fbpx

Agency Performance Partners

Banner

Finding Opportunity At Every Location: Community Insurance AppX Retention Results

Posted on November 26, 2018 by Kelly Donahue Piro

Overview:

As an independent insurance agency, Community Insurance’s goal is to assist clients in all their insurance needs. They are a Wisconsin based agency with four locations and roughly a dozen employees, specializing in numerous forms of commercial and personal insurance. Because Community Insurance is an independent agency of thirteen people, the team is able to offer their clients the advantage of having policy service from the same person they bought the product from, as well as easily switching from company to company without hassle.

Locations:

Community Insurance has four convenient locations in Wisconsin: Amherst, Iola, Stevens Point and Waucapa

Names of Owners and AppX Retention Leaders:

                  Dale Bestul                                 Melissa Blenker     

Participants in the Program

Community Insurance has eleven agents who participated in the AppX Retention program.

Types of Insurance Sold

In the commercial sector, Community Insurance provides and services policies relating to business, bonds, workers’ compensation, contractors insurance, commercial auto, commercial trucking, risk management, general liability, restaurant and umbrella insurance. In the personal sector, they handle automobile, motorcycle, collector car, recreational vehicle, boat & watercraft, homeowners, condominium, renters, specialty dwelling, flood, life and umbrella insurance.

Reasons They Invested in the AppX Retention Program

  • The agency had lagging retention rates as they acquired several books of business over the past years
  • The team felt consistently overwhelmed with remarketing and inbound client work
  • Generation of new policies and increases in coverage from the current book of business was not optimized for results
  • Overall they wanted to provide a WOW Experience for their clients!

About the AppX Retention Program

Employing AppX Retention training for your team has been proven to increase client retention, account rounds and remarketing numbers. This six-month program will encourage everyone to be on the same page with being proactive in calling clients annually to review their accounts. It will also train agents to ensure thorough documentation and work to increase referrals and account coverage, all while boosting retention and decreasing workload. These training workshops and bi-weekly calls will teach your team to be in better control of client communication and reduce the number of re-shops, inbound calls, complaints and questions. Additionally, annual client calls personalize the insurance relationship, fostering trust and loyalty. Let AppX Retention show you the difference a great retention rate makes to your overall business. 

AppX Retention includes the following:

  • Training
    • Two Onsite Training Days
    • Designed Content
    • Interactive Session
  • Tracking
    • Bi-Weekly Tracking
  • Tools
    • Scripts
    • Role-playing
    • Worksheets
  • Coaching
    • Bi-Weekly Coaching Calls
    • Workbook
    • Plan of Attack

Community Insurance’s Results for the AppX Retention Program

The team at Community Insurance did a remarkable job at boosting their number of increases, roundouts and remarkets. Perhaps more importantly than the numbers themselves, AppX Retention helped the team put a system in place to keep track of calls and results, so the team knows the areas where they are succeeding and where they can keep improving

The Important Stuff! Team Feedback

Initial Responses:

Two-thirds of the agents were understandably apprehensive about the new process, and didn’t think they would have time to incorporate the new process into their routine. Beginning a whole new procedure can be nerve-wracking! It is normal to be a bit anxious about how time-consuming a whole new way of doing things will be. One-third of the agents thought that using the AppX Retention process would lead to more remarketing activity and were excited to try a new process that could improve the insurance experience for clients. You will see below that this optimism about improved numbers and a better client experience, after a few weeks, was shared by the majority of the agents.

How They Felt a Few Weeks Later:

After fully launching the account review/renewal process for a few weeks, every person who responded was finding more account rounding and increased coverage opportunities. Not one person didn’t see the advantage of the AppX Retention method! Also, 83% of agents thought that they were providing better service to the customers. It also turned out that 83% thought that the updates in contact information resulting from the renewal calls would save time in the long run. Half of the people who thought in the beginning that they wouldn’t have time for the new process felt that it got easier, and they could manage to find the time.

  • 100% of respondents found more account rounding and increased coverage opportunities

  • One agent said it was “very well received by the clients.”

  • Another agent said that they “talked to people we never talked to before.”

What Was the Hardest Part?

As it usually is with starting any new work procedure, the team encountered some difficulties. Forty percent of respondents thought that the hardest part of the new process was knowing what to say to the insureds, not wanting to scare or confuse them. Some were also concerned that the insureds would think the call was merely a strategy to get them to buy more insurance. For 60% of respondents, finding the time for the new process was the hardest part. As stated above, however, some thought it did get easier once they had been practicing for a few weeks.

The team of agents at Community Insurance recognized the great benefits of AppX Retention for themselves as well as their customers. The customers began to have a better understanding of their coverage and were reassured that their agent was looking out for their best interest and making sure they had the best coverage. The team saw their numbers improve drastically. Retention, roundouts, premiums, referrals and growing the book were all noted by agents to be boosted by using AppX Retention. The team gained confidence and said that having the same goals and defined process gave them the sense that they were in sync and better able to collaborate. Using the AppX Retention system was a win-win-win!

  • “I’m more confident discussing the value of the coverage we’re providing.”
  • “They have reassurance that we are looking out for the best interest by reviewing their coverages and property. They have a better understanding about what they’re paying for.”
  • “Stronger relationship with our clients.”
  • “Great time to share ideas and cheer each other on.”

Recommendations to Other Agents Starting the Program:

The three main pieces of advice that the Community Insurance agents provided for anyone starting the program were:

  • prepare before making calls;  
  • not assume beforehand which clients will agree to increased coverage; and
  • Let the customer direct the conversation.

While the agents recommended being prepared before client calls, they also advised keeping an open mind. It’s better to let the client direct the conversation, so you can pick up on what is important to them. Don’t go into a call figuring the chance you’ll increase coverage is low. It may be that the clients you never thought would agree to increased coverage are more receptive while ones you thought would be easy are more difficult.

“I always work the retention sheet and look at what that one or few increases would be…I do a ‘what-if quote’ so I know how much it is going to cost before I call. Sometimes knowing that before instead of having to follow up with afterwards is the difference of that customer agreeing to that increase or not. Because usually it’s not that expensive.”

“Sometimes the people I never expected to accept a recommendation to increase coverage were extremely receptive while others I thought for sure would be easy to convince were not.”

“Keep it simple. Listen and let the customer direct the conversation. Take time to pick up on what is important to them.”

Working with the AppX Team:

The agents at Community Insurance enjoyed working the AppX Retention team. They found the training materials and videos useful, and saw marked improvement in retention, roundout and remarket numbers. They built better relationships with their clients, and working with the new process fostered better organization and camaraderie with the team.

  • “It’s been fun and morale-building.”
  • “It’s so nice to have a cohesive plan that we all follow so we’re all on the same page!”

    Book a Time To Learn More