Julie’s Got You Covered

Trust Matters: Is Your Insurance Agent Licensed?

• Julie Sears • Episode 18

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Is Your Agent Actually Licensed? How Can You Ensure They Are?

Wondering if your health insurance agent is actually qualified to help with your coverage needs? You're not alone. Many Americans unknowingly work with unlicensed insurance "professionals" who lack accountability, proper training, and the legal requirements to sell health plans.

Julie Sears, founder of Integrity Health Insurance Advisors, pulls back the curtain on the risks of working with unlicensed agents and provides clear, actionable steps to verify an agent's credentials. With over seven years of experience in the health insurance industry, Julie explains that licensed agents must maintain errors and omissions insurance that protects clients if mistakes happen. Without this safeguard, consumers have little recourse when coverage issues arise.

The verification process is surprisingly simple. Julie recommends asking directly for a copy of the agent's license – a request no legitimate professional should hesitate to fulfill. Alternatively, each state's department of insurance offers online verification tools where consumers can independently confirm an agent's licensing status. Beyond licensing, Julie suggests seeking referrals from trusted sources rather than submitting information to online lead generation sites that sell your contact information to dozens of agents nationwide.

"If they're willing to sell unlicensed, they probably don't have a lot of integrity backing them up," Julie warns, noting that she's witnessed former agents continuing to sell insurance products even after losing their licenses for misconduct. She also cautions against offers that sound too good to be true: "If they tell you it's all rainbows and sunshine, it's probably not."

Protect yourself and your family by taking a few minutes to verify your agent's credentials before making any health insurance decisions. Ready to work with a licensed professional who prioritizes your needs? Book a free 30-minute consultation at IntegrityHealthInsuranceAdvisors.com or call 469-348-4066 to get started.

To learn more about Integrity Health Insurance Advisors visit:
https://www.IntegrityHealthInsuranceAdvisors.com/
Integrity Health Insurance Advisors
469-348-4066

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Julie's Got you Covered, the podcast where Julie Sears, founder of Integrity Health Insurance Advisors, takes the fear out of finding the right health insurance. With seven plus years of experience, she's here to make finding the perfect coverage a breeze. Stay tuned for details on how you can snag a free 30-minute consultation. Tuned for details on how you can snag a free 30-minute consultation.

Speaker 2:

Having a knowledgeable and trustworthy insurance agent is crucial, but are they actually licensed? Here's how to verify their credentials and ensure you're working with a qualified professional. Welcome back everyone. I'm Sofia Yvette, co-host slash producer, back in the studio with Julie Sears, founder of Integrity Health Insurance Advisors. Julie, how are you today? I'm great. How are you? I'm also doing great Now I know navigating health insurance can be very overwhelming, but having the right agent makes all the difference. Let's talk about how to ensure yours is truly qualified. So is your agent actually licensed and how can you ensure that they are?

Speaker 3:

So, first off, you can obviously ask them for a copy of their license. No one should ever have a problem handing it over. Each state has their own handy-dandy, cute little version of their state seal on a PDF that they let us download and we can send it anywhere we need to send. But you can also go to the state's website. Each state is their own governing body and they can go to that state's insurance licensing and they've always got a way to pick it up.

Speaker 3:

Here in Texas it's TDI, so Texas Department of Insurance, but each state requires you to be licensed in order to sell in that state. Yeah, I've got Florida, so if someone needs it, I can produce it in a matter of seconds. I have to renew them every two years and get a shiny new copy of my license. I can show you all the years of licenses. They're all on file. But just when in doubt, it doesn't hurt to ask, and any licensed agent shouldn't have any issue producing a copy of their license, just to put your mind at ease and make sure there's too many scams going around. There's too many shady people out there to make sure that you're working with somebody that's truly a licensed professional.

Speaker 2:

Most definitely Now. On that note, what are the risks of working with an unlicensed insurance agent?

Speaker 3:

They really have no accountability. Being licensed, obviously I have some accountability to the state, so should I do something wrong with my licensing, I have to have errors and omissions insurance as a licensed agent, so that should I misrepresent anything, someone can come back and sue me and make them whole. In the event, what I've seen recently is that agents that may have been terminated from contracts and then lost their licensing due to some, maybe misrepresentations, then they're no longer licensed with the state but because they do have a reputation, either on social media or they still have their website listed or whatever they may be selling under someone else but they continue to sell and there's really no accountability. If you buy from somebody that's not truly working in your best interest, I got a lot at stake. I don't want to put my reputation or my business on the line just to sell a policy to someone.

Speaker 3:

I'm here to truly help people understand what they've got and what to expect. But just here locally I've seen it recently where some other agents that I know are no longer licensed are still promoting their services. Licensed, are still promoting their services and you just risk that possibility of if they're willing to sell unlicensed, they probably don't have a whole lot of integrity backing them up. So are they doing the best thing for you and your family, because there's no recourse in the event that something does go wrong.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's a great thing to pay attention to and to look out for. Julie, how can you verify an agent's credentials beyond their license?

Speaker 3:

The reviews are so tough to get. I'm sure even restaurants would raise their hands and agree. But it's hard enough to get someone to review a good meal, let alone an experience with a health insurance agent. But I have been blessed by some clients to at least leave reviews on working with me. Look for somebody who's either worked with your, with that agent. Get some reviews, get some feedback on how things have been going. If they've got a website or Google, just see what the experience looks like.

Speaker 3:

Obviously, we all have to start somewhere. So it's really hard in the beginning to know if you're going to be a good agent or if those people are going to work out. So somebody has to take a chance on them. I was in their shoes before. But try to get a referral.

Speaker 3:

The biggest thing I try to tell people anyway don't go online, don't go shopping. All of these sites are just an info grab. They sell your information. It's going out to who knows how many agents across the country.

Speaker 3:

You'll be getting calls at all hours trying to sell you the latest, greatest unicorn that they think they have, and most of the time it's a limited benefit plan, because if it's truly a unicorn and they tell you it's all rainbows and sunshine? It's probably not. So don't go online, ask for referrals from friends, from family, even from social media, and then you can vet from there and see who you're actually going to be working with and just make sure that you got a comfortable feel. And then, yeah, look them up, you can see if there's any complaints against them, if they have any dings on their record, and so that way you at least got a little bit of a layer. The biggest thing is making sure they're licensed. That just gives you at least some recourse to be able to make a change if necessary, without having to wait for another open enrollment period.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, most definitely. Now. Do licensed agents have continuing education requirements to stay up to date? I believe you did start getting into this.

Speaker 3:

Yes, we do. Every two years we're required to do 26 hours. Ethics is always one of them and we have to stay up to date. I like to take it a step further and make sure I get all the Google alerts on all the different things that are happening in the news so that we can stay up to date as it's happening, so that I'm not the one that's trying to. Someone's asking me oh, what's going on with this legislation or that scenario, and I can bring it up from the beginning and explain what's happening and what we can expect.

Speaker 3:

And, of course, when dealing with the government, we have no idea what to expect fully, but things turn on a dime. But, staying ahead of the game and just trying to keep everyone calm, all we can do is deal with the here and now and get you covered, and we'll deal with those situations as they arise and we're just going to keep updating as we need to. But, yes, every two years we're required. And then most licenses. There's a few states that have an unending license, but you still have to keep your continuing education up, but every two years it's due, and then we keep renewing those licenses from there.

Speaker 2:

Wow, this was such an important discussion, julie. Knowing how to verify an agent's credentials is a key step in making informed insurance decisions. Thanks for breaking it all down for us, and we will catch you on your next episode.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for tuning in to Julie's. Got you Covered. Ready to say goodbye to insurance stress Head to IntegrityHealthInsuranceAdvisorscom or call 469-348-4066. That's 469-348-4066 to book your free 30 minute consultation with Julie. Health insurance Doesn't have to be scary. She's got you covered.