September is designated as National Preparedness Month, making it a good time for agents to help policyholders proactively plan ahead for natural disasters and emergencies. Agents can help by explaining coverage and helping policyholders with broader risk mitigation efforts. Learn more about how to use National Preparedness Month to engage with existing and potential clients, generate interest, and provide relevant information to add value.
How to Help Policyholders Be Proactive During National Preparedness Month
Being proactive about preparing for natural disasters and emergencies is important regardless of where a client lives or operates their business. Wildfires, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, droughts, and other natural disasters can create risks ranging from property loss and business interruption to liability exposure and injury potential.
However, many people are not prepared adequately for disasters, which results in frustration, insurance disputes, losses that are not covered, and unhappy policyholders. This can also create potential E&O exposure for agents. This makes September the right time to help policyholders proactively prepare for natural disasters.
For personal lines policyholders, try these tips:
Review existing policies, including homeowners and flood coverage. Focus on key aspects of coverage, like confirming policy limits still reflect current replacement costs and that deductibles are still in line with policyholder expectations. Explain any separate deductibles for wind or named storm deductibles. Be sure to highlight excluded perils and offer quotes for endorsements.
Provide helpful documents, like home inventory checklists and instructions for videos of property. Help policyholders be proactive by documenting their personal property before a loss happens with checklists and videos.
Encourage emergency planning and risk mitigation efforts. Provide links to national and local resources and encourage policyholders to create family evacuation plans for the potential natural disasters in their area.
For commercial lines clients, help them build resilience with these ideas:
Discuss current coverages for adequacy. Revisit business interruption insurance and discuss any conditions and exclusions on the policy. Check limits for adequacy and review deductibles. Help policyholders understand what may not be covered should a loss occur, as this can help reduce the risk of future E&O claims.
Share risk mitigation or loss control services offered by carrier partners. Know the resources offered by carriers and share them with policyholders. Services like risk engineering, virtual inspections, or safety templates can be useful tools.
Be sure to document coverage discussions and policyholder decisions when recommending coverage, discussing deductibles, or offering endorsements. Thorough documentation of these discussions and decisions can help reduce E&O claims should an uncovered loss occur.
Here are four creative ways to share information with policyholders about National Preparedness Month:
- Share weekly preparedness themes from FEMA or create your own. Use LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and other social media channels to share tips.
- Create agency-branded downloadable checklists policyholders can use to help prepare their homes or businesses for emergencies.
- Share coverage spotlights of common exclusions and how policyholders can mitigate risks.
- Post short Q&A videos answering frequently asked questions about coverage, endorsements, exclusions, and risk mitigation.
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External Links:
- https://www.ready.gov/september
- https://www.cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/disaster-services-branch/emergency-management-resources
https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness
