Recent consumer surveys offer insights that can provide helpful information to independent insurance agencies wanting to develop and grow their businesses. In addition to adding new clients, applying the underlying principles will help an agency retain its current customers. One sure-fire way to expand the agency’s revenue base is to focus on converting clients with a single line of insurance into clients with multiple lines or bundles. The consumer saves money and the agency grows.
Servicing Clients with Insurance Bundles
Consumer research conducted by J.D. Powers & Associates shows various methods by which independent insurance agencies can attract and retain clients away from direct carriers. Consider the following as ways to service your clients, offer them more value, and add sales revenue:
1) Offer convenience as an element of the business’s value proposition
Many consumers purchase insurance from a direct carrier over the Internet believing this method offers the most convenience when in practice, independent agents can offer multiple carriers and deliver superior service with one phone call, a comparative pricing portal, and offering professional advice at the same time.
2) Bundle quality property insurance with automobile insurance and provide a discount for both
Most direct carriers cannot deliver similar property insurance products to consumers. According to the survey, 25% of single-line insurance consumers indicated they did not consider using one company for different policies. Moreover, 52% of these consumers indicated they would readily switch if they received a discount for bundling.
3) Offer renter’s insurance
27% of consumers rent instead of own their homes, and that percentage has risen as a result of the difficult economy. Most renters have no insurance for their personal goods and make up only 14% of consumers who hold property insurance policies.
4) Seek out consumers who have recently purchased a new or used automobile
This triggers the consumer to shop for auto insurance and provides the agent with a perfect opportunity to offer additional lines in a bundle. 33% of recent auto buyers shopped for new insurance and switched from their current provider; additionally, 53% of those buyers were agency customers.
5) Point out the optional coverage and coverage enhancements that assorted carriers offer to determine which matter most to the individual clients
This reinforces the importance of having a professional agent and debunks the assumption conveyed in most advertisements that individual lines of policies act as commodities for which only price matters.
Offering bundles and focusing on the convenience and benefits to the client rather than hard-selling them will provide the agency with many new opportunities to expand its customer base. Not only will the agency add new clients, but it will also convert existing customers into loyal fans with multiple lines of insurance.
