Can Selling And Customer Service Coexist?

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Traditional insurance “selling” has not always gone hand in hand with good customer service. Traditional insurance selling often consists of a sales person trying to convince a buyer of the benefits of the product he/she is selling. Conversely, good customer service involves determining the customer’s needs and concerns first, and then determining how to best provide solutions. The difference is in the mindset of the sales professional. You can actually provide good customer service while “selling” if you view selling as offering a value added service to your customer. This starts with how the sales professional views the process.

If you are looking for something different in the insurance buying process, evaluate your next insurance meeting using these standards.

  • Does your agent ask questions to determine your needs and concerns?
  • How fast does the agent offer insurance products as the only solution, if it in the first 15 minutes you have a traditional insurance sales person.
  • Do you feel your agent knows and understands your business and industry?
  • Has your agent ever offered a non-insurance solution such as a contractual risk transfer?

We would encourage you to establish a set of standards by which you evaluate your insurance provider. Do they value relationships, do your values line up together and do they value the relationship? If you can answer these, you are on your way to developing a trusted partner.

Cyber Laws Are Changing As Fast As The Internet

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Cyber Security Information Sharing Act

At the end of November, the Senate passed the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act. This legislation gives private companies legal immunity for sharing data with the Federal Government. This was passed over the protests of many lawmakers and consumer advocates. “In theory, the information shared would be limited to ‘threat indicators’ — data such as technical information about the type of malware used or the ways that attackers covered their tracks while sneaking through systems.” Andrea Peterson — The Washington Post

One of the purposes of this legislation is to help U.S. companies react more quickly to cyberattacks on their computer systems. If a company gets hit with a specific type of hack, the federal government would receive an alert and immediately distribute warnings to other companies.

While cyber laws provide some immunity to businesses, it only applies to information sharing with the Federal Government. Businesses still need Cyber Liability Insurance as part of their risk management program. What we do not know, is what will the Federal Government do with information? It will be impossible to know until the law is fully implemented later in 2016.

Cyber Prevention Tips

  • Provide Training to all employees. Helping your employees understand how cyber breaches occur, will go a long way in prevention.
  • Keep your operating system, browser, anti-virus, and other critical software up to date.
  • Activate your firewall. Firewalls are the first line of cyber defense; they block connections to unknown or bogus sites and will keep out some types of viruses and hackers.
  • Secure all passwords and do not share them with anyone.
  • Use only secure wireless networks.
  • Develop a secure way to allow laptops off the premises. Never keep client information on laptops if used off site.
  • When an employee leaves the company or is terminated, turn off the access to their computer. If there is personal information on their computer, have your IT person manage the process.
  • Be aware of pushing scams. This involves a hacker using an email or website to install malicious software onto your computer. These web entities are designed to look like a normal email or website, which is how hackers convince their victims to hand over personal information.
  • Never open an email from someone you don’t recognize, even if it identifies you by name.

Why A Trained Agent Is Better Than An Untrained Agent

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Agents come in many shapes, sizes, and qualifications.  Every insurance agent must go through a basic level of insurance training in order to obtain a license. In order to keep their license, an agent must take a minimum level of training annually.  Unfortunately, many agents never do any more than the minimum. There is so much more to know about insurance than just the minimum of training.  It is imperative that all agents continually keep trained and educated in order to create, and deliver insurance and risk solutions to their clients.

Training benefits to agents and agencies

  • Enhances your company’s reputation. 
  • Employees desire professional development.
  • Helps agency attract and retain the best employees.
  • Increase the collective knowledge of your team.
  • Boosts your retention.
  • Allows you to truly provide “trusted advisor” solutions to your clients.

Training benefits to clients

  • Allows agents to bring a much broader knowledge base to problem solving.
  • Agents are more equipped to educate clients.
  • Provides a basis for providing business solutions beyond just insurance.
  • Trained agents are generally more knowledgeable about many different industries.
  • With a trained agent you can lower your cost of risk.
  • Professionally trained agents understand in greater detail how insurance is designed to work.
  • Highly trained agents can help you navigate difficult claims to your satisfaction.
  • Training is essential for knowledge transfer. It’s very important to share knowledge.

Professional development can come in many forms. But having an agent who is trained will always provide a broader depth of skill and experience to the client.

Our Holiday Wish… That Insurance Agents Become Trusted Advisors

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This is the time of year when we give thanks.  We would like to thank our clients and market partners for their support this year. We would also like to thank all the agents who have followed us, and who are changing the way they do business. We continue with our mission to encourage insurance buyers to think about insurance as a service rather than a commodity, and to challenge insurance agents to strive to become trusted advisors.

