The American Red Cross advises individuals and families to plan ahead to mitigate the impact of natural disasters. This is a role insurance agents often play — and disaster planning is always more effective when it is proactive. Learn more about how to help policyholders prepare for the unexpected with helpful tips.
How to Help Policyholders With Proactive Disaster Planning
An important start to disaster planning is considering whether or not a potential loss would be covered by insurance. As an agent, you already know some causes of loss are excluded but many policyholders do not understand this aspect of their coverage. A good first step in disaster planning is reviewing your insured’s coverage with them, pointing out any gaps, and suggesting ways to remedy them whether through endorsement, a separate policy, or another type of loss transfer mechanism.
Next, consider these tips to help your policyholders with disaster planning before an unexpected loss occurs:
- Focus on helping policyholders create a strategic plan. That means considering the three basic priorities of life safety, property preservation, and incident stabilization in a disaster plan.
- Discuss how to inventory personal property with receipts, photos, and videos. Provide a checklist so your policyholders can easily keep track of personal property.
- Offer information on ways to mitigate common losses, like wildfires and earthquakes. Local resources from the community or region can be helpful when homeowners need to protect their property and reduce their potential exposure to loss.
- Provide expert educational services for policyholders. Invite experts to speak to policyholders through webinars or social media events. Publish thought leadership articles to educate your insureds.
- Ensure policyholders know how to file a claim if a loss does occur. Provide information on their insurer’s digital portal in advance so it is simple for them to start a claim, even after a stressful loss.
- Find out if your policyholders’ insurance company offers proactive push notifications in the event of a natural disaster. These SMS or push notifications provide valuable details about the disaster, recovery efforts, and insurance coverage details. Help your policyholder sign up for automatic notifications if they are available.
Agents and brokers have an important role in disaster planning, and this role is likely to continue growing as storms intensify and damage is amplified. By helping policyholders be proactive, agents can help them mitigate their risks from natural disasters — and having fewer claims is good for everyone.
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External Links:
- https://www.redcross.org/content/dam/redcross/get-help/pdfs/disasters-and-financial-planning-guide.PDF
- https://www.michigan.gov/difs/consumers/disaster-prep
- https://riskandinsurance.com/planning-for-the-unexpected/
- https://ucanr.edu/News/For_the_media/Press_kits/Wildfire/
