Tag Archives: philosophy

10.05.18
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Act like it

Partially prompted by this October 2012 rant on coverage, sadly, my efforts have helped hundred but millions are still not benefiting.  Sadly, I am one of those negatively impacted by someone with not enough coverage and a large national company that allowed this to happen.

I’m done, actually never started, with the nonsense of “Hiring Producers,”  Human beings who have earned a license are LICENSED INSURANCE AGENTS.  Yes, the quality, like all professions, will vary.  BUT, What the F are they actually producing?  If you say revenue for the agency, the sound you hear is me vomiting.

Then, while I clean up, lean on your friend the Internet for some help with defining producer;

Here is your Wikipedia entry   and here is dictionary.com This is where you may say, but hey they produce economic value or a service.  Then I say, but do you?  Then I say, as someone with a good understanding of sales, do you think someone wants to work with a producer or a licensed Insurance Agent?  Truthfully, most won’t care, but those that do will be better for all of us.

Plenty of people do not help people get as much as they can out of their insurance budget.  And, as you may know, the world is imperfect. But you have to try.  You have to know how the system behind the insurance system works and how to make it work for people who are relying on you.  Here is what is likely an uncommon thought for you;

Stop discussing coverages with people you are working with.  Only answer the questions they have.  BUT, to do this you need to commit to writing a higher standard of coverage. Don’t worry, you’ll save people money AND time.  You’ll also be able to say something like ” we helped you improve your coverager and lower your rate…”  instead of  “great news, we saved you money…”

On the other hand, the concept of enlightened self-interestis real and it does present a conflict.  So although this feels that piece of my life, so does you continuing to keep your personal bar low and not even attempting to improve insurance for people.

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.

Depending on where you learn about it, it essentially says you need to classify your fellow humans by how much money they invest with you or how many policies they have with you, etc.  We humans label each other enough.  Was thinking this(and may expand on it elsewhere) when looking at my car.  The car has a logo.  Shouldn’t that be enough?  Nope, instead, in my case, it also had four separate markings to further clarify the company name, model name, and two features.  A previous owner even put another label on it.  Yes, the brain has a lot to work on each day, I get it.  But do we really need to continue to label things so intensely?

Consider an alternative, stems from a piece of how we work;

  • Neutral or better; essentially, you do not need to love everyone, just like them.  It is ok to be indifferent, as long as they are nice.
  • All of their money is green.  Period.  Shouldn’t that be enough?
  • Not everyone will fit all the boxes you propose for them.  Do they really need to fit all them? NO! Especially if we are neutral or better and their money is green.
  • Look at your whole ecosystem; the fact is we would really like to have an average of 3 policies per household/customer.  Averaging this is possible but it is not reasonable to have three policies in every household.  Period.
  • The actions of some customers actually let you help others.  Is this subsidizing?  Maybe.  But if you look at your customer base as a whole entity, this is healthy.
  • Everyone in the company needs to be willing and able to help everyone that calls.  It doesn’t mean they can or will.  Of course, we have people who specialize in commercial.  We have those that can sort of help with commercial.  We have customers that just prefer one person to another.  All of this is ok. Why?  Because we have things we do that make this ok.

This can go a lot of ways.  I’ve seen this explained in some fairly despicable terms.  I get it.  You have a finite, unmeasurable amount of time on this sphere.  Me to.  But, on the other hand, if you have the ability to help people why aren’t you spending time on that instead of classifying who to help and who not to help?

09.17.18
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More than what you paid for

Really should have been a better title in 2012 but the concept is still there, the idea is just expanded on https://theinsurancebill.com/?p=202

An adjustment I made, likely starting in 2013 was to try and get as much as you reasonable can get out of the time you are using.  The key, as I learned, was to be reasonable.

I’ll 100% not get crazy over a few dollars or percentage difference in price if I save time.  Time is the most critical piece.  But, as time really tightens up it is even more critical to choose activities where I get more out of the transaction.

