Efficient insurance customer management can seem impossible. Have you ever felt like you just can’t keep up? Or maybe you’re struggling to keep your boss and clients happy, all while feeling miserable? It may feel like you need to find a new career—things just aren’t fun, and no matter how hard you try, nothing works.
Well, I’m here to declare it doesn’t have to be that way. Yes, that’s right—it doesn’t have to be that way.
Now, to tackle this mountain, you have to do three things:
- Keep an open mind
- Commit to trying until it works
- Change your approach
You see, doing the same thing and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. If you are ready to make a change, then we are excited you found this blog on efficiency in insurance customer management.
But before we do, we have to start with a rule I have for everything. It’s the question I ask every time things get tough: What is my piece of this pie? In other words, what is my part of this problem?
Let’s be honest, we are all very rarely 100% right.
Maybe you have participated in some of these behaviors:
- Not following agency processes
- Over servicing clients
- Remarketed accounts rather than reviewing them
- Resisted technology
- Neglected first-call resolution
- Not embraced headsets
- Become disorganized
- Didn’t honor job descriptions and overstepped on your role
The idea is that some of our problems we may have helped create. In order to get back on track, we need to take responsibility for the areas we helped to facilitate. Once we accept accountability,. we can help connect to solutions.
Strategy #1: Agency Standards
When we work with agencies in our Agency Efficiency program, we always start with Agency Standards. Agency standards are a set of guidelines and rules that everyone at the agency abides by. Think of this as the bill of rights for an agency.
Everything is covered in this document, from payment strategies and how quotes are delivered to how many follow-ups clients are to receive. This document is something that everyone needs to live and die by.
If you violate it, you teach your client that the guidelines don’t matter. Also, you are literally making your job more challenging.Here are some samples from our Agency Standards guidelines:
Personal Lines
- Auto Liability Minimum
- Auto Deductible
- Rental Car Reimbursement
- Towing
- Repair/Replace
- MedPay/PIP
- Glass
- Home Liability
- Water Sewer Back-Up
Commercial Lines
- Rate Increase $
- Rate Increase %
- EPLI
- Cyber
Re-Marketing Standards
- Open Claims?
- Minimum Premium
- Monoline
- Do you want to keep them as a customer? Define what this looks like.
- Pets
- Property Type
- Home Activities (daycare, bike ramp, diving board)
- Roof Age
- Electrical
- Plumbing
Sample Customer Experience Standards
- Maximum 24-hour turnaround time on all quotes. Team goal is to work to quote over the phone.
- Remarkets will be quoted over the phone, or an appointment will be set to deliver options.
- We will absolutely never email a quote before having a conversation with the client.
- When you are here, you will pick up the phone for any client who calls. We do not send clients to voicemail or use Do Not Disturb. We operate as a team to serve the customers of the agency.
- As a client of the agency, you will receive an annual renewal review call from us. On that call, we will follow our renewal review process (coming soon!).
- The client is a delight, not a burden. We work to be the best call of the client’s day.
- First-call resolution is our plan A. We want to complete everything on the call (including documentation) before hanging up the phone. When we cannot, we will set a clear time to reconnect with the client and document suspense.
- If it’s not in the management system, it has not happened.
- All phone calls and emails received will be responded to on the same day, even if only to say it’s been received and set an expectation of when something will be completed.
- Clients are defined by the agency as carrier partners, internal agency team members, and policyholders.
Strategy #2: Allow Client Accountability
Now, this is one that everyone wants but is very difficult to execute.
This is one I hammer home in the Agency Efficiency Program.
You have to let the chips fall, and your client to experience consequences.
I see agencies bend over backwards for the worst clients. We chase payment, remarket, beg carriers to make exceptions, follow up 17 times, and bottom line–we end up caring more about their insurance than they do.
I know what you’re thinking—but it’s more work on me if they lapse. Yes—one time. Think about how, if the client has a consequence, they may understand their responsibility. Also, who else in your personal lives follows up like we do in insurance? We are very scared to upset a client or cause a consequence, but it may be what needs to happen. With your standards in hand, it’s time to practice the Let Them Theory. Let them not pay their bill—after you have followed the process and agency standards.
Here’s the thing: if you called me because I missed a payment, I would be mortified and pay it right then and there. The reality is we are over-servicing our worst clients, and this means we under-service our ideal clients.
You may want to read this one a few times. Our Agency Efficiency Program will help with this.
Strategy #3: First-Call Resolution
You may be sick of me preaching this, but it works—and it limits work. First-call resolution means handling a client’s transaction while on the phone with them from start to finish, including documenting the call in your management system. If you don’t have everything you need to complete the transaction, you do everything you can, including opening a task to follow up with the client on the phone. This allows you to complete one thing at a time without a ton of open items.
Here is why first-call resolution works:
- You can’t take a call on a call
- You can share price changes and/or premium with them, limiting future calls
- Everything is documented
- You don’t need your notebook for direct entry
- Its one-and-done
Efficiency insurance customer management means that you have to take control and get comfortable using technology to power your day. Taking notes in your notepad and doing the work is like tying your shoes twice; it’s simply inefficient and ineffective.
Conclusion
Efficient insurance customer management doesn’t have to feel like an impossible task. By embracing agency standards, allowing clients to be accountable for their responsibilities, and mastering first-call resolution, you can transform the way your agency operates.
These strategies not only improve productivity but also create a more balanced, less stressful work environment for your team. It’s about working smarter, not harder, and prioritizing your time and energy on what matters most—delivering excellent service to your ideal clients.
As the saying goes, “If you want different results, you have to do things differently.”
It’s time to take control of your processes, embrace efficiency, and empower your team to thrive. The path to a less overwhelmed, more productive agency starts with intentional steps, and we’re here to help guide you along the way.
Let’s make your agency a place where clients are delighted and your team feels confident and in control.
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