Why do we not care? -- By JIM KAIGHN CLU,CHFC,RHU,AABA BSBA

In most of my 50 years in the insurance business, one thing bothers me.. Why people do not care about the type of insurance they have or if they carry any at all.. I imagine their nonchalant attitude
might be because of their parents having the same attitude and maybe even their grandparents.  But, really the main factor in this attitude is that insurance of any kind is never taught in middle grade school, high school or even college, unless you major in business or finance..Yet as soon as a person leaves school, either high school or college, they are faced with insurance issues for the rest of their lives.  Let's see,
there is car insurance, homeowners or renters insurance, health insurance ( what a fiasco that has become) ,life insurance, workmans comp.,business insurance, liability, umbrella coverage and many more.. The only people with any knowledge of insurance are the so-called agents who sell it.  They did not learn about insurance in schools, no we had to learn from our company after wee studied and past state approved test
to get our license, and then get appointed with companies we wanted to work for.. So, people figure why should I learn about insurance, my agent is an EXPERT, ha ha ha!!! That is what the agent wants you to believe,
How are you to know if that agent is reputable??  What would make them more reputable, is if the person had basic knowledge of the type of insurance they are buying.  The internet can give folks basic info, so they will not be at the mercy of an agent giving them bad advice.  They trust the agent to tell them the truth about the best plan for them depending on their need.  An agent who only works for one company can not shop
around for the best idea, an agent ,like myself, works with many companies can shop around..But still, that does not solve the problem of a lack of knowledge on the consumers part.. They do not know what questions to ask, most of the time they will not be given an explanation of the coverage, just taking the agent's word for it (TRUST ME!!!)

The more knowledge a person has, the better off they can defend themselves to make sure they understand..Most guys I know ,understand more about their cars or trucks or hunting or fishing.. for a good reason.. they were raised in this environment..KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!!! Schools will not in the foreseeable future will not change, people have to make the effort to change themselves.. One of the biggest problems people run into is investing their money in the stock market or mutual funds, again taking the advice off an EXPERT, on how to lose your money and still pay them their commission.. This matter I will take up nest month

If anyone has any questions for me on ANY insurance matter, I can be reached at 252 335 5983 or 252 202 5983, or e-mail at "insdr@roadrunner.com..Check out my web site at WWW.INSDRJIM.COM.. I live in Elizabeth City ,N.C.and I make "HOUSE CALLS", since I am the Insurance Doctor..Thought of the month: If you compare yourself with others you may become vain and bitter: for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself..HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU!!!