Four Ways Top Insurance Brokers Build Customer Loyalty

It’s not easy to be a top insurance broker. And, it’s not simply a matter of writing policies and waiting for the commissions to roll in. As anyone who’s spent any time in the industry will tell you, your job doesn’t end once the policy is issued. In fact, many might say that the real work begins once you’ve established your book of business.

The reality is—most people don’t want to deal with insurance. They know they have to have it, but making sense of all the options isn’t most people’s idea of a good time. And, once they make a choice, they expect things to go as promised. This means a hassle-free claims process, clear and timely communication, and the feeling they have a partner in their corner. In short, people don’t want to be abandoned by their broker.

Customers who feel supported by their insurance brokers are more loyal to them. A-G Administrators understands this. This is why we work diligently to be your trusted partner in providing the service your clients expect. Our best-in-class tools allow you to provide top-notch service to every client, letting you focus on increasing profits.

Top Insurance Broker Service = Loyalty

Marketing guru Neil Patel points out there are only three ways to increase your company profits:

• Increase how many customers you have
• Increase how many sales you make to each customer
• Increase the value of each sale.

When you first start in insurance sales, getting as many customers as possible is your priority. But, if your focus remains on new business, you’re only reaching about a third of your profit potential. And, given that the cost to acquire a new customer is five times as much as retaining an existing one, it’s easy to see why customer retention and loyalty are key to becoming a top broker.

How then, do you build loyalty among your customers when it seems like every year other insurance sales agents claim to offer better products at lower prices? The answer comes down to service.

What Customers Expect from Their Top Insurance Brokers

According to Capgemini and Efma’s World Insurance Report, 2020 (a detailed report on insurance industry trends) consumer behavior has changed when it comes to insurance. First, thanks to an abundance of online sources, customers are coming to insurance brokers armed with information. They expect brokers to provide service that aligns with—and enhances—their existing knowledge. Second, customers expect their brokers to leverage technology, making their interactions across all channels efficient.

And finally, agent-client relationships are shifting away from a transactional model. Customers expect brokers to provide more than a business service. They want a trusted advisor. Insurance is complex, and customers who aren’t sure what they need aren’t likely to be successful working on their own. The stakes are too high to make mistakes, and customers need a broker’s expertise.

If you can manage these expectations, then you can start to establish loyalty among your customers.

The Four Keys to Building Loyalty

It sounds simple: Meet customer expectations, and they will stay loyal to you. But what does it take to meet those expectations? How can you delight your customers so they keep coming back?

Ultimately, customer loyalty boils down to four keys to insurance customer service. These are:

• Transparency
• Communication
• Quick Claims Resolution
• Technology

1. Transparency

Transparency is the foundation of trust, and if your customers don’t trust you, they won’t be loyal. Transparency means setting the right expectations and guiding your customers toward understanding. All too often, insurance customers lose trust in their brokers and insurance companies when things don’t go as expected. They feel misled, and the broker bears the brunt of their dissatisfaction.

Setting the right expectations, and making it easy for your customers to understand their insurance coverage and the claims process—and giving them access to tools to make that process simple—keeps your customers coming back.

2. Communication

Even if you’re using digital tools to communicate with customers, they still want someone they can talk to when they have questions.

Making the shift from salesperson to trusted advisor requires frequent communication. You have to show your customers you know what you’re talking about, and stay in touch. Frequent, high-quality communication builds loyalty. After all, it’s hard to build a relationship when customers only hear from you when it’s time to renew their policy.

3. Quick Claims Resolution

No one wants to wait for claim approval and payment. Nor do they want to jump through hoops to make a claim or check on its status. Successful brokers make the claims process easy. They leverage tools and technology to streamline the claims process, making it easy to find information.

4. Technology

Top insurance brokers use technology to their advantage to please their policyholders. Insurance technology supports the other foundations of customer loyalty, helping you provide transparency, communication, and efficient claims processing all in one.

Brokers working with A-G Administrators have access to their proprietary tool, EGBAR. EGBAR officially stands for “Efficiency Generating Business Automating Resource,” but is more commonly referred to as “Everything’s Going to Be All Right.” EGBAR allows customers to find information about claims, risk, and coverage details in one easy-to-navigate place, helping you look like the hero.

Creating a loyal customer base as an independent agent starts with offering an exceptional product. A-G Administrators gives you a lead over the competition, allowing you to provide customized sports insurance solutions backed by exceptional after-the-sale support and service using proven technology. Learn more about our insurance technology and how you can put it to work expanding your base of loyal customers and become a top insurance agent.