Are you sought after by your clients for more than just your insurance knowledge? Do you spend time educating yourself on your client’s business needs? Are you aware of the trends and issues that will impact your customers next year? If you answered yes, you are on your way to becoming a trusted advisor.

What Is A Trusted Advisor?

A trusted advisor is an agent who becomes so important and valued by the client, that the client seeks advice from the agent on a number of issues other than just insurance. A trusted insurance advisor becomes part of the firm’s consultant team, which includes attorneys, accountants, and human resources consultants.  More than anything, being a trusted advisor is about establishing a set of behaviors.

Behaviors Associated With Trusted Advisors

  • Always put the client first. Do the right thing even if it means the organization does not get the work.
  • Solve problems rather than sell insurance.
  • Understand all the issues facing the client, well beyond insurance.
  • Be highly trained in business management.
  • Bring a portfolio of practical experiences, relationships with others, an understanding of business dynamics, and market trends.
  • Be willing to connect a number of business resources that will have a positive impact on your client’s business.

Invest In Customer Satisfaction

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If you search the web you will find many good articles on how increasing customer satisfaction boosts your profit and is a good return on investment. While these are good articles, they miss the point. Don’t deliver outstanding customer service to make money, do it because it is the right thing to do. We believe that a happy and satisfied customer will become your ally, and you become their trusted advisor.

Here Is What We Know About Customer Service

  1. Customers know more about risk and insurance today than they did a few years ago.
  2. People want to be educated not sold.
  3. Partners are better than vendors.
  4. Everyone “says” they offer god customer service.
  5. There is a strong correlation between customer experience and loyalty factors such as repurchasing, trying new services, forgiving mistakes, and recommending the company to friends and colleagues.
  6. Customers expect extended hours: 24/7
  7. Consumers view excellent customer service as an extension of a company’s values and believe that these companies have “earned” their business.

What Customer Service Tools Should We Invest In?

  1. Continue to educate yourself and your team in insurance and risk management topics.
  2. Invest in a mobile-first customer experience. Customers want some level of mobile services, which could mean, paying bills, managing policy information and receiving claims update.
  3. Build a meaningful web site. Your web page is an excellent way to offer education and other services.
  4. Invest in people, most customers hate calling an agency and getting voice mail.
  5. Invest in the technology that allows 24/7 communication with your customers.

Go win the day!

Risk and Insurance Outlook

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Are you concerned about the future? Is your risk management program designed and prepared for changes in pricing, economic downturns, healthcare, changes in employment laws and the upcoming political elections? A broker or agent who cares about your business will be on the forefront of change. Part of providing outstanding customer service is helping clients understand how current and future trends may affect their risk program.

Every so often we think it is a good idea to talk about what may be happening regarding insurance and risk management. We review many different insurance publications, insurance company bulletins and other professional’s opinions, to analyze these trends. This allows customers to make educated and informed decisions about their individual programs.

What Is Going On That May Impact Your Risk Program

  1. Healthcare is still impacting individuals and businesses alike. Employers with less than 50 full-time employees are not subject to the mandate requiring a business to provide health insurance to employees or face penalties.  It was good news for the 5.8 million businesses in the United States with fewer than 50 employees.  Unfortunately for them, other rules imposed through Obamacare have a direct, negative financial impact on how insurance will be priced in the future.  And the future is now.

  2. Increased reliance on technology will lead to better run insurers and stable premiums. The development of advanced loss control analytic tools will revitalize insurers focus on claim reduction, and potentially lead to increased investments in loss control. Insurers are using business intelligence to leverage “big data” to help them estimate claims, assets, credit and market data, and gain deeper insights across networks of producers, policy holders, and operations.

  3. There are more insurers entering the marketplace. While this can be a good thing, some of these insurers are not financially strong, which might lead to issues at a later date. We always recommend using stable and financially strong insurers.

  4. Mobile applications are one of the fastest growing areas of insurance. Businesses are able to manage risk programs through technology.

  5. Cyber liability will continue to be a major area of concern for all businesses. The government will continue to legally require businesses to protect customer’s information. Those businesses that don’t will be subject to increased fines.

  6. Global terrorism will impact local business. With the U.S. pulling out of the peacekeeping leadership around the world, the impact will be felt through increased attacks on American soil. Terrorism insurance will become more expensive and harder to obtain.

Simple Ways To Deliver “WOW” Customer Service

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We have been on a journey over the past few months to discover how insurance agents and buyers need to re-think how insurance is purchased.  We believe that relationships are an important part of the insurance process.  Agents have relationships with insurance companies and with their clients.  The agent’s objective should be to deliver “wow” customer service and provide a high level of expertise in insurance and risk management.

