Personal Lines Innovation

This hard market will set you apart from your competitors. Whether that be bad or good is up to you and your agency team. More than ever, consumers will be looking to save a buck but maintain “FULL” coverage (whatever that means). Agents that merely have the goal to save money and do so by cutting coverages will regret that decision when it comes to claim time. You have to ask yourself and your client, “How much did we really save if we have a claim that isn’t covered or not fully covered?” E&O practices will be super important during this time. You will need sign-offs for everything, as people could deny that things were ever offered when it comes to claim time.

You will need to get creative with coverages, a combination of coverages, and deductible levels. With inflation, claims will cost more, and can take longer to repair the damaged property. All of these factors create increased exposures. Proper insurance coverages have never been more important than now, and the better you do this, the more likely you will retain these clients on the other side of this inflation spike. This is where you show your worth to your clients and really show them the peace of mind they are all looking for when they purchase insurance. You can take away a worry from them so that they can focus on other things.

People do not want someone they purchase something from to create more problems for them. They want those people to solve their problems or stop problems before they happen. For instance, when you buy a car, you want to get from point A to point B and not break down and end up in the shop all the time. The same goes true for insurance. People want protection if they have a loss and do not want claims that aren’t properly covered. The most important issue is providing your clients with the most appropriate coverage to have this peace of mind. No one knows your geographical area and claims history of your area more than you.

Price will become your biggest hurdle in a hard market, and there are some ways to lessen this issue. You can raise deductibles. You can bundle coverages. You can sell higher umbrella limits. You can search for innovative insurers that provide quality, affordable coverage (the beauty of being independent). Work with your company representatives to develop creative coverage solutions that provide the best and most affordable options. When a coverage is going to add $120 a year to their policy, present it as $10 per month - $10 sounds way better than $120. At the end of the day, give them real-world examples of clients that didn’t have the proper coverage when a claim occurred and how it negatively impacted the trajectory of their financial well-being. The worst conversation you can have as an agent is when you must tell someone something is not covered. The best conversation is when you tell them not to worry because it is covered. Let’s create more of those best conversations and less of the worst conversations.

We distinguish our Workers’ Compensation coverage by providing value-added services before, during, and after a claim.

Upfront loss control measures

Responsive claims handling

Facilitation of quality medical care (when an accident does occur)

We’ve been successfully protecting our policyholders and their employees since 1983.

Browse all of our products at www.guard.com.

Our company partners are part of this as well, and they will have to get very creative to keep pricing down and coverages stable. You will be able to tell the company partners that are trying to navigate this strategically with you instead of against you very quickly. Those company partners that innovate and keep pricing reasonable will earn your loyalty on the other side of this inflation spike as well.

The companies that are in it to maximize agent and consumer experiences will do much better, in the long term, than those that want to maximize profits. I am a firm believer that money and reputational profits will be maximized when a company truly follows its mission statement. Many people don’t consider reputational profits (or, as my accountant friends say, goodwill) as much as monetary profits. I would contend that reputational profits will carry companies through the hard times and make the good times better. Our company relationships will really set the stage for our positive or negative perception of our reputation. Clients won’t notice when those relationships are seamless, but they will definitely notice when those relationships are negative.

One of the things your clients do have is memories. “Did Brett treat me well during the hard times, or did ABC company treat me well during the hard times?” This is where our extremely educated insurance agents will really provide their worth. They will be more creative as they understand the ins and outs of the coverages they are presenting. If you are just doing your 24 hours of continuing education every three years, which includes your three hours of ethics, then you are going to get the minimum service. In these times, you need to maximize your service to your clients, not minimize it. Referrals will come in bunches if people have a great experience during a trying time, and there is no better advertisement than word of mouth.

Communities in a hard market will be more important than ever, showing the cream rising to the top. If a client sees you out there supporting your community, they will be more likely to support you, even if it means spending a little more money. Three keys are:

1. Bundle, Bundle, Bundle

2. Innovate

3. Community involvement (more than ever as people look at who is helping during times of need).

Do business with companies that treat you well and have collaborative solutions. Develop an agency mission and follow that mission. Consistency is the key to success, along with being adaptive to circumstances while maintaining that consistency.

As always, this is just Brett’s 5 Sense (hopefully we get inflation under control and can return to 2), and I hope it was helpful. If you need any clarification or have any suggestions for future articles please email me at bgerger@iiaofil.org.