A few days ago, a member of the Agency Revolution marketing team pointed me to a study released by Trusted Choice and the Big I that found that 70% of Americans are reviewing their policies due to rising premiums. Almost immediately, I thought of a conversation I’d had with my dad a few days earlier.
He’d called mid-day with what I was sure would be one of his never-as-quick-as-he-thinks questions, but this was a real need for some professional advice. My parents are in the process of moving—and part of that process is insuring their new home. The initial quote they received was roughly six times their current premium! My dad was looking for some talking points to calm my mom down.
The first advice I gave him was to do what 70% of Americans are doing—go back and ask his agent to shop around. The second was to give him a high-level overview of the current hard market and to warn that my parents need to be prepared for a higher, potentially significantly higher, cost of insurance. And then I found myself chastising the agent for not proactively warning my parents about the impact a new home would have on their insurance costs.
And there was the real opportunity—not just for my parents, but for every policyholder currently shopping around—proactive communication! Retention is especially important as the hard market continues, and staying in front of client concerns is a critical tactic to retaining business and increasing share of wallet. Support from technology and tools is the easiest way to accomplish timely, relevant, and ongoing communication while agents are busy doing everything else.
I always advise the agents I speak with about marketing to put themselves in their recipient’s shoes. What would they want to know? When? And then I counsel to communicate with that in mind, in the easiest way possible. Imagine if my parents’ agent had Fuse—he could have included them in a new home purchase campaign. Or a few months ago, they might have been included in a communication about the current state of the market. But instead, they were surprised during a time that already creates stress.
My parents know they need homeowner’s insurance, and now that they understand market conditions, they’re better prepared for the higher cost. But their agent missed an opportunity to be a proactive problem solver for them. A marketing automation platform like Fuse could have helped him be a communicator, not a reactor, and helped his clients (my parents) make an educated decision. And that’s why your clients go to you—for your advice and education, and timely communication makes that valuable insight so much more available.
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