You can usually take out insurance quickly. But what if you need good advice beforehand? Where can consumers get in-depth help?
Berlin (dpa / tmn) – Anyone who needs help with important insurance issues should not just rely on one opinion. Because advice from insurance broker companies is not always good. This is shown by a study by the magazine “Finanztest” (12/2020) by Stiftung Warentest.
The product testers asked test customers a total of 32 times with the same question: Is it worth switching to private health insurance? Four brokerage firms were in the test, all of which also earn money from the sale of insurance contracts. Only one of the companies tested just barely achieved the “good” rating in terms of quality of advice. Two more advised “satisfactory”, one only “sufficient”.
Wrong information and missing questions
This step was recommended in 21 out of 32 consultations. And that although a change would actually have spoken more in favor of remaining in the statutory health insurance due to the personal situation of the test customers.
In individual discussions, private health insurance was presented as a model for saving money. The test customers had two children or a corresponding desire to have children. Private health insurance has to pay separate contributions for children. Sometimes the brokers also forgot to ask important questions about the personal situation of the customers during the consultations.
Advisors and consumer advocates as an alternative
The bottom line: if you want to answer an important question about insurance, you should get a second opinion. In addition to insurance brokers, there are also insurance advisors and insurance agents who can help with the decision.
Unlike brokers and agents, insurance advisors do not receive commissions from insurance companies. You receive a fee from the customer. Another possibility are the consumer advice centers, which provide advice on insurance issues for a fee and do not broker contracts.
dpa-infocom, dpa: 201109-99-272811 / 2
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