August 24, 2010
What a tragedy this fiduciary Standards Act would be. It is common knowledge no one can control the decisions made by others. We as financial professionals, or shall I speak for myself solely, I, am a general agent acting in the best interest of my client first and for most. I listen very carefully to my clients' desires and goals and bring them full scope of solutions offered in the marketplace. Each solution has different pros and cons and I am careful to make sure my clients understand each of them. I cannot, however control if they wish to make a decision only by price and choose a sub-par carrier with higher risks of not being able to deliver them the solutions they need later in life. I am always careful to explain why certain carriers premiums are higher and why some are lower. It is not right for the gov't to penalize or make us fiduciaries of a personal decision made by our clients. The best correlation I can make is if a real estate agent showed a couple three homes and they picked the cheapest one despite being warned of the leaky basement, faulty wiring and cracked foundation then, after closing held the realtor, who had made full disclosure of the home's issues, liable for all repair costs they had to indure. The insurance buying public has a choice. It is simply our job to educate them on what is available in the marketplace and make sure they understand what they are buying. If they chose something unsuitable for them, especially after being well warned, they must live with the outcome. Please think again about what you are trying to pass. It is not the government's job to think for the American public. We are smart people and should be allowed to make those decisions ourselves and accept the consequences from our decisions, whether good or bad. Thank you for your time. Aeramy K. Porter, LUTCF, CLTC