Reeling In Prospective Clients

While some insurance companies are overworked and worried about how they’re going to handle the claims management process for all of their many clients, others....well...others would be glad to have that kind of problem. If you’re one of the insurance companies that falls into the second group, meaning you don’t have nearly enough clients, don’t worry. There are things you can do to improve your situation. 

Hopefully, you’ve already got a good website and are using social media to attract potential customers. If you’re not, that’s step one! If you are, then perhaps you just need a way to “reel in” those prospective clients who visit your website or click on your ads.

One easy way is to offer a free service to your potential clients, such as a rate quote or some type of risk assessment. The trick, however, is to only provide that service if clients fill out an online or mail-in form with some basic information about themselves.

You can then use that information to follow up with potential clients and (hopefully) talk them into joining up with your insurance firm. The process can take a little work, but when you’ve got plenty of clients (and plenty of money coming in), it will be well worth it, so get to it!

Woman Finally Gets Insurance Claim

Most of the time, when you think of serious insurance disputes, you probably think of high-dollar commercial insurance claims, which often end with the plaintiff and defendant fighting to tell their sides of the story in a court of law. 

Fortunately, things didn’t go quite that far for a Euclid, Ohio woman, but they did come close. The woman, who claims her home was broken into and that her plumbing system was stolen, filed a claim for over $5,000 with her insurance company. When the company only sent her $361, she took her story to a local news

channel, causing her insurance provider to quickly cave and give her the money owed.

While the woman may have escaped a negative experience, the insurance company in question hasn’t. Even though it eventually paid up, the fact that any of the story has leaked makes that particular company look bad, untrustworthy, and worst of all, dishonest

Don’t get that kind of reputation. Always hire an experienced professional to handle claims for you, and you can’t go wrong.

Related articles

• Euclid woman fights for bigger insurance check (newsnet5.com)

Get Noticed as a Professional Insurance Adjuster

There’s one important rule of marketing that you absolutely need to know and believe: you can’t be a successful professional insurance adjuster firm if no one knows you exist! That might seem a little harsh, but it’s true. Insurance companies rely on their customers, and if the customers aren’t coming, then you could find yourself without a job. Fortunately, however, that doesn’t have to happen.  

To start attracting the right kind of attention, take a close look at your website. Is it littered with obvious keywords, testimonials masquerading as reviews, or other advertising gimmicks? If so, you can rest assured that it’s not sending the right message to potential clients. The best sites are truly informative and useful. Provide helpful insurance articles, tips lists, or other info to your clients. It will show that you truly care them and will make them more likely to continue doing business with you.

Also, make sure you have some kind of a presence on the major social media sites, like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Interact with contacts regularly, and just strive to be a positive reflection and representative of your business. If you do these things, you can’t go wrong, and you might just attract some brand new attention.

Insurance Costs High for Coastal Residents

Anyone who lives along the coast- think people in states like Florida or New Jersey- knows that insurance premiums for people in these areas can often be on the high side. That makes sense, however because hurricanes, to which coastal areas are quite prone, can do some serious damage. 

However, there are people who feel that these increased costs are a little too increased and who are fighting back against high premiums. Take a homeowner’s group in Alabama known as the Homeowners Hurricane Insurance Initiative, for example. It recently got a law, known as the Clarity Act, passed in its state. The law requires all insurance companies to report losses by zip code. That way, the group and, hopefully, future lawmakers can make accurate analyses of whether or not those high insurance premiums are really warranted.

It’s fairly likely that similar groups in other coastal states will form, following in this Alabama group’s footsteps. If one formed in your area, how would it feel about how your company handles property insurance claims or about the cost of your premiums?

If you don’t think such a group would be too happy with your practices, it may be time to do a little reassessing to make sure that you’re operating a business that is as fair and as reasonably priced as possible. After all, those qualities are what will truly win clients over in the end.

Related articles

• 7 insurance tips to deal with Sandy (boston.com)

Captive or Independent

If you’re just starting out in the insurance industry, you might be a little confused by all the new terminology being thrown your way. The truth is that, as an insurance provider, you have a lot of options in terms of how you do business, and thus, a lot of choices you need to make.  

One of the most important of those choices is whether you intend to be a captive insurance agent or an independent insurance adjuster or agent. A “captive” agency is an insurance agency that represents only the insurance products of one particular company or one particular line of products, while independent insurance agencies can represent insurance products from a wide range of different providers.

There is really no right or wrong choice. You can do whatever feel likes the right thing for you and your goals. Also consider that captive agencies tend to provide more benefits to their employees while independent insurance agencies are all about giving their workers freedom and providing payment when the agents do good things with that freedom.

Research these options further to come to the best decision for yourself. The sooner you make your choice, the sooner you can get in the insurance game and start making some money!

Related articles

• Why Choose an Independent Insurance Agent? (agenttedc.wordpress.com)

No Double Duty Allowed

The Texas Department of Insurance must have had some problems with less-than-scrupulous insurance adjusters lately. That’s the only thing that can really explain the recent “reminder” issued by the department. The department reiterated its longstanding policy that those who work as both insurance adjusters and roofers cannot act as both roofer and adjuster for the same property.  

That rule, designed to protect homeowners and the insurance company alike, is a fairly common one. Whether a person is a catastrophe claims adjuster or any other kind of adjuster, it’s just not fair for him or her to do “doubly duty.” Conflicts of interest can occur, and someone, whether it be the insurance company or the policyholder, could end up with the short end of the stick.

This rule is common in most states and should always be abided by to avoid trouble. If it holds true in your state, it might be a good time to remind your dual workers, if you have them, of this policy. After all, it’s better to be safe than sorry when your reputation and your right to do business is on the line.

Related articles

• Texas Insurance Regulators Remind Roofers, Adjusters: You Can't Do Both (insurancejournal.com)

Using Social Media

Social Media Phobias (Photo credit: Intersection Consulting)

 As a provider of property and casual insurance, you probably don’t want your property claims adjuster or other staff blabbing sensitive information all over Facebook and other forms of social media. That doesn’t mean, however, that you shouldn’t be utilizing social media to help your business. There’s a right way and a wrong way to use social media, and using it the right way might just help your business to prosper.

For instance, you could set up a Facebook page or a Twitter account for your company. That way, you could communicate with clients and prospective clients, answer questions, and read feedback that could help you to better your business. Many people are scared of allowing honest feedback on social media pages, but you control what the general public can see on your page!

Social media is, or, at least should be, a way for you to connect with clients and potential clients, to build strong relationships, and to build a positive reputation for your insurance business. Take advantage of it!

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• Insurance Vultures and the Internet of Things (thebaffler.com)

Helping Your Clients Survive Storm Season

Insurance (Photo credit: Christopher S. Penn)

New York, Connecticut, and the surrounding states are currently gearing up for what is known as the “Atlantic storm season.” This season, the insurance commissioner of Connecticut decided to help get people prepared for the storm season by releasing a series of tips.

These tips, which you may want to consider sharing with your customers, include:

l  Reassessing storm-related coverage to make sure coverage amounts are adequate and all needs are being met

l  Taking an inventory of current possessions/items of value

l  Buying a waterproof box for housing insurance policy/contact information

l  Determining whether flood insurance is also needed

Remember, when you increase your client’s chances of getting through storm season safely, you also keep your insurance adjuster from having to run himself or herself quite so ragged with claims. So, share these tips and others with current clients and former clients alike; the old ones might just come back for your brand of help!

Related articles

• Insurance Commissioner Has Tips For Atlantic Storm Season (connecticut.cbslocal.com)