Insurance helps your clients survive the financial impacts of a disaster. Whether it's a hurricane or a flood, your clients need to know that you have their back. In the midst of the storm, your insurance marketing needs to hit the right tone. Your clients want to know that you're there for them, not taking advantage of a bad situation. How can you market disaster insurance effectively?
Build Safety Awareness
Marketing disaster insurance begins long before a disaster occurs. Before a disaster, your business goal is to build awareness around safety in your community. Create online resources such as podcasts, videos, and infographics that help your community prepare for an emergency.
Develop an email list that's specifically for people who want tips for emergency planning. Become a trusted resource for information about natural disasters, and you'll be the agency that people turn to when they need disaster insurance.
Provide Tangible Help
If a disaster is about to come, you can help people prepare. For instance, during hurricane season, you can work with local authorities to host a workshop on emergency planning or provide discounts on family hurricane emergency kits. This tangible help associates your business with support.
In case of a disaster, make sure that your business is able to immediately and visibly help those who suffer the impact of that disaster. Work to settle claims accurately and quickly so that people can get on with rebuilding.
If you can, be visible in long-term relief efforts as well, since it takes time for people to rebuild. Volunteer to rebuild the homes of those who did not have insurance, give blood, or set up a fundraising drive for families impacted by the disaster. Give what you can for as long as you can, and your community will take note.
Be There For Your Community Before Disaster Comes
In a disaster, communities come together to help each other. You need to be part of that community, and you can do this long before disaster comes. Sponsor the high school football team or work against drunk driving during the holiday season. Show that you care about the safety of the people in your community, and you'll build the trust that's required for people to rely on you for their disaster insurance.
Build Your Reputation
When a disaster occurs, people want to know that their insurance company is there to protect them. This feeling begins long before a disaster. You need to:
Communicate well. Get back to your clients promptly and answer their questions thoroughly. Create a FAQ page so that it's easy for your clients to get answers.
Be competent. Give your clients the information they need, and more. Make sure that you educate them about their options. For instance, if they need to add more insurance for flood coverage or they have something special to insure, work with them instead of letting those details fall through the cracks.
Be aware of your tone in your insurance marketing, and be consistent in that tone as well. If you want to be perceived as respectable and down to earth, strike that tone in your insurance marketing and in your social media posts.
When you work on small claims for your clients, they need to come from that interaction feeling like they'd trust you in an emergency. This feeling leads to referrals for disaster insurance, while a feeling of insecurity will scare your clients away. People buy insurance from those they know they can trust. Become a reliable and visible member of the community, and you'll build your reputation and your ability to sell disaster insurance.
At American Agents Alliance, we understand the challenges of marketing your independent insurance agency. Boost your marketing knowledge and your networks. Become a member today, and enjoy our many membership benefits.
