In challenging times, we all need people we can turn to for support and advice. If there’s a silver lining to the current health and economic crises, it’s our heightened appreciation for people and things we too often take for granted.
If you’re anything like me, your gratitude has never been greater for:
- family and friends
- healthcare professionals
- people who provide necessary day-to-day services and products
- the people we trust for legal, financial and insurance advice.
If the previous line seems self-serving, please forgive me. But during these troubled times, my colleagues and I at Sylvia Group and throughout the Alera Group network are finding that many of our clients need us more than ever. They know they can trust us for the information and advice they need, and more than a few have expressed their appreciation for our service to them.
We’re happy to be able to help.
Trusted advice from an experienced insurance professional
Twenty years. That’s how long I’ve been working in the insurance industry.
In nine years as an account manager, I performed all the duties that go into providing clients with top-rate service — reviewing policies, reporting claims, answering billing questions, rounding accounts. The experience gave me tremendous insight not only into insurance but also into all the people and organizations insurance protects. The experience also made me an insurance geek — someone who enjoys talking about insurance and discussing differences in coverage — and that led to my career in sales as an account executive.
Whether I’m working with a current client or consulting with someone considering making me their agent, I take great satisfaction in answering insurance questions, in providing insights, in earning and reinforcing trust. In short, I enjoy being a trusted advisor.
Few people have a strong relationship with their insurance agent because most people view insurance as a necessary evil. I get it. The state requires you to insure your car. The bank requires you to insure your home. You have to buy insurance, and yet you hope you never have to use it. That’s why when you do have to use it, it’s so important to have the right coverage in place.
Unlike many salespeople, a good insurance agent doesn’t ask questions to discern how much you’re willing to spend. A good agent’s objective should be to find out what you want to protect.
My job is to design insurance programs that protect my clients, their assets and their family. Frequently, I’m able to provide new clients with vastly improved coverage at a significantly lower price — sometimes by finding the right insurance carrier to meet the client’s specific needs, on other occasions discovering available discounts through an insurance program review and a process simply known as “bundling.”
Maximizing available personal insurance discounts
Bundling — combining home and auto insurance or other coverage — is one of multiple ways your agent may be able to help you save money on personal insurance.
In addition, you or your family members may be able to earn additional savings through discounts for qualifications such as:
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Discounts and premium credits are available for some businesses, as well. As a trusted adviser, I work with clients to find whatever discounts or premiums may apply to the insurance they need.
Proceed with caution
While maximizing available discounts is advisable as a means of containing insurance costs, discounts can be deceiving. For example, a discounted home/auto policy with one carrier may be more expensive than separate home and auto policies with different carriers. In addition, the quality of coverage in a discounted policy might not be equal to the quality of coverage under a slightly more expensive policy with a different carrier.
About Matthew Boyle and Sylvia Group
A licensed insurance producer, Certified Insurance Service Representative (CISR) and Certified Professional in Personal Lines (CPPL), Matthew Boyle is passionate about informing and educating his clients on the coverage they have and the policies they should consider. Whether the need is homeowners insurance, auto insurance, specialized coverage such as coastal property insurance, or a basic Business Owners Policy (BOP), he’s committed to protecting each client with the performance-based insurance program that’s right for them.
Sylvia Group uses SPS – the Sylvia Protection System – to empower businesses and individuals with performance-based insurance, benefits and financial planning programs. SPS makes our clients active participants in managing risk and containing premiums, resulting in coverage that is both customized and cost-effective. In addition to making a difference for our clients, we make a difference for our community as a whole by actively supporting and serving many of southern New England’s most reputable and effective nonprofit organizations and institutions. Sylvia Group became an Alera Group company at the outset of 2020, enabling us to combine the local, personal service for which we’re known with the scope and resources of a national firm.