There are a few simple things that agents can do right now that will change the culture of your agency and help your team deliver outstanding customer service. Here are four things you can do today that will get you on the path of delivering “wow” customer service and also develop deeper relationships with your clients.

  1. Be willing to collaborate with your clients. Customers do not want to be “sold”; they want to work with you to achieve mutual goals.  Make your customers part of their own success by getting them involved in the process.
  2. Listen to your customers.  Be prepared to ask questions; then shut up and listen.  It is not about you; it is about the customer.
  3. Help customers avoid pitfalls.  Operating a business comes with risks. Outline these pitfalls to your customers, and show them how to minimize their risk.  It may or may not include insurance.
  4. Customers want to feel cared for.  When a customer calls do they get a voice recording? Do you return calls the same day?  Do requests get processed quickly? All these daily activities will tell the customers how you feel about them. These kinds of activities can build trust, or tear down trust between the client and agent.

Now go make a difference!

Move From Average To Exceptional Customer Service

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We recently ran across a study by PeopleMetrics where they outlined methods of improving the relationships between agents and customers. We thought this information fit right into our continued effort to change the way we think about the insurance buying process.

“According to a recent Accenture survey, 91% of insurers “believe that future growth depends on providing a special customer experience.” So it would appear that the industry has realized the current system is flawed and is actively interested in bridging the gap between average and exceptional. But what does an “exceptional customer experience” look like in the insurance industry?” www.peoplemetrics.com

How To Bridge The Gap Between Good And Great Customer Service

  • Deliver solutions the customer wants and needs; stop selling insurance.
  • Be consistent. Deliver the same level of service from every touch point within the customer experience.
  • Show you care. Insurance is not a commodity, it is a service.
  • Build trust. The best way to build trust is to always acknowledge when you are wrong.
  • Go the extra mile. Build a culture where employees are encouraged to put in extra effort. This might include hand delivering a policy or auto ID cards in an emergency situation.

Now go win the day!

Cyber Liability; The Risk That Evolves Daily

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How Cyber Liability threatens your business every day

Did you know that an average business has a greater chance of having a cyber breach than it does of having a fire? It is true, and your business insurance policy most likely will not cover cyber liability losses.

Technology has enabled the common criminal to get into the world of cyber crime. Small businesses are a prime target, as most small businesses have little to no protection. Criminals can actually purchase programs that can be set up to hack dozens of businesses at the same time. It is important that your business has the right business insurance, including cyber liability insurance. Here are a few of the evolving cyber threats.

Malware hacks

These are programs that can be attached to an email or web site. The malware then can target specific systems.

Example–A small retail shop owner opened an email with a malware attached. The hack program then found 1,500 credit card numbers of the shop’s customers. The shop did not know about the hack until customers called about the fraudulent charges. The shop owner incurred over $75,000 in notification and payment expenses.

Social Hackers

This scam involves someone posing as a trusted bank or other advisor. The criminal then relies on the business owner or manager believing the call is legitimate and divulging privileged information.

Example–A CFO received a call from a hacker (acting as a bank official) requesting verification of account information. Through the process, the hacker obtained privileged information. They then used this information together with other data to make withdrawals from company accounts.

Key Business Insurance Coverage Offers Real Solutions

  • Cyber liability
  • Data restoration coverage
  • Business income or loss income
  • Legal notification coverage and expense

 

Why Hand The Baton To An Agent?

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baton 3432drtLife can be like a race. We all are in our lanes going as fast as we can to get to the next place. Buying insurance can also be like a race.  Except with insurance, you have the option of passing the baton to an independent agent, and when the baton is passed correctly, you and your agent truly become a team that can accomplish great things.

What are some of the benefits of passing the baton to an independent agent?

  1. An independent agent is someone who knows how to run in the insurance fast lane. With an independent agent, you will be able to communicate more effectively with insurance companies, than you can on your own. This gives you an advantage of having an advocate on your team.  We know which markets are interested in your unique insurance requirements.  For example, some markets like contractors while others prefer retail businesses.  And still other markets like to insure motorcycles.
  2. When you pass the baton to an agent, you now have the experience and clout of a well trained professional to finish the race for you. The finish line includes having the insurance relationship and program design that meets your individual needs.
  3. When an agent takes the baton, you get his or her entire team as well. This includes qualified staff to help answer your questions and provide accurate information to you when you need it.
  4. Every race may have a point where claims do happen. If your agent has the baton they will be there to help you get back on your feet and get you back in the race. An agent will take the lead in working with the insurance company during the claims process.
  5. As your team member, we communicate with you. Our goal is to connect with you regularly throughout the year on hot topics that will affect you.

Together we will run the race with professionalism, excitement, experience, and customer service in mind, to deliver the best possible combination of coverage, service, and price.