FREE Insurance Sales & Marketing IDEAS » QUESTION #9
From the Q&A Column in Agency Ideas® newsletter

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Our town has just lost a major local employer?  We want to help our insureds to overcome this dramatic loss to our community -- and to survive ourselves.  Any ideas?

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Plant and military base closings are traumatic.  It’s laudable that you want to ease the pain in your community. Handled right, you can help out and generate some great publicity. But, make sure that you act quickly. Otherwise, it can appear that you’re taking advantage of the fact that people, employed or not, must still insure their homes and cars. Don’t wait for unhappy insureds, with time on their hands, to contact you about reducing premiums. Put into play some of the actions listed below, as part of a yearlong campaign to help insureds and your image. The publicity you can earn by sending out press releases (and by word-of-mouth) may help to bring in new sales to off- set lost revenue caused by the closing.

Resumes.  Make desk space available in your office (or rent an empty storefront) for laid-off insureds to use to prepare job resumes and set up interviews. Stock it with a few old PCs, local phone, copier, and fax. It’ll really help people and generate publicity.

Rewrite and discount.  Arrange to sponsor a Defensive Driving course for insureds and other locals. Attendees will earn a 10% auto policy credit for three years and have citation points removed from their license. Also, whenever possible ... rewrite from high priced carriers to those with lower rates ... shift standard-tier renewals to preferred contracts ... move children to their own policies to cut premiums ... and apply all relevant discounts to renewals.

Increase deductibles. This can help insureds to lower premiums up to 20%. It will also help limit claims for small losses, which in better times, might be overlooked.

Lower high liability limits. Replace especially high policy limits with an Umbrella Policy -- if it can save money for an insured.

Lower protection. This should be your last resort, but certain insureds will insist upon it. Ask each client who wishes to reduce protection to sign a release (prepared by your attorney). Be sure your staff handles this uncomfortable transaction in a professional and understanding manner.

Replace lost job benefits like group health, life, and accident insurance with individual contracts. Also, look into the possibility of forming your own "group" in partnership with a local organization.

Ask each of your carriers to waive installment charges for a year (if it’s allowed) for agency clients who have been with the insurer for at least three years.