GEICO, I want to thank you for publicizing the "Middle Man" and sorry to hear you do not have one. Also sorry you are trying to eliminate them and thus eliminate the services they perform.

Yes we are the middle man and we charge nothing extra for those services. We provide many valuable services for our clients and we get many thank yous.

We can, and do, sit eyeball to eyeball with a client or prospective client and discuss coverages, situations and provide a comfortable setting for the exchange of questions and answers. We and our employees are local citizens, perhaps neighbors of those with whom we are talking.

We know local conditions.
We hit the same potholes driving to work.
We go to the same church or place of worship.
Perhaps even speak the same ethnic language.

What better qualifications are there to discuss and advise you on coverages, changes, claim settlements, how best to handle the new underage driver, its impact on your premium or the alternatives that might be available to you.

Need I mention

We are a local business, pay local taxes, support local charities and civic groups.
We are convenient for you to stop in and discuss any issue on your mind.
We can handle everyday questions on all lines of insurance.
We can also help you with unusual situations, such as vacant dwellings, low credit scores, poor driving records, oil tanks, etc.

Yes we are a middle man and the companies who use the middleman concept are still, by far, the most popular method of purchasing insurance despite the fierce advertising campaigns.