As an insurance agency, your role is to make sure that your clients are protected in case of accidents or other disasters in their lives. However, beyond the financial aspects of insurance are many other roles that your agency can play. What is your responsibility when it comes to client education?
What is Your Role in Insurance Education?
Your role is to provide insurance. As an insurance agency, you also have some responsibility to teach your clients about the products that they are buying. They need to understand what is included and excluded in the policy. Sometimes, you may need to explain to a client why they are not eligible for a specific policy or find a policy that would work for them.
Educational conversation is the basis of good client connections. According to Think Advisor, “Conversation is the bedrock of relationships. Without them, our relationships are devoid of substance.” Understanding the scope of your clients’ needs and discussing options with your clients is certainly something that you should be doing as a reputable agency. While some might not consider this to be education, it is some of the most basic insurance education. Your role is to be the organization that can translate insurance language for your clients.
Value Added Insurance Education
You don’t need to stop at educating individual clients. Many insurance agencies also provide other risk management education for their clients. This can include:
- Brochures
- Blogs
- Guest blogs
- Workshops at your insurance agency
- Workshops at specific locations such as a seniors’ center or a high school
- A booth at a community fair
- Partnerships, such as a partnership with the earthquake or hurricane preparedness center
Why would you conduct this kind of education? In short, it’s a wonderful way to build more insurance understanding and to connect with your community at the same time. It’s a promotional tool and a way to establish yourself as an authority in that specific area. According to Duct Tape Marketing, “By implementing a professional, ongoing reputation management strategy correctly, you’ll see an increase in web-based leads and sales.” That strategy can include developing your role as an insurance educator.
Specific areas of insurance education that you could consider include:
- Home safety for seniors, new homeowners, or new parents.
- Auto safety for drivers, done in partnership with a driving school. You could focus on teens, older seniors, or others who have questions about driving.
- Disaster preparedness planning.
- Niche topics for people who are interested in specific types of insurance, if that is a specialty of yours. For instance, if you focus on auto insurance for those with specialty cars, you could create information focused on that topic.
Think about who is asking questions, then seek to provide answers for those groups of clients.
Are There Liability Issues When It Comes to Client Education?
If you’re trying on a role as educator, could you get yourself into trouble if your clients take your advice and make a poor decision? In general, you hope that your clients will be grateful and happy that you’ve taken the time to educate them about ways to prepare for the next hurricane season or to teach their teens about auto safety. However, it is always possible that your clients could take your advice and make a decision that will have a poor impact on their wellbeing. Talk with your insurance provider about the limitations of your E&O insurance and create policies for educational practices at your insurance agency.
Are you developing new ways to market your insurance agency or connecting with the community as a whole? Talk with your local insurance agent association to connect with other agencies. At American Agents Alliance, we offer an Alliance Convention and many other membership benefits. Contact us today.
