The aggressive sales tactics of online motor insurance began a few years ago, using the devaluation of the product and the role of the insurance intermediary as a primary tool. Even today, the advertised benefits for the customer are focused solely on cost, speed of acquisition, and a direct relationship with the provider. What does it matter to know the coverage exclusions for natural phenomena when you can buy a policy with a single click?

The ambition is to train the consumer in the idea of purchasing products directly from the insurance company, without much thought and without the mediation of an insurance intermediary. Just as they insure their car, they are encouraged to buy health or property insurance by focusing on the cost rather than its value and the “details.”

The profit for the insurance company is visible, as it will not pay a commission to the insurance consultant, but it is also hidden because, in the event of a claim, the “details” will be there, while the annoying representative of the client will not.

The devaluation and easy sales have no end. It was only a matter of time, then, for unrelated companies with access to their customers’ personal data to provide insurance—quickly and cheaply, by comparing premiums, but without an insurance consultant! With one click you buy insurance, and if the risk occurs, then the time will come to learn your policy.

With the outbreak of the crisis and the effective bankruptcy of the Greek state, the banks found themselves unprepared and powerless. A “pillar” of the corrupt political and business establishment, they purchased government bonds by political mandate and decisions from their politically controlled administrations, lent to parties and publishing mechanisms without guarantees (“air,” as someone said), wrote off loans and bought shares to serve their major shareholders, and scattered money on advertising to control information. These and many other now-known and proven crimes never came to the attention of the regulatory mechanisms!

The bankruptcy of the economic and political system of the Metapolitefsi era naturally dragged the banks down with it. Even today, after recapitalizations and being bailed out with taxpayers’ money, they are not in a position to lend or fulfill their role. What they do instead is exploit their privileged position toward the customer and sell insurance instead of loans.

Without substantial oversight from the central bank or any other regulatory mechanism, they demand that the borrower insures their home and life through the bank’s own insurance company, usually within a group policy. They procrastinate or even refuse to accept insurance policies chosen by the borrower, using misinformation as a tool.

They exploit the information they have from the customer’s personal data and bank accounts, selling supposedly “cheap” insurance without clarifying their role in the event of a risk and a subsequent claim.

“Let everyone practice the craft he knows,” says an ancient proverbial phrase, emphasizing that everyone should do the work they understand. For an orthodontic procedure, you certainly would not turn to an orthopedist. Just as you would not seek an architect to represent you in a legal dispute. Why, then, for the selection of the required insurance product, would you trust a business that sells loans, credit cards, phones, or grills? The bank employee, the computer screen, and the insurance company’s call center cannot replace the insurance consultant.

The vital role of the insurance intermediary – broker is twofold. Initially, as a specialized professional and expert in the insurance market, they will undertake—with accuracy and consistency—the study, research, discovery, and presentation of the most suitable proposal. They will answer questions and clarify all points that require discussion for the right decision to be made. Subsequently, together with the insurance applicant, they will proceed with the application, a stage that is extremely important and decisive for the value of the insurance policy.

The relationship of the professional insurance intermediary with the insured, however, does not stop there. It begins with the purchase of the product, it is continuous without working hours or holidays, it is alive as needs change, and of course, it is vindicated during the difficult moments of a loss event.

At a time when unrelated businesses—from banks and mobile phone companies to electrical goods stores and supermarkets—try through a barrage of advertisements to market insurance as a cheap product of minor importance, emphasizing the quick solution of the vending machine, your specialized insurance intermediary is by your side daily. The security of this direct relationship, free from the impersonal contact and the strict hours of banks and stores, increases the value of their work and not the cost.

The comparison of coverages and premiums for selecting the appropriate product is effective when done in collaboration with your insurance consultant, the professional who daily studies the insurance market and its products. Advertisements, offers, clever ideas, and simplistic solutions may deceive the consumer, but not the insurance intermediary.

The application process is the most sensitive phase for your insurance, and the goal is not speed in issuing the policy. The bank that provided the loan for a home purchase will not explain that the insurance policy should protect you and not itself! The bank employee who insured your health will not answer when you call from the hospital. Your insurer is paid by commission from the insurance company and will meet or answer you as many times as you call, without charging you, even if you ultimately do not buy. At the critical moment of damage and risk, the call center will tell you “press 3 and then say compensation.”

Dimitris Koutsonikas is an insurance consultant, representative of 4U insurance consultants, and an economist.