Customer Contact Using The 20/60/20 Rule

by Paige Proctor

Effective customer contact in Personal Lines and small Commercial Lines always presents a dilemma. You know you should make reasