Tag Archives: #insurancetips

06.22.15
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An Insurance system fail

When a system fails, consumers and the people they need to run them, we all lose.

Take this example; Mrs. C is an existing customer of an agency.  Came referred and has kept paying her auto, home and umbrella for three years now.  The insurance has gone up in price(failure for a different article) despite the risk not changing.  Now you have one household who has referred other business to the agency and is worth about $800 in gross commission.  Factor in the people who have been referred and this one household easily generates $1000+ in commission.
Now Mrs. C is in need of another policy.  This  is for a small venture she is involved in.  Now keep in mind this small commercial type policy is not one that most agents have an interest in.  The total premium is going to be $455.  Maybe the gross commission is $50.  Keep in mind, she is already a customer, there was no selling.  This was a person who simply wanted to give the agency more money.
So what happened.  The options available to me are via www.theeventhelper.com who although they are very easy to use is written on a claims made form.  Now we can debate claims made versus occurrence but in reality it is the same mistake auto quoting websites are making.
  • They are giving the customer too much to think about.
  • They are allowing poor choices to take place instead of eliminating the possibility of them happening.
  • They are leaving themselves vulnerable for the when/if the customer shops a bit or worse a claim happens.

What is worse about this is they don’t have to do it this way.

So instead of having an easy online option that has a quality product behind it, instead we provide the customer with an application to fill out and return.  She does it.  Then we submit it to the wholesaler and wait, and wait, and wait then we get an offer.  But despite filling out an application, the underwriter has more questions.  So now we go back to the insured and get the answers.  She provides the answers so we give them to the underwriter.  Then they send us an offer but wait, this offer has three more questions that need answers prior to binding.  So back to the insured we go.  She then provides the answer and after a few more hours we get authority to bind.
It gets better, the event is on a Saturday and this is Friday at, you guessed it 4:00 ish.  I have a 5:00 tee time, not looking good.  Now fortunately the insured can make a payment on-line and after another human stepping in, the insured has her certificate. AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL  Remember, this was for $50.  But it gets worse, did the existing client lose some faith in your agency?  How much time in total was spent on this by the insured, you, your assistant, the other company as well.  Enough already.  Are we working for free?
Think of it this way, what if instead the customer could simply log into the agents website and have the option of an on-line quote ready and waiting for them.  You already have the customer, you already have their personal information this can upload into a new site  and you can easily build in a feature like this one.  BUT the product needs to be up to standards.  You need to be able to cover 95ish% of the customers you already have.  **Yes, I think you need to impose different standards for people you have not already vetted***   Want an example?  Go look at Amazon, have they ever upsold you anything?  Any chance you’ve ever been on a website that already had your data and made your next purchase easier.  You probably do this once  a week.
Maybe it will all change when more agencies act like businesses and less like insurance agencies.
Maybe it will get better when more agents stop using social media as a crutch?
Maybe it will get better when there are less agents?
The bottom line is still the same; The core piece of any business is having a set of customers who want to pay you.  The next piece of it is keeping this group of customers so they continue to pay you.  I suppose one more piece is continuing to evolve your business in such a way that those customers bring you new customers and instead of spending money on what they call traditional advertising you instead spend a smaller fraction of money on making the user experience better then you ever would need to on advertising.
Just some thoughts, on going work in progress.
09.08.13
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62 years of loyalty and you get…

A rate $600 higher than the market will bear.  Such a shame.  I have been told that if an insurance company has a customer with no claims they become profitable within about three years.  Based on this it is safe to say a customer of 62 years has earned your company some money, yet you let them go.  Kind of like the goofy T.V. or movie scenario where the employee of 30 years gets a cheap watch and a certificate of appreciation.

In your own world be sure that loyalty goes both ways.  Loyalty is earned and should not be given.  If you vote with your dollars you will likely not have this happen to you.

 

Leave the pen and pencil set behind, you can buy plenty more with your savings.

