there is this nifty technology which allows you to share a computer screen with someone.
Of course, those who have never done anything like that make the assumption that agents are "slamming" clients over the phone. I used to think there was no way to sell insurance over the phone. And if you did then the persistency would be horrible. Fortunately I was willing to think outside that narrow minded box and work smarter in order to be much more efficient. And the beauty is my clients are as loyal as they come and reward me with unsolicited referrals.
Believe it or not, it's possible to sell over the phone AND do what is in the best interest of the client.
