• Forgery. A purported insurance agent forges your signature to secure a policy without your knowledge to collect commissions. They might also make other changes to your policy (like naming themselves as the beneficiary). It’s important to review your policies at least semi-annually to ensure that there aren’t any unknown deviations on your account and to ensure your beneficiaries, address, and other important information are accurate.
• Premium Diversion. A supposed agent provides you with bogus documents to sign, collects your money to pay the insurance premium, but then pockets the funds. You can protect against this form of embezzlement by ensuring your payments are directed to an insurance entity rather than an individual. If you’re concerned, you can start by checking the legitimacy of your agent’s license by searching the state department of insurance website.

• Ghost Brokers. A ghost broker sells you a fake insurance policy. Telltale signs are clickbait-looking ads on cheap websites and social media, so it’s best to avoid any agent who might advertise in this fashion. You can also research online for evidence of previous wrong doings, such as negative reviews, complaints or even court cases.
• Fee Churning. An agent tricks you into taking the surrender value or to withdraw cash value of your permanent policy under the guise of either switching to an improved life insurance policy or to purchase better, additional insurance, when the only difference between plans is actually just a higher price. You can avoid this type of scam by educating yourself about the benefits, price, and restrictions of your policy before changing policies or paying for more life insurance.

The good news is that with five decades of experience, you can rely on the team at Meyer and Associates to provide trustworthy guidance and insurance from highly-reputable companies. Learn more about life insurance through this program.

¹ Jason Metz, “How to Avoid Life Insurance Fraud, “June 2022, Forbes.com.