Last week I was speaking with a client who was purchasing life insurance and he was telling me how his friend did not want to use a local agent because he thought he would get a better deal by going to one of the '1-800' life insurance agencies. Since I work in the industry, I pay particular attention to insurance advertisements. One of the ads for life insurance that I hear often touts how a 39 year old male can get $250K of life insurance guaranteed for 20 years term for only $19 per month from American General. I decided to check that out for myself and while that is absolutely true, what they don't tell you is that you can actually get it for about $16.50 per month using Genworth Financial.

Let's dispell a couple of myths that I think many consumers believe.

Myth #1: You can pay less for life insurance by buying directly from an 800 telephone number and bypassing an agent. Whether you buy 'direct' from an 800 phone number or from a local independent insurance agency such as Newbrook Insurance Agency, New York State law requires that all insurance companies charge the same rates to all consumers. So whoever you buy your New York Life Insurance from, you will be paying the exact same premium.

Myth #2: One of those 1-800 insurance companies will provide me with more options. As long as you stay with an independent agent, this one is absolutely not true. The 1-800 companies operate nationwide so they tend to only represent the companies that are available nationally (and not necessarily all of them). A independent New York life Insurance agent will not only have access to all of the national life insurance companies that offer products in New York, but they also can access local and regoinal companies that may be more competitive.

Myth #3: I don't want to have to meet with an agent in person so I would rather just call the 800 number. While we are absolutely available to sit down in person with any customers that would prefer a face to face conversation about their needs and different optoins available to them, we often take care of life insurance applications from start to finish over the phone and via mail.

If you are in the market for life insurance, please give us a call. We have access to all of the most competitive life insurance companies in New York and can provide you with a level of personalized service that the large national companies just can't do.