Shargel & Co Insurance Services

I’m sorry to say we had a very unsatisfactory experience with Shargel & Co Insurance Services. When we first me with Susan she sounded fantastic. She showed up to our office with lots of facts and helpful printouts full of useful information that was clearly mapped out. Once Susan’s company became our assigned broker things were very different. Our calls went unreturned. When I called her office to follow up, staff acted as if they were annoyed to hear from me. Shortly after we started working with them we learned that Susan had sold her company. We were not told that her brokers would no longer be servicing our group, which explained why when I continued to call, they were annoyed.
We have come to learn that plans to sell her business were well under way when we became Susan’s customer. Had we known this important piece of information, our decision to work with Susan would have been different. The services we were offered were nothing like what we received. It cost us a lot of wasted time, delays and a loss of insurance coverage for one of our new employees. I was the one who wound up on the phone with Healthnet as well as Digital Benefits (the company she sold her business to) and was left wondering why we had hired a broker in the first place.
It was a horribly unpleasant experience and I honestly wish we had never done business with them in the first place.

If I could give them 10 stars I would.
Let me start by saying I KNOW health insurance. I work in Health Care, I consult for one of the biggest health insurance companies in the country.
I have worked with various companies for benefits and Shargel & Co has definitely been the best, hands down.
They spent a good amount of time shopping plans and explaining the differences and I ended up with fairly affordable and comprehensive plan for me, my employees and my family.
I have also been a huge pain in the ass, calling them and asking them to add, drop, change my dependents, etc. and they were able to get everything done.
I have never had any issues reaching Susan or Cecelia and have always had my calls returned promptly.
After ready the other reviews, I am surprised. I never had any issues reaching someone. Also, insurance coverage can be confusing and it’s not the Brokers fault if you don’t understand how health insurance works. They do a great job explaining it but if you just don’t get it, you don’t get it, and it’s not the brokers fault as to what your limits of comprehension are.
I am extremely satisfied and I highly recommend their expertise.

Shargel and Co. Insurance Services helped me transition from one kind of individual policy to another. I honestly believe I could not have done it without their able and knowledgeable assistance. I highly recommend using Shargel and Co. to navigate the very scary waters of health insurance.

A score of one star is too high. I have known Susan for more than twenty five years when our daughters met in nursery school. Almost all of that time we have been friends. When my cobra expired, I chose Susan to be my broker. From April, 2001 until January, 2010, my premiums to Blue Shield totaled $ 81,4043. Since brokers receive 10% of your insurance premium (a dirty little secret), her company received $ 7,531 over that time – less than 10%, since I fired her January 20, 2010.
I had the same experience as Jenny K, another Unilocal reviewer. In January I called repeatedly for two weeks before I was finally able to speak with her. There were always excuses. Recently, I probably tried calling for at least ten days. Her staff always covered for her. I understand, from the letter she sent me this past October, that she had no intention of speaking to me. Since we had been friends, I had her home phone and called there in an effort to connect. I’ve spoken with her husband twice and left a couple of voice mails at her home. No response.
In December, 2009, I needed to make a decision about 2010 coverage; my «Balance 2000 Plan» was going to increase to more than $ 1000. One day, no one was available in her office to speak with me. I called Blue Shield directly and learned that my plan included maternity coverage – hardly necessary for a woman of my age. I got a plan with similar coverage, a lower premium, a $ 30 instead of $ 45 copay and a deductible of $ 1700 instead that of $ 2000. By January, 2010, the difference between the «PPO plan 2000» and the plan I switched to, the «Balance Plan 1700.» was $ 170 per month. From April, 2001 until my discovery, in 2009 or 2010, my plan included maternity coverage. The more my premium, the more Blue Shield and Shargel and Company receive. Each month, Shargel and Co received $ 17 of the overcharge and Blue Shield CA received $ 153 of the overcharge.
Almost everyone would agree that she totally ripped me off.
After many attempts to reach her, I spoke with her about the matter and requested some reimbursement, an amount that I thought fair. She refused. Immediately after that conversation, on Jan. 20, 2010, I faxed Blue Shield to fire her.
This week, I called the office to say that I was disgusted and upset by her behavior and asked that she call. True to form, she did not.
Because of what I perceive as her arrogance, lack of accountability and lack of professional behavior, I’ve decided to write this review. It is one way I know to come to some degree of fairness and balance in this relationship. I am also pursuing other avenues for remediation.

Not sure what it takes to get great service as indicated below. Maybe you are family or have to be spending big bucks? For me, it’s call after call, with calls to ask Elaine to call me back and follow up on my paperwork. Responsive is not the word I would use for this office.

Shargel & Co. Insurance Services has been my familly’s insurance broker for 20 years and I can’t recommend them highly enough. Susan Shargel has been in the business for many years, is a fountain of information, and is a person of the highest integrity. Elaine Young is knowledgeable, smart and very client-​oriented. Great service. You can’t do better than utilize them to steer you through the health and other insurance markets.

I just made initial contact with this agency today. I left a message (I called during lunchtime — my bad!) and got a call back really quickly. I spoke with Elaine and she seemed very well versed on the subject of health insurance, and was able to answer my questions with clearly stated information and very knowledgeable facts. She’s friendly, kind, patient (!!) and in this time of economic challenges, she was able to read out my options in a very helpful manner. I am very impressed and happy to have found these brokers, and based on that initial communication and quick email follow-​up, I would recommend them very highly.