Every agent has heard it.
“I thought that was covered.”
It usually comes after a loss. Sometimes after a denial. Always with frustration attached.
Most agents chalk it up to client misunderstanding.
That’s a mistake.
Because “I thought” doesn’t come from confusion. It comes from assumption. And assumptions are built during onboarding, not claims.
Agents love saying:
None of those statements protect you.
Explaining something once doesn’t equal understanding. Signatures don’t equal clarity. And “standard” means nothing to someone outside the industry.
When clients misunderstand coverage, it’s rarely because they weren’t told. It’s because they weren’t shown, reinforced, or corrected.
Assumptions are created when:
Clients don’t want to look ignorant. So they nod. They agree. They move on.
Until reality shows up.
Claims don’t create misunderstandings. They expose them.
Most E&O problems don’t come from bad intent. They come from undocumented conversations and uncorrected assumptions.
If a client believes something was covered, that belief came from somewhere.
And if you didn’t actively dismantle it, you indirectly reinforced it.
Here’s what rarely gets discussed in agencies:
Your biggest risk isn’t what you said. It’s what the client believed after you stopped talking.
Coverage gaps aren’t just financial problems. They’re reputational ones.
Clients may lose money. But agents lose trust.
And trust is harder to replace than any account.
The best agents don’t fear uncomfortable conversations. They lean into them.
They:
They don’t rush onboarding. They reinforce it.
They don’t assume understanding. They confirm it.
Clients don’t misunderstand policies.
They misunderstand us.
That’s not an insult. It’s a responsibility.
Because when clarity is missing, coverage might as well be too.
Clarity is a form of coverage. Treat it like one.