Insurance Retention Strategies in a Hard Market
Does your agency need insurance retention strategies? What are they and how do they work?
Tracking cancellations is one of the biggest challenges an agency faces, why? Because many agencies don’t track it. I guess they think out of sight out of mind. That is NOT a good Insurance Retention Strategy.
Having strategies around retention is VERY important. You can sell and get excited about those sales, but if the back door is open and more policies are canceling than those being sold you are going backward fast.
We have always had strategies to grow an agency. Salespeople, networking, and such, but do we focus on retention to make sure we are retaining the necessary number of clients to continue growth?
What is the key role of Insurance Retention Strategies?
-How do we build strong customer relationships?
-Are we customizing Insurance Products?
-What training are we giving our staff and are we measuring the data?
-Are we just running the agency blindly on feelings instead of facts?
Let’s answer these questions and more!
Trust And Communication In Insurance Retention Strategies
Trust and communication are huge when it comes to Insurance Retention Strategies.
When we sell a policy hopefully the salesperson is building some type of rapport with the client. Are we continuing that rapport-building on the service side? I hope so.
The customer trusted the salesperson enough to buy the product, what if the salesperson then introduced the service staff to the customer?
How would that change the experience? What can your agency do to build trust and communicate more as an Insurance Retention Strategy?
The first answer is annual renewal reviews, which most agencies don’t do, but boy does it change things! Once you are calling the customer every year, they have no doubt but to trust you and your communication skills as an agency.
This will reduce customers calling in with concerns. This provides exceptional customer service and leaves no doubt in the customer’s mind that their agency is the best and cares about their insurance and protecting their assets.
Customization
How do you customize insurance products if you do not know your customer? You can’t! Plain and simple.
So your job as an Insurance Retention Strategies is to get to know your customers to build retention and make a customizable plan for your client.
You want to offer flexible policy options. You need to educate the client about the options available to them and let them decide what options work best!
Options and education make customers feel valued and in charge of their insurance. Providing personalized coverage solutions, adapting to clients’ evolving needs, giving them options, and then putting the ball in their court to make an educated decision is the way to go.
Employees & Insurance Retention Strategies
It is also important to invest in employee skills and knowledge. Ongoing training helps staff feel valued and helps protect the agency from E & O claims.
I cannot tell you how many agencies do not give their staff ANY formal training. It makes staff feel lost and undervalued.
Training staff helps them enhance customer relationships because they feel confident and knowledgeable about the content and it makes them more willing to communicate with the client and educate them.
You also need to make sure your team stays up to date with industry trends. You need to have newsletters and websites you visit to stay up to date, and share these with your team.
Discuss them in meetings. It is also great to provide them with state-specific information on rate increases and carrier updates so they have those in their toolbox to discuss with clients and use as industry comparisons.
If the customer’s rate is going up 8% but the state took a rate increase of 15%, the customer may see value in the discussion and might look at their increase a bit differently.
Stop Cancellations
Don’t forget that stopping cancellations is also an Insurance Retention Strategy. Do not allow anyone in the agency to
#1 send a client a dec page without asking why and offering an insurance review and
#2 Never let any staff just send cancellation requests for signatures.
Every single call or notification of cancellation should have a conversation attached to it. From the simple reasons to the difficult ones, we need to accept responsibility and at least offer to quote them again in the future to win them back.
Besides, we are building relationships and no one likes the breakup, well….unless we are making that decision.
KPI’s For Insurance Retention Strategies
KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) play a crucial role in the insurance industry, including in the context of retention strategies.
- Measurement of Customer Satisfaction: KPIs allow insurance companies to measure and monitor customer satisfaction. Metrics such as Net Promoter Score (NPS) or customer satisfaction scores provide insights into how well the company is meeting the expectations of its policyholders. Satisfied customers are more likely to renew their policies
- Identifying At-Risk Customers: KPIs can help identify customers who are at risk of leaving. Metrics like customer churn rate or lapse rate can indicate trends and patterns that may signal dissatisfaction or a higher likelihood of not renewing a policy. Early identification allows for proactive intervention to address issues and retain customers.
- Identifying At-Risk Customers: KPIs can help identify customers who are at risk of leaving. Metrics like customer churn rate or lapse rate can indicate trends and patterns that may signal dissatisfaction or a higher likelihood of not renewing a policy. Early identification allows for proactive intervention to address issues and retain customers.
- Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): CLV is a key metric that estimates the total revenue a company expects to earn from a customer throughout their entire relationship. By understanding the CLV, insurers can focus on retaining high-value customers, ensuring that efforts are directed towards those who contribute the most to the company’s bottom line.
- Cross-Selling and Upselling Opportunities: KPIs related to cross-selling and upselling efforts, such as the percentage of customers who purchase additional products or increase their coverage, can be a key factor in Insurance Retention Strategies. Offering relevant and valuable additional services can enhance customer loyalty.
- Claims Processing Time: Efficient and transparent claims processing is crucial for customer satisfaction. KPIs related to claims processing time and customer feedback on the claims experience can impact customer retention. A smooth and timely claims process can positively influence a customer’s decision to renew their policy.
- Communication Effectiveness: KPIs related to communication channels and effectiveness can be vital. Monitoring metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and response rates for communication (e.g., emails, and newsletters) can help insurers gauge the effectiveness of their outreach efforts in engaging customers and addressing their needs.
- Customer Feedback and Complaints: Monitoring KPIs related to customer feedback and complaints provides insights into areas that may require improvement. Addressing customer concerns promptly and effectively can contribute to customer satisfaction and, consequently, retention.
KPIs are essential for insurers to assess, measure, and continually improve their Insurance Retention Strategies.
By focusing on key metrics, insurance companies can identify areas for improvement, proactively address issues, and enhance the overall customer experience, ultimately leading to higher customer retention rates.
Regularly evaluating retention strategies will keep your retention rates higher and your staff more engraved in not only the sales process but the important aspects that go along with servicing the clients as well.
Evolve
Make sure to pay attention and make necessary adjustments to the strategies where needed.
Ask for feedback from staff and your clients to constantly improve everything you do as an agency for your customers and your staff! Use smart Insurance Retention Strategies and evolve as the industry and the people evolve.
Right now the biggest evolution we have seen in a while is AI, are you using it? Think of simple logical ways you and your staff can use it. When a customer calls in with a question you can ask AI the question and it will usually give great answers, or use it to write better more professional emails!
In all things agency-related you always need strategies, but Insurance Retention Strategies are essential because keeping the back door closed is as important as keeping the front door open!