The easy and most frequent example is who I choose to work with.  I get it, you and many others are not in a position(or at least think you aren’t) to choose who to work with.  Ok.  But, you can choose to get more out of an experience.  You can choose to make engaging another human part of the process.  Do this enough times and you’ll see what I mean.  They’ll feel more like meeting cool humans who happened to give you money.  Some recent examples;

  • Choosing to buy a car with the friend of a co-worker.  All things being equal, it worked out fine with the purchase and I was able to help a friend.
  • Buying tickets to support a fundraiser, likely fairly common, but hadn’t planned on going.  But, I embraced it. Ended up meeting a friend there and had a nice time.  Good for the business to support a customer and I was able to learn something

Some quick keys;

  • It is not always the same outcome, sometimes you just need to buy
  • Don’t think to hard
  • Sometimes you find the other “layers” later and the purchase feels even better
  • Yes, I’ve taken less convenience in exchange for more layers
09.16.18
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Just Help Me MORE

The  big difference between this in 2012 and today is the level is higher

Don’t sell me……….Help me buy

I’m not about to say “selling is dead” or something silly like that.  What I am saying is being a resource beats being a salesperson.  Do you know things that can help the person buy today?  YOU BETTER.  How about so things look better in 6,12, 18 months and beyond?  I REALLY HOPE SO.  Are you willing to let them go now because your sale today actually doesn’t help the person you are taking money from?  YES

Don’t build to a close………build a relationship

I’ve had a few people working with me for a bit now.  Over the last few weeks I’ve been warning them that how we do business will have a positive but also some negative impacts in the rest of their lives.  What does that mean?  Essentially that they know how we like to to treat people.  When you recognize this in others you get excited.  But, most of the times you’ll recognize their sales flow and that you are just another sale.  I’m used to it but it doesn’t mean I like it.  Every interaction is a chance to make a new acquaintance who can become a friend and beyond.  Making a sale is nice, almost easy.  Making a sale and a friend at the same time is much nicer and just as easy.

Don’t “Ben Franklin” close me?………help me by showing the why

Most sales techniques and tactics are rooted in some very basic human psychology.  It is what it is.  Two or more humans are engaging and our DNA  is wired a certain way. Consider just having a conversation.  We prefer to act like the licensed professionals we are, not “producers.”  A problem is presented and we fix the known and the unknown.  Sure, you can list them out but, at least in insurance, this time and effort is better spent elsewhere.

No fear of loss…….stick to why you are a good person to buy from 

This can be a tricky one.  It is a conversation I have with one of our team once a week.  We have a perpetual machine that steadily drips more people to work with. We also have tools and ways to continually find more people to work with.  Knowing you have this, takes a lot of the “pressure” off selling everyone you are talking to.  But, some of the philosophy and lines that go with this are in conflict;  ” We don’t need you….”  “Sure, we’d be happy to work with you….” But you know you have a backlog of people that may be easier to work with  Knowing that there is no person/business/account that can make your business but some can really hinder things.  It’s more of a “If you want to work with us, great.  If not, no big deal.  Keep in touch…..”

Don’t close me………..make me open to a new relationship

ALWAYS.  Sure, technically getting the yes and taking a payment can and is “a close” but if that is all you are after, that is all you’ll get.  That is not a good use of my time and I do not view it as a good use of my team’s time either.  On the other hand, helping someone buy  insurance, helping them feel good about the transaction, giving them reasons to want to share me/us with others, etc.  That is a much better use of time

09.13.18
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They are all great days

Updating from September 2012 https://theinsurancebill.com/?p=192

Life philosophies can adjust.  It’s tough to think that any day you wake up doesn’t have some element of great to it.  Although I really do not remember who I was referencing six years ago, I think I do and just the possibility of who it is makes me smile.

Ten or so years ago I started to realize I could work with anyone.  Then, this adapted a little to

  1. As long as they are nice to me and the people I work with
  2. Their money is green

This is still the philosophy.  Sometimes we say “neutral or better” since we humans are meant to be nice to each other but that doesn’t mean you’ll develop some amazing friendship with everyone.  But, it is rare when I am not able to learn from someone that I am working with.  Sometimes it is something they share directly, sometimes it is something I learn while working with them.

There are a lot of satisfying moments in what we insurance brokers do.  One of my favorites is when a person you have not heard from/thought of in a while reaches out.  Happens almost every week at this point.  This week LinkedIn helped it happened.  Fairly certain it is at least six, likely closer to ten years since I spoke with her.

