Marketing Property Casualty Insurance

When a marketing rep comes into your office or someone from the management team and tells you to, 'Sell the value', how often do you find yourself rolling your eyes? As a former agency owner and now a consultant, I often find myself spouting the same slogan. Why? Because, I have done it and done it quite successfully. Whenever a rep came into my office and told me to sell the value of carrier X, I would think that's something an expensive company would say or an overpriced company, because what else could they say?We've officially entered a hard market cycle in California on the personal lines side, which is strange to even say. The market has tightened up and many carriers are non-renewing or reducing underwriting appetite to not take on a lot of new business in California. This is why I started writing in 2014 and again in 2017, 2018 and 2019. In my estimation our industry is going to see a massive shift over the next 3 or 4 years. A shift from judgement underwriting to block chain and data underwriting. Artificial intelligence has already been underwriting, selling and handling claims for smaller insure-tech companies for the past 4 years. This is a prevalent trend in our industry. But, why?Why? Because, we have shifted our focus from selling peace of mind to selling a price. Why? Because, we have put more value on talking about premium, payments and price, than having hard conversations about protecting assets and families. We have shifted hard on price, and almost every insurance company has followed suit in their marketing efforts. Almost exclusively every billboard, social media ad and print ad espouses X insurance carrier savings you up to 25-43% on your insurance per year. The conversation has shifted in a way that will cannibalize our industry and wrongfully set expectations for consumers.A recent study by insurancequotes.com found that around 80% of consumers self-report in blind surveys that consumers shop or are prompted to shop based on price. This study is congruent with most studies down on consumer behaviour.

AgencyMaxx Marketing is considered one of the property and casualty industrys most comprehensive proactive financial services cross-selling programs. The independent distribution of financial services is shifting from the traditional life and annuity agent to the banks, wire houses, and property and casualty agencies. Property and casualty agencies that previously considered the cross-selling of financial services a luxury now realize the necessity and long-term survival value of proactive marketing. This book is a must read for any agency that wants to offer a comprehensive approach to risk mitigation.

The insurance industry has changed, consumers have changed, the competition has changed, communication has changed...BUT MOST INSURANCE AGENTS HAVE NOT! With mass marketing and over $1 BILLION dollars spent on advertising last year alone by a few of the biggest players in the insurance industry, there's not a day that goes by that your clients and prospects aren't bombarded with messages from your competitors. Unfortunately, most of those messages focus on "cheap insurance," "saving money" or depict the agent as "outdated and useless." Consumers are being taught that the only difference between insurance providers is PRICE and the entire industry is being commoditized by direct writers trying to push the retail agency force into extinction! Retail agents want to know how they can compete with the giants of advertising and mass marketing to keep their clients and grow their agencies. The unfortunate answer is that you simply can NOT compete in the price wars and mass marketing being done by the big industry advertisers. IF YOU TRY, YOU WILL LOSE! However, you CAN beat them by communicating with your clients and prospects in ways that the big companies cannot. You CAN use the new rules of communication and new methods to reach your clients and prospects that will set you apart as THE go-to insurance advisor in your area. Agents need to break away from the price wars and commoditization and start creating experiences and relationships with their clients that are impossible to replace. You're in a fight for your agency's life. Whether you realize it or not, change in the insurance industry is going to continue at a rapid pace over the coming years. The big discounters will continue to increase their advertising and banks and other large corporations will join in to try and make the retail agent as irrelevant as possible. Consumers will rely more on the internet and social media for their research and communication with insurance companies and agents. Only the strongest agents who find new ways to communicate their value and set themselves apart will survive. You can do more than just survive, you can thrive in the coming years by becoming a 21st Century agent and using 21st Century Communication tools with your clients and prospects. You can be known in your community as an insurance expert and a trusted advisor that people seek out and want to do business with. You can learn: 1. The 3 jobs of a 21st Century agent that are vital to your success 2. Strategic ways to bring new sales to your door without having to chase them 3. How to keep clients married to your agency for life 4. How to create top of mind awareness with clients and prospects 5. The seven questions that every prospect wants to know before choosing an agent 6. How to overcome price as an objection to doing business with you 7. The 6 new rules of communication and how to use them with clients and prospects 8. 7 tools of 21st Century Communication 9. The best way to use social media with clients and prospects 10. How to set up online and social media tools and manage them in a few minutes 11. How to make old-school communication techniques new and relevant again 12. The secret to getting clients to consistently refer prospects to your agency 13. How to attract client cross-sales instead of constantly having to chase them 14. The importance of touching your clients 24 times per year and how to do it 15. The importance of a communication calendar and the formula that makes it easy 16. How to create "social influence" 17. Two easy formulas for writing communication pieces that clients want to read 18. The two most important things to concentrate your time, effort and energy on No one is going to make you grow, make you improve or make you keep up with the consumers and the insurance industry. But if you don't, it's just a matter of time before you get left behind.

Everything you need to know about the business of insurance and risk management--a powerful tool for market research, strategic planning, competetive intelligence or employment searches. Contains trends, statistical tables and an industry glossary. Also provides profiles of more than 300 of the world's leading insurance companies--includes addresses, phone numbers, and executive names.

Cross-Marketing: Heres Your Wake up Call, follows the career of Marlin R. Bollinger, a successful company man gone independent, and departs the wisdom he gained along the way. The book reveals proven business and marketing strategies for both financial services agents and property casualty agents. Its direct approach encourages readers to first understand the financial services history and then to see its future potential. This book is the wakeup call for agents looking to build their agencies through cross-marketing diversification.