Effective Insurance Agency Management Makes the Agency Great: Know How!
Last updated:
22 Aug, 2023
By Mohit Sharma |
8 Minutes Read
When it comes to insurance agency management, streamlining it can be a nerve-wracking process. Hence, insurers need to increase their capacity to work collaboratively and meet customer demands.
No matter whether you need to expand your sales team, customer service, or in-house or external agents, go ahead to stay competitive. We understand that insurance agents bridge the gap between agency and prospects. Being an agent, convincing and selling customers the best insurance policy at a reasonable premium cost is crucial.
To shed light on the same, we interviewed top insurance agents, emphasizing roles that can help you make your agency successful.
Dive into Experts’ Opinions on What Makes an Insurance Agency Great.
1. Randy VanderVaate, President & Owner Funeral Funds of America
Put Prospects’ Needs First
A great insurance agency puts the needs of its clients or prospects before the needs of the insurance agency. Integrity never goes out of style, and ethical insurance agencies will always do what’s right for a client or prospect.
Additionally, clients and prospects hate to be “sold” but love to be educated and buy insurance that will solve problems when the worst things in life end up happening to them. If the insurance doesn’t work when it’s supposed to, it is the insurance agent’s fault, not the client’s fault. Always do the right thing!
Great insurance agencies will always do the right thing, and they must be willing to sacrifice a sale or commission if they can’t offer the best solution to clients or prospects.
2. Jake Irving, Owner at Willamette Life Insurance
Staff adequately trained
Investing time and resources in your team on a daily basis is foundational to any great insurance agency. This can be additional product training, customer service, and developing new sales skills.
Staff feels valued and has bought into the company’s vision. Making your company’s culture one that rewards excellence. Give your team members a clear roadmap of what is expected and the bigger vision. The standards of your company will inspire them to perform at high levels. This gives them a platform for growth which many people value. Growth also comes with more money and responsibility.
3. Brian Dean, Founder of Exploding Topics
A wide range of products is available
If all you have is a hammer, everything in the world appears to be a nail, as the old phrase goes. A skilled insurance agent will be able to provide a wide range of products and services to fulfill any legitimate requirement that a customer may have.
Technical expertise. A good insurance agent is capable of much more than just selling policies. The agent must be knowledgeable about the tax and legal implications of the products he or she sells, as well as how they are structured to fit into a client’s overall financial condition.
Many agents obtain financial planning credentials such as Certified Financial Planner®, Chartered Financial Counselor®, and other credentials. Some agents specialize in financial planning, income tax preparation, or another area of financial services as their core business, and then add insurance as needed.
4. Matt Weidle, Business Development Manager at Buyer’s Guide
An Entrepreneurial Spirit is Crucial for the Success
Insurance agents must be able to spot opportunities, identify risks, and carry out a strategy. This necessitates the cultivation of an entrepreneurial attitude as well as an intuitive understanding of the business landscape. Entrepreneurs are skilled at assessing opportunities. They frequently want to make a difference in the world by assisting others.
Those are qualities that are conducive to the success of a small firm. You must have an entrepreneurial mindset to be a successful insurance agent. Learn to seek chances in every interaction, every setting, and in locations where others may have passed you by.
It’s also vital to look at things from a long-term perspective, which most entrepreneurs do. It will take time to build a meaningful and successful business.
5. Paul Sundin, CPA and tax strategist at Estatecpa
Clients’ Convivence is the Key Factor
When looking for an insurance agency, there’s one critical factor. A good insurance agency does not inconvenience clients. It may sound hard to believe, but many agencies have policies and requirements that make it hard for their clients to access what is theirs. Yes, these agencies need to protect their data and information, and with that, they have requirements. But simple requirements should suffice.
When a client is in need, they will come to their insurance agency for help. Insurance agencies shouldn’t make it hard for clients to get help from an account they worked hard for. Convenience is the number one factor to consider to see if an insurance agency is great. The easier it is to talk to them and access what is yours, the easier it will be in the long run.
6. Ryan Dalal, CEO & Founder of Word to PDF
Take a Different Approach
It goes without saying that having a strong personality is vital while working in sales. However, this does not imply that you should be unduly demanding and forceful with potential clients. This is an easy method to upset individuals and have them reject your offers.
A strong personality is defined by high levels of energy, perseverance, and integrity. At the very least, you must always appear eager and excited about possibilities. Simultaneously, you’ll need the tenacity to push over the inevitable rejections – each “no” puts you closer to a “yes.” You must be tenacious enough to overcome the no, but you must also recognize when it is time to back off and move on to a new prospect.
7. Nick Schrader, Insurance Agent at Texas General Insurance
Good Customer Service and Workforce
Insurance is something important to all of us. You will be paying enormous amounts of money just to have it, so it’s best to check if you are dealing with the right insurance company. A good insurance company, I believe, must be the following:
Has good customer service. Not all people are aware of the ins and outs of insurance. The insurance company should have all the patience in the world to provide all the answers to customers’ questions to understand better. Always consider a company’s bill payment methods, online claim reporting feedback, its customer service and responsiveness to your concerns.
Must have enough workforce. When they have limited agents and admin personnel, everyone can be busy all the time. As a result, they will be aloof with customers asking for help, making everything more chaotic because customers don’t have the right people to assist them.
8. Matthew Roberts, Chief Operating Officer at My Choice
Offering Best Deals
“First, it gives you the best deal. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the agency offers the cheapest one among the rest. It is the one that can provide you the coverage you need at the best reasonable price.
Second, it prioritizes you – not just because you bring bucks but also because they genuinely want to help. Before you got insurance, you obviously shopped around. To know an agency is excellent, it should be one who invested time to get to know you, understood what you need, and walked you through all the possible options you should consider.
Third and last, the company acts fast. An insurance company should not only be quick in helping you while choosing and signing a policy, but they should also continue to be quick in responding, such as when you file a claim and have concerns in the future.”
9. Simon Huften, President of Life Insurance Canada
Ensuring Clients are Well Informed
High-performing insurance agencies ensure their clients are well informed to find the right insurance package for each person. For example, our insurance agency provides a handful of in-depth information to compare different insurance companies, types of life insurance coverage, answering common questions that clients might have, and providing a quote calculator on our website to ensure customers have all the resources they are looking for.
Great agencies look out for the clients’ best interest and are well-experienced in providing accurate information for the best service.
The Bottom Line
Several factors contribute to making an insurance agency great. For instance, the level of customer service an agency provides will determine how many customers are happy with the agency and how great it is. Similarly, an agency’s staff makes it extraordinary by handling operations as well as customers simultaneously and trying not to lose even a single customer.
However, many insurance agencies usually face a shortage of resources to operate efficiently, and that’s a significant barrier stopping an agency from becoming great or successful. Are you also struggling to manage different processes, sync departments? Is it having a negative impact on insurance agency administration? If yes, you are at the right place.
At Cogneesol, we are a team of insurance professionals that offer high-quality insurance agency administration services to clients worldwide. We have been providing excellent insurance agency management solutions and satisfying our clients’ needs since 2008.
To learn how we can help you manage your insurance agency effectively, call us today at +1 646-688-2821 or email at [email protected].