August 20, 2010
More government regulations are not the answer to protecting the consumer. As a professional insurance agent, I have acquired the CLU, ChFC, LTCP, and MBA designations and my mission is to put my client first in every decision that is made. I use resources at hand to discuss with the client their risk tolerance and their objections, pointing out to them the pluses and minuses of each investment.
Currently I spend 3-5 hours per week on compliance issues that do nothing to protect the client but is done in answer to the regulations now in place. If additional regulations are imposed I will have to spend more time or hire someone to just handle that aspect of my business.
If you adopt the new regulations proposed, it will mean that the client must pay more for their service as I cannot and should not have to bear the additional cost to comply.
Does the client deserve the best we have to offer? Absolutely, and I strive to give that and more. It appears that we are holding the agent totally responsible for decisions that the client makes and then says "we were never told that" or "that was not explained to me" when documentation is presented otherwise.
Yes, hindsight is 20-20, but we do not have the luxury of looking back at the time a decision is made about investing for the future.
Please consider carefully the decision you make and the affect it will have on client, the agent and the industry.