08.30.13
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Dear Enterprise Rental Car,

8/29/13

I had an unfortunate moment last Thursday when my car was struck by another one.  Now that I have had some time to relax and think I thought I would right you a letter.  I believe that if you are going to hand out feedback you need to be willing to share good and bad.  DISCLAIMER, I have been haphazardly recommending you for about ten years since a previous employer had arrangements with you.  Shame on me.

The good news is my first two conversations with Geico representatives were wonderful.  Great job empathizing with me, made me feel like they really cared.  Not once was I put on hold in about 20 minutes on the phone.  The bad news, in my first conversation with your rep I was put on hold twice and could tell he had a lot more he was working on than just my car.  I also let him know that I would need a larger car.  Since I have two children that would not fit in the Fiat he offered maybe something else would be available,  he really was unconcerned.  I asked him if he really wanted to send me out in a car that was not safe and he did not answer.

More good news, Geico stepped up and made sure I had a comparable car available.  More bad news, when I arrived there were two options but neither was washed and ready.  When I did get the new car it was then washed while I waited.  FAIL.  Then when I started the car I realized the car needs an oil change.  This has been great, every time I start the car I am reminded of how little your employees care about it.  Should be real fun for the next two weeks while my car is fixed.

Good news, Geico checked in to make sure things went smooth.  I informed them of how great their service was but how your bad service actually reflects negatively on them as well.  Of course they were not pleased.  More bad news, you have young impressionable adults who could and should become wonderful pieces of society.  Instead the person that handled the paperwork followed his script and made sure I was just another transaction.  Thought it was particularly wonderful when I told him about a stain in the back seat and he told me “don’t worry about it we are only concerned with the outside..”  So we don’t care about interior or the engine, nice.

Now these may be small things but the reality is small things add up to big things.  Like the 1000+ people I do business with each year and the couple of dozen claims my customers have each year, they all add up.  One person at a time I try to provide a good experience, I own all my actions, good and bad.  I am by no means perfect but I always try.

Thanks for reading.   Best of luck on improving your experience.

Dissatisfied in Poughkeepsie,

 

Billy Van Jura

 

P.S.  Also, shouldn’t all your cars have satellite radio?  Why make someone have to look for stations in an unfamiliar location?  I am sure XM can give you a volume discount like you give Geico and other insurance companies.

06.24.13
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The perfect crime, insurance edition

Just read this by Seth Godin; The Perfect Crime a very similar thing actually occurs in Insurance.  Thanks for the idea Seth.

I cannot factually speak on any of the lobbying or NAACP points.  Instead here is what I do know.

None of the insurance advertising you see actually shows you how to be a better consumer in the long term.  The companies only concern is on switching your insurance this year which, since the cost to acquire customers is high, is pretty stupid.  It takes several years to turn a profit on any individual, why would you only advertise for this year?  Because you are conditioning the masses.

Most of these “masses” also generally do not have a lot if any significant claims.  Yet millions are spent on advertising claim services.  An almost FACT, since this is from my experience, is most claims go fine.  Figure they would be grade a “B” or higher each time.  Let me know any service you have that is always an A+.  A couple of basic, proactive steps is all it takes to keep things going smooth.

Oh but you can “bundle and save”  or get a “discount double check”, etc, etc.  As I have said before, credit , plays a bigger role than just about anything else.  But of course we could not advertise the truth so let’s hide it with discounts whose collective impact is not nearly what credit + home ownership+education+marital status equals.

And the loop continues.  Instead of getting excited, like a mime saving $706 realize you missed  a shift in the market.  The goal each year should be to save between $0 and $300.  Reality is the higher your savings the longer you have been overpaying.  ***Yes, of course driving records clean up, people get married, etc.***

Either way, he could have written on a myriad of topics that marketers exploit.  Would love to see his take on insurance.

Thanks for reading, just some thoughts.

06.19.13
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Sometimes they choose to leave

And it actually happened twice in the last week.  Now the first one was expected, when one person marries another or moves in with another generally one agent gets tossed out.  Aw well, it happens.  Part of the business I suppose but still stings a bit.