There are several reasons we use LinkedIn yet I cannot seem to figure out why so many in insurance don’t understand the amazing tool that it is.

“I DO NOT SELL INSURANCE I HELP PEOPLE BUY IT  and along the way I am privileged to interact with some awesome people.” BIlly Van Jura

This, has not changed and I do not suspect it will.  I think I take it more seriously now which is likely part of why we are doing well.  Operating this way also creates a lot of confusion for me since most brokers are still to busy selling insurance to realize there is a better way to do things.

03.09.16
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The most powerful paragraph in insurance

AKA  My and the Insurance/Banking industry’s simultaneous biggest problem and opportunity

AKA What #insurtech should be trying to solve but outside of me and maybe some people I have not found yet, is not.

Really it is two paragraphs.  One that comes from a standard document that you’ll find in your policy forms. Yes, I know you likely do not read them.  Also, the version in your state may be different.  The other is a direct quote via an email.  I see or hear variations of the second one every week.  So here goes;

In connection with this insurance, we previously used a credit report or obtained or used a credit based insurance score based on information contained in that report.  We may obtain or use credit information again provided, however, that upon renewal such information may only be used to reduce premiums.  An insurance score uses information from your credit report to help predict how often you are likely to file claims and how expensive those claims will be.  Typical items from a credit report that could affect a score include, but are not limited to, the following; payment history, number of revolving accounts number of new accounts, the presence of collection accounts,bankruptcies, and foreclosures.  The information used ot develop the insurance sore comes from Transunion.  If you have any questions about the use of credit information in insurance underwriting, you can contact us at 1-800-***-**** or write us at p.o. box______________ or via fax at 877-***-****,  When you write us, please include your name and policy number.

Here are a series of questions I am pondering;

So when negotiating for this right, did companies really just build in a “backdoor” to cover them if it didn’t work?  Think about it; if this was so accurate why do they reserve the right to raise your rates after claims?
Is this really a “customer centric”approach?
Why don’t they actively use this awesome tool to retain you as a customer?
Depending on what blog or newsletters you read, depending on who you follow, depending on who you work with/for you’ll catch almost the  “excuse of the week” when it comes to fixing the personal insurance marketplace.  The saturation point of unexecuted thoughts and ideas has been reached a long time ago.  I prefer things much simpler; acquire customers, take care of them, keep them.  By keep them I mean BY ALMOST ANY MEANS NECESSARY.  I like to think I follow a good cross section of people/companies.  Yet they all see to alternate what the excuse is for not being able to help the customer.  So many are focused on new business and will spend whatever time and money necessary to get it but most overlook what they have already.  Silly and sad…..but creates an awesome opportunity.
2.  “Billy,
Why would the rate go up 50$ shouldn’t it decrease over time? No tickets, no accidents… Is there anyway to lower the rate? It just doesn’t sound kosher that the rate they want now would be more then the initial payment with XYZ, then the second payment decreased to around 680$ which I’m fine with… “
Quick Back story for you insurance people; came to me as uninsured, single, male.  I was thrilled with the rate he obtained. Then, for the next six months his rate went down, then after that period his rate went up.  In the meantime, as I do, I checked my markets to see if anything better was available.  His rate, although inexplicable raised, was still the best I could offer.  
 
His logic is completely sound.  This is, sadly, the once accepted but should no longer be acceptable, norm.  This method of doing business is exactly what is allowing newer companies to come in and try and “disrupt” and old system.  Crap like this is why your agent might be pounding you with a useless newsletter or article.  This kind of behavior is not considered acceptable in any of your other buying experiences, why do we as a society allow it to continue?  
 
The short answer is I don’t…but more often than not am outnumbered.  The odds are long, but the payoff is massive.  Based on my(my company’s) growth rate, people like the way I do business.  But currently we come up short with technology and people power and to not bore you with analogies, it’s just tough.
 
Take from this what you want.  I gain more answers and fine tune things almost daily.  Almost daily I am also inundated with silly reports and nonsense being pushed by marketers and companies onto my fellow agents.  Such is life…currently.  I/We keep moving forward.  Actually close to a pretty massive move/shift that will greatly accelerate things.
 

An aside that is sort of related; A long ways back it was a Monday afternoon and a coach was giving us JV’ers a pep talk.  During this we watched the other team line up and he pointed out a couple of very large people.  He was very quick to point out, if they are so big and bad why are they playing on JV?  Yup, simple, profound and very logical.

I think  of this after just about every article, white paper or study I read.  If the people writing or being quoted know so much about how insurance is bought and sold, maybe they should start their own insurance brokerage or go to work for a broker or company?  The reality is things might accelerate if they did.

ONE HUNDRED MILLION or more people will benefit from these changes, would you like to help me?

10.07.15
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Timing is important

Sat in on a webinar a week or so ago.  The title of it intrigued me since I could not figure out why it was setting such a low expectation for a certain metric.  Then I gave them an hour of my life and they basically explained why.

Some people don’t think big enough  

Kind of reinforced me to not pay much attention to consultants who are paid for time not necessarily results.  Anyhow, Lots of goofy ideas where talked about but two stood out;

  1. The times you should be cross selling a current customer/client
  2. The times to ask for referrals

Both are very valid things to talk about.  There are likely dozens of ideas and concepts that have been written about and that those writers will say work.  Cool.  A couple of questions to consider;

  1. When I make the time to call you, I am likely calling to handle something specific.  I may be stressed, busy, on my lunch break, etc  Why would you think I am giving you permission to take more of my time?
  2. What correlation is there between changing a car on an auto insurance policy or refinancing my home with asking me for more money?

Now, I absolutely agree with just about every study surrounding account rounding and the more lines of business in a household.  On the other hand, I am confident to know that whatever I have already done for you should have been done in such a way that you see the value in me.  That value and hopefully personal connection we have made is a very powerful thing and can undo most stats.  Consider this as an alternative; what if you politely kept in touch over the course of a year without trying to sell me anything?  Think about it, you politely keep in touch with this nice person who is already a customer.  By doing this you can hopefully bring additional value and maybe a smile therefore keeping the door open for me to buy something else.  Any way you look at it, me buying something from you is way better than you selling something to me.  Besides, you should have enough people to work with that you do not need to depend on forcing/selling anything to anybody.

On that note, I think asking me to introduce you to friends and family is almost as bad.  Why?

Quit being lazy!!!  Bring value and participate in Social Media!!!

That’s right, I think you asking for referrals, many times, is simply lazy.  I also lump it right in with interruption/spam marketing if you are asking me for referrals when I am calling for some other reason.  Some thoughts;

  • Just like me buying from you, isn’t it better when I proactively share you with friends?  How can you make this easy for me?
  • Is paying for referrals really a good idea
  • If I am only referring you someone so I can enter a contest, is it really a referral?
  • Are you even referable?  Think about it.
  • Really, if we were missing in person do you still think putting a notepad and pen in front of me is a good idea?  **Please say no***

It’s only fair to present some alternatives;

  • Where are we connected on-line?  Hopefully where I am comfortable.  P.S.  do you really think I am sharing canned insurance articles
  • I am not at all opposed to saying thanks with a gift or money.  I hope you are not either.  But should I be offering you money in exchange for your friends contact info?  Do you like it when your email is sold to random vendors?  Do you like it when you are added to a newsletter list without opting in?
  • Seriously, ” you can enter our contest for a t.v. if you refer us to a friend….”  Come on.  Keep selling on price as well and let me know how that works out.   leads us to the next one
  • Be referable.  Seriously, I’ve been thanked several times for referring one person to another and a part of my response is always, ” no problem, thanks for being easy to refer…”
  • Still  one of my favorite “techniques” and still one I have nor will never use.  Try the digital version of this and become a connection on Linkedin.  All of their connections will see it.  How about you like/share something of theirs on Facebook and see what happens.  Even better, how about you proactively refer them in some way or bring other value

Anyway, just some thoughts.  Thanks for letting me share.  Do whatever you think works for you but remember, the world has adjusted and much of what used to “work” doesn’t.

05.21.15
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When your “competition” helps you

So I was playing around with on-line quoting and of course had to use Geico.  Recently, now about 3 months late I received a well done email.  Obviously now part of a drip campaign.  This is not remarkable but what was there certainly is.

Coverage Coach

FANTASTIC.  First of all it is a very cool tool.  Clean screens, easy to use, etc.  But why is this important?

BECAUSE THE COVERAGE THEY OFFER IS NOT AS GOOD AS WHAT YOU DO!

That’s right.  I went through it ten times with a variety of combinations and every time I came up with less coverage than what I would offer a similar person.  Baffled by this but not surprised.  I’ve been replacing Geico policies for years.  When not replacing them I am encouraging(sometimes begging) people to please take higher coverage.  Most of the time it works.  Let me speculate on why;

  • They think they are saving you money?  In theory they might be.  In reality, 9 out of 10 times they aren’t.  Really.  If you could save $50 a year or have $400,000 which would you choose?
  • “But you don’t need that much coverage…”  Prove it.  While you are at it go to the store and by me a lotto ticket.  Same scenario.  Also, if you have not noticed, companies partially base your rates on previous liability limits.  Lower limits typically leads to higher rates.  Your call.
  • $250 deductible?  $500 deductible?  No coverage on a $5000 vehicle?  Baffled.  When it comes to your comprehensive and collision coverage(also known as physical damage) consider a few things.

1. If your car is safe to drive and presentable would you get that small dent fixed?

2. Ask a body shop how much work $500 actually is?  Also ask about $1000.  Oh, by the way, the odds of your rate going up for a claim less than a $1000 are as good as over $1000.  Basically whatever you collect for the claim you’ll likely pay back over the next 3-5 years.

3. What your car is worth and what it is worth to you may be two different things?  Math doesn’t lie.

Just some quick thoughts.  Unfortunately the philosophy behind Gecio may be getting more of a life with some of the new “quoting” companies.

Just some thoughts.  Use if you want.

 

05.05.13
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Keeping the circle going

How many people do you spend money with that spend money with you?

How often do you CHOOSE to spend locally when an Internet or national chain option are available?

Now I am by no means perfect but I take the fact that I am a local business very seriously.  I have a massive amount of gratitude for those people that choose to spend money with me and therefore enhance the lives of my family.  So what else can I do?  Well for me it comes down to a couple of basic things;

  • If you have resources why wouldn’t you share them?
  • I can make my “network” stronger by introducing the various members than I can by making it bigger just to be bigger. BTW if your network is stronger so will be your business, your relationships and your bank account.
  • maxing out the effectiveness of my dollars and time
  • Because you never know

Now I really try not to over think it, not much different than “What does your agent do for you” .  It took a while to develop but once it does it is just so easy and feels really good so why not *it is really good for business as well*  Here are two things I did this week;

Months ago, a good client introduced me to a new client of hers(see it is easy and good for everyone).  Fortunately they trusted me to set up some insurance for their new business.  This week their company, Georgie Porgie went live!  So you could find out and do nothing or you can give them 10 minutes and post their link on your Facebook and Twitter and buy something from them.  Not a lot of effort but compound that and the results can be massive. Seriously Why Wouldn’t you do this? They chose to spend money with you, they are nice people, they are local, etc.  What else do you need?  By the way, the person that made the intro is a friend and is really good at what she does, yes I make introductions of friends to her whenever possible.  Easy, right?

Another instance, same idea; I was having a contractor do some work at a little rental my family owns.  Yes, I happen to provide his insurance so again; why wouldn’t you spend money with the people that spend money with you?  He is also really good.  So he was coming over so I was going to be home anyhow, figured I would call on an HVAC/Plumber I also insure.  Now it gets good.

How do you maximize what your dollars can do?

Well I was having my pipes cleaned out anyhow and I was having some work done at the rental anyhow(they are across the street) so I figured let’s try and max this out.  I like them both, I trust them both and they both spend money with me so why not introduce them to each other?  Now two skilled tradesman who never new each other  know each other, my tub drains way better 🙂 and some windows have molding.  Not bad.  What happens now is up to them.

How many opportunities like this can you create for your customers?

Start from a genuine place of wanting to share, apply some effort and watch what happens.  Why not?

Again, just some thoughts.  Do with them what you want?

 

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.