Author Archives: The Insurance Bill

09.30.18
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Review and repeat, It’s a cycle disguised as a tag line

Today’s idea comes from a silly, boring post in 2011  Although it was a short, almost lay, post, the message is correct and overlooked.  I’m guilty as charged.

But how do you find ” an average savings of $432….”  when reviewing auto insurance.  Well, the game is more or less rigged.  Some of it can mimic “self-sabotage” but it is really corporate laziness/indifference?  Here are some facts/scenarios to consider;

  • Insurance rates change. Period.  Sometimes a company can do it once a year…if the regulators cooperate.  Certainly every 18 months.
This is a preview of Review and repeat, It’s a cycle disguised as a tag line. Read the full post (363 words, estimated 1:27 mins reading time)
09.29.18
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No advertising No discounts

It was relevant in 2010 and the update in 2015 is similar.  Still best to start with

  • What is my baseline for coverage
  • Why am I reviewing my insurance
  • I should review every 18-24 months regardless

To the point though, what if you couldn’t advertise discounts and bigger, what if you couldn’t advertise?  The truth is, a rating(price) is far more sophisticated.  Offering discounts is nice.  Promoting them at this point is just not as relevant as it was a few years ago or longer.  Your rate is mostly predetermined based on you and your vehicle.

This is a preview of No advertising No discounts. Read the full post (532 words, estimated 2:08 mins reading time)
09.28.18
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Adding value to car claims

Well, I have some relevant experience lately and this post from 2010, updated in 2015, is the same advice I followed and still give out.  But, along the way there where several missed opportunities to add value to an insurance brand.

  • So your car is on its way to the shop or in the shop and you need a rental. Now, my experience with Hertz and Enterprise was as expected; average.  Nothing bad nothing worth noting.  What would I like to see different?
    • There are ALOT of people who cannot or it would hinder them to have to give the $50-$100  hold on their credit card for the rental.  This can be an easy fix
This is a preview of Adding value to car claims. Read the full post (622 words, estimated 2:29 mins reading time)
09.27.18
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Your car’s value

Extending on What’s My Car Worth from October 2010

Nothing wrong with the post from 2010 or the updates from 2015.  I followed the advice recently, twice.  You can check LinkedIn starting on August 11 2018 for a series of posts related to a claim.  Sadly, these posts continue since claim 2 is still pending.  But, What is a car worth?

2009 Scion Xb is hit, airbags deploy so I know it is totaled.  I spend some time on Kelly Blue Book and then a basic Google search.  I narrow in on $5000.  Total time on this was less than 30 minutes.  BUT, it made a huge difference since State Farm was a bit less.

This is a preview of Your car’s value. Read the full post (486 words, estimated 1:57 mins reading time)
09.26.18
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Language, influence

Here it is, eight years later, a big piece of the thesis that keeps things going.  Started here  

Really could say it started a little sooner which led to my exit from a big corporation.  Lots of things there, one was the proper use of price optimization. Fast forward a few years and I stumbled onto this post…**not able to find it?? Juneish 2012 Pawel Stefanski IBM** which was one of the first times I saw/read someone else illustrating the point.

Sadly, much of the industry has disregarded math and logic and cheapened itself to quotes.  In some cases they, large companies and brokers, have so much money they’ll even pay for new “quotes.”

This is a preview of Language, influence. Read the full post (356 words, estimated 1:25 mins reading time)
09.25.18
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4 updates in 1

Circa October 2010, none of these really need/deserve a full reboot and it looks like I made slight updates in May 2015

Post 1     Post 2   Post 3   Post 4

First, let us take a moment to thank Grammarly.  Like you, I’m busy and miss things.  Old posts had lots of silly, mostly lazy, mistakes.

Your updated disclaimer; I value time more than I did in October 2010 and, as my available time seems to diminish and priorities shift, even more than in May of 2015.  What does this mean?  Well, I am not sure that I held back then and the only stuff I hold back now is proprietary stuff.  Even that is shared with certain audiences.

This is a preview of 4 updates in 1. Read the full post (394 words, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)
09.24.18
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Customers. Period

But really, I call them Friends and Acquaintances;

“There are no strangers here, only friends you haven’t met yet”  William Butler Yeats

A bit deep on Friends from 2015 coincides with a training session with some pieces that are a bit off

I’ve never quite fully understood the philosophy of  “A, B and C customers….”  In the sense that I completely understand what is being said; focus your time on energy to produce a better outcome.  Great.  But, on the other hand, when you see in insurance today can partially be attributed to widespread use of this kind of attitude.

This is a preview of Customers. Period. Read the full post (497 words, estimated 1:59 mins reading time)
09.23.18
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Just include it

It’s sort of silly really.  The world advances, the insurance world advances, yet there is still a reason to talk about glass coverage.  This was four years ago, still true.  I recorded a podcast yesterday and said something that I have said before, looks like I wrote it four years ago as well.

“Should it just be included, not even be an option?”

This is a preview of Just include it. Read the full post (234 words, estimated 56 secs reading time)
09.22.18
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Not enough

I’ve adapted a fair amount since this September 2014 post  http://theinsurancebill.com/?p=418

But, maybe reinforced my thoughts is a better way of thinking about it.

  • I define winning, no one else
  • I compete against myself, no one else
  • Anyone interested in purely defining me or my company by numbers only isn’t going to get very far with me
  • Context around numbers is really important
  • Many of the metrics, KPI’s, etc. used in insurance are flawed. And generally not going to work for the next decade and beyond
This is a preview of Not enough. Read the full post (328 words, estimated 1:19 mins reading time)
09.21.18
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More money than you are given

Originally posted 5 years ago, sadly, the situation is a bit worse now; “The real cost of a claim” http://theinsurancebill.com/?p=414

So yesterday I got a new, new car.  It feels better but not good.  Handing in a rental, that felt good.  Of the last 40 days I have had a rental for 39 of them.  *HUGE opportunity in insurance is the rental car situation, similar to using Angies list on the home side*

So I have a new car but I do not have a closed, completed claim and may not for 30-120ish more days.  Why?

This is a preview of More money than you are given. Read the full post (331 words, estimated 1:19 mins reading time)