The other was a little bit of surprise but should have seen it coming.  See on occasion the value that you perceive that you provide is not nearly the same to two different people.  Similar to above or as I sometimes like to say “It’s whatever.”  Similar to many athletes you have bad moments, the quicker you shake them off the better.

It happens, from time to time, that people put money in front of human relationships.  Add this in with the fact that I am not perfect and sometimes things get delayed and you have the perfect cocktail to create this atmosphere.

The fact still remains, as long as  you have a solid plan in place you should consider shopping each year.  Another almost fact is that I do leave most, this person included, with a better plan then when they came to me.  Some come to me with good plans just not so good rates.

Either way, it has been two years so it was bound to happen sooner or later.

06.10.13
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Can you send that to me in writing?

I say this a couple of times a week.  When it comes to insurance there are two specific times that this is a popular phrase; claims and loyalty.

With claims, I am asked “but will my rate go up?”  Odds are pretty good but it is not certain that your rate goes up if you file a claim.  I have seen plenty of awful driving records but since they have not had their records reviewed by the current company the rate is solid.  That doesn’t mean rates do not go up with claims, it just means that you have somehow avoided having your record looked at.  Also find it amusing to watch Nationwide and Allstate advertise “diminishing deductibles.”  Seriously, most people do not have claims.  The most common claim is an auto insurance glass claim and that already has no deductible.  In my opinion you are better off holding on to to your money.

 

How about loyalty?  I have said it before, please reserve loyalty for people that earn it not companies.  Should you be rewarded for your time with a company?  I think so, the longer you stay with a company the more profitable they can be.  BUT, Please show it to me in writing.  Unless you have it in writing let’s not “hope” your loyalty is worth something.

Just an idea, thanks for reading.

05.20.13
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Big portions = insurance discounts

Stumbling through any amount of commercials can be entertaining and also very revealing.   Many times entertainment takes precedent over information.  Actually more times than not things are done to get your attention in the hopes that  you will provide some attention/dollars to their product.

I have harped on insurance discounts for a while, bottom line is any list of discounts you can provide does not out do your characteristics.  Your credit score, education, residence and marital status mean way more than all the discounts.  But talking about this, the facts, is not appealing so we disguise it with discounts.  Same thing with food.

Everyone is different, my household prefers the produce from farm markets and local markets to big chain stores.  Having tried both  the local is just better and the cost is comparable.  This is true with meat as  well.  Local, grass fed meats are just better.

So what does this have to do with insurance?

Watch restaurant advertising; none of the dishes you see on T.V. or in print ever look like what you get?  Does getting a portion big enough for two people add value or take away?  If you can get three courses for $9.99 don’t you ever wonder what exactly are they serving you?

Look for VALUE not “deals”

Value means you are paying a sum  of money that you feel is fair for what you get in return.  If you spend a little more than average but the chef is better, the atmosphere is better and the meal is memorable  that is value.  If your insurance agent actually has ideas and a plan and is not just taking your info, putting it into a computer and then spitting out a “quote”  that is value.

Just an early thought.

04.22.13
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$8 to park at a hospital?

Seriously, that is what it cost when I went to visit my grandmother at the hospital.  That is awful, I have paid less to go to professional sporting events.  $8 can provide adequate nutrition for at least 1 person if not 2 for a day but instead it bought me a parking spot for 1 hour.  There is more than enough evidence that it is the presence of loved ones that truly enables healing yet they make it difficult.  So let’s dive a little deeper;

You enter a very nice lobby with some wonderful statues and a very comfortable atmosphere, but than you go up the elevator.  The hallways are immediately darker and you go into your room with two people inhabiting space that is better fit for one.

“But Grandma at least you have the window…”  Than I looked out that window on and off for the hour I was there and realized a window is pretty useless if you cannot get fresh air and have something appealing to look at.  But hey why would a multi-billion dollar operation want to make your experience better?  See Apple or any nicer hotel that does successfully try every day.

Oh and on the insurance note; overheard a woman being denied appropriate treatment because she did not have insurance.  Here is the Hippocratic oath, nothing about insurance in this but than again what else would you expect when you submit to letting a corporation dictate health care.  So much for the system protecting those that need some help.  

Either way , just some thoughts.  Pardon the negativity, I could not believe I was  actually hearing it out loud.

04.04.13
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Who causes “higher” insurance rates?

Most people will immediately think it is the company.  The company sets the rates and the underwriting standards that you accepted when you signed your contract with them.  The company determines which of your tickets, accidents and claims will have an impact on your rate and for how long. ** Despite what you may have heard corporations are not people and cannot get tickets or have accidents or claims**

The company determines which of your personal  characteristics influence the rate.  They also decide which factors of the house or  other property you chose to buy will determine the cost to insure.  Insurance companies decide what the rates are where you  chose to live.  The company set up any billing fees that exist as well as any discounts that exist for paying your premium in one or two payments.  Each year before your policy renews the company mails you new paperwork to review so you have a chance to ask questions and make adjustments.  You  also have a chance to review everything on your policy and if you felt so inclined could call around to other companies for a review. **Per a Google search, there are about 2648 insurance companies doing business in the U.S. that offer auto and home coverage***

So who makes insurance rates higher?

P.S. You  also may be with an agent or company that takes advantage of your loyalty and offers you some sort of silly ploy about accident free credits, etc.

P.S.2 Just like when looking for somebody to date, there  is somebody out there that likes you and your characteristics.  Maybe it is time to find that company….and be willing to find a new one next year.

 

Just some thoughts to consider.  You have more control than you think.

 

04.03.13
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Is time the best Insurance Discount?

It might be.  It might also be the most under used and least asked about.

If you are between the ages of 16 and 25 your lack of time on this planet is a reason why you spend more on insurance.  BUT what if you pay attention?  Maybe you start on your parents policy and make sure they have solid coverage so when it is time to switch you are in a better position.  Then, typically after three years of being licensed, it is time to shop.  Now just stay on top of things because you get a little older you can likely improve your rate, assuming a clean to fairly clean record.

What about the rest of us?

Ask yourself this, How much is your loyalty worth?  In my opinion your loyalty is priceless.  That being said, how many physical dollars is your loyalty to a company costing you?  Could be hundreds if not thousands of dollars.  How does this happen?  Well, many people get lulled into thinking that staying with a company for a long period of time is some how beneficial. **Please get this in writing and show it to me***

I appreciate your loss free discounts, deductible rewards, bonus checks and whatever else may be the hot marketing flavor of the day.  Key word in there is MARKETING.  These are ploys to get you to stay around so you are less aware of what you are spending.

FACT: YOU SHOULD BE REVIEWING YOUR INSURANCE EVERY 12-18 MONTHS

That remains unchanged.  So why would you trade your loyalty and time for a potentially higher insurance rate?  No idea.  Might I suggest an alternative;

Look at what your insurance costs, typically best to think of the policies that tend to go together; auto, motorcycle, home, boat, umbrella, RV, rental property.  Basically where you live, what you drive and the things that go along with that.  Now see what the whole package costs, this is important.  Once you know your bottom line lets see how that goes up against your budget or more specifically what you would like it to be.  Now you can take advantage of any leverage you may have because of the policies you have in place.

FACT: MULTI-POLICY DISCOUNTS CAN BE WONDERFUL……

BUT

FACT: THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH USING MULTIPLE COMPANIES TO MAKE A SOLID PLAN

Now, it is important to know, just because a company can do a lot of advertising doesn’t mean they are worth you giving them more than a year or two.  PLEASE do not allow marketing to influence your bottom line.  Instead establish your own baseline for what your package should cost than make the company earn your dollars by staying consistent over time.

LOYALTY IS EARNED NOT BOUGHT

Just some suggestions.