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.
But how else do I get people to engage?
Billions of dollars at stake with this one. Many of those billions actually do not come in the form of new sales. They are actually a bi-product of savings that will occur with reduced acquisition costs. The answer is fairly simple; be a company that people want to buy from. Really no different than anything else in your life. You are already something that people are legally or contractually obligated to buy. An instant market was created. You also have a slightly larger footprint since most of these people see the value of having insurance. So they may have been forced to buy but they would likely keep buying. So do you really need to advertise price? Price isn’t a differentiator.
What if you were just better? What if your next big campaign was to get one referral from everyone you insured already. Statistically, most companies can expect about a 15% “hit” ratio. But, if you are being referred by current customers you can expect this to be higher. Why? Because, in theory, they still match your underwriting guidelines and we all tend to spend time with people “like us.” The alternative, salesish lingo to this is “crap refers crap.”
But I’m an agent or work in a call center. So what. Sell yourself. Ask the right questions and the truth is, the computer and algorithm do the rest. Make sure all the boxes are checked and keep going. Truth is, if you are losing a deal over $1-$5 a month it likely isn’t a deal you want anyhow. Sure, you MUST want your people to get all the discounts they are entitled to but then what? Well, the questions you ask set those up. The Vehicle ID should pull the other ones. Done. Reaching deep, or worse, too deep, into the well for discounts borders on fraud. Don’t bother. Remember, insurance score and some major factors drive most of the rate.
But back to the no advertising, no discounts. Is it really a discount or is it simply a rating factor? Think about it, if an underwriting criterion is “age of roof,” are you actually getting a discount for having a five-year-old roof instead of a ten-year-old roof? NO, you are getting a rate based on having a five-year-old roof. But saying a discount is more marketable.
But what will I advertise? The counter question is, do you need to advertise? If you have a good distribution force that people want to talk to and buy from, maybe you don’t
**Incomplete, this can go longer.