My wife and I have been homeowners in Seattle for a few years and I figured it would be a good idea to look into an earthquake insurance policy. After searching google for a local agency that had a page for Earthquake Insurance specific to Seattle and surrounding areas I knew I had a good option.
I reached out over email to get started on my quote. First off the broker told me - I am sorry but our agency is no longer able to issue an earthquake policy without supporting business (like home/auto insurance)." I think fair enough, I have a homeowners policy, I have an auto policy. I asked her to quote them together and had provided info on my home (new construction - not high risk). The blunt reply I got over email with no signature or explanation - "I am not interested in quoting this". Well that was unexpected.
At the minimum the Carriage Insurance agency website is highly misleading and the agency is content stuffing to lure potential business into the door. Maybe they don't make much money on EQ insurance, maybe she didn't like my straight forward emails. I guarantee she won't like my reviews of the non-service. Anyway, maybe she was having an off day, maybe she was being lazy, maybe they can't actually sell me any earthquake insurance and she didn't want to cop to it. Either way this went from something I'm trying to do to protect my family to something that aggravated me.
The sad (or good) part about brokers (all brokers, not just insurance) who don't take the time to get to know potential clients is that they don't get any business. In my case, I'm responsible for over 100K worth of insurance spend per year both personally and for business.
I buy liability, property, workers comp, B&O, automobile insurance so I'm well worth a smart broker's time. Additionally, since my wife works at a rather large Seattle software company with a big local service providers msg board I can warn others about wasting their time with Carriage. So much for a 51 year legacy of service.
My thinking is if they don't treat you well walking in the door why think that they would be there when you really need them. Seattle has plenty of other insurance brokers - spend your money with the ones that want to help new customers.
