Is Your Agency Ready for an Increase In Rate Concern Calls: Remarket Expectations
You’ve definitely noticed it happening: an increase in rate concern calls. Prices are on the rise all over the place, inflation is on the rise, and people are looking for ways to save money. So they turn to you, their trusty insurance agent, and call you about their rising rates.
We already spoke about being prepared for these calls, practicing empathy with our customers, and foregoing re-shopping to instead do a thorough scrub of the account and look for discounts.
How else can you best handle these rate concern calls, in a way that best serves your customers?
You need to set expectations when it comes to remarketing. What does it really mean to remarket an account, how can you set those expectations, and what do we need to do to make it worth everyone’s time?
Let’s dive into all of that right now.
We’re Not Geico
When it comes to setting expectations, we want to start with asking questions, and helping our customers understand exactly who we are, and who we’re not.
Who are we not? Some major national chain that is guaranteeing to help you save 15% or more in 15 minutes.
That’s definitely not the situation we’re in. We are certainly professionals, and we are absolutely insurance professionals that do our job, and do it every day.
So setting expectations about remarketing starts with letting the customers know that it’s not just some click of a button, and things are different. We don’t just wave a magic wand and lower rates.
Next, there’s a very important question you need to present to your customers.
How much do they need to save, in order to go through the hassle of what we’re about to go through?
The Value of Re-Shopping
Re-shopping is a time consuming process for everyone, both for you and your client. So before you start down that road, you really need to understand how much money your customers need to save, to go through the hassle of it.
It’s not a simple thing we’re looking to do, and in order to re-shop, we’re going to have to go through some things. We have to set up a second phone call, for example.
The bottom line is: reshopping is definitely not just a one-click-fix-all type of situation.
Next, we also need to let the customer know that reshopping comes with potential risks.
The Reshopping Risks
When we start getting an increase in rate concern calls, reshopping is a tempting option. As we discussed, it certainly shouldn’t be your first option.
But let’s say that you do want to reshop a client. You need to set expectations that it’s not so simple, that it can be a complex process.
But you also need to set expectations that it can come with some risk. There could be another inspection, for example, and maybe their house hasn’t been inspected in a few years.
Maybe your car comes under scrutiny, or maybe they’re going to rerun your MBRs. They’re going to look at things, and they might not look at them as favorably this time around. Maybe the house is a little aged by now, maybe there was a ticket or two picked up along the way.
Your customers need to understand this potential risk, and you need to understand if they’re okay with taking that risk. You can let them know that another inspection of the house might show some dings on the roof, or some issues with the foundation.This isn’t a scare tactic, but these are real issues that should be talked through with your clients before any big decisions are made.
We’re Insurance Professionals
Keep in mind that through all of this, we are insurance professionals. We’re not going to magically fix the situation in 15 minutes, but we are professional insurance agents.
So how do professional agents handle setting customer expectations? We first look to solve all of the major dilemmas and to answer the big questions. Then, if we finally are in a reshop situation, we need to set an appointment to get back on the phone with all of the key decision-makers, and walk through all of the options.
We need to be able to sit down, give them two or three options, walk through those options of what things look like with a different carrier, or with the same carrier with a different quote.
There’s one last thing to keep in mind when it comes to setting expectations during an increase of rate concern calls: not emailing the quote before you’re able to connect with a client.
Holding the Quote
We’re pretty adamant about never emailing a quote before you’re actually able to connect with a client. Why is that?
Think about it: if your client is in shopping mode, they’re probably just going to take that email, and forward it onto another agent they’re shopping with, or a prior agent they worked with. If they’re simply in this mode of shopping and saving money, they want to be in control of the situation all the way through.
How can you handle this quote dilemma? You can say:
“Hello Jane, yes I would love to go over these options with you. If you can’t do it today, let’s look at tomorrow or the next day, whenever we can get you and your spouse together.”
This all depends on the party being ready for the call, and setting aside time with those key decision-makers to actually have the call.
The bottom line is that setting expectations during an increase in rate concern calls means really diving into if your customer really understands what a remarket means. Are they willing to go through all this hassle, and if so, how much savings would they need to have? Are they okay with the risk of an inspection? Can they make an appointment to review the remarket options before receiving the quote?
By managing expectations, you’re wielding your power as an educator, to help your clients make the best decisions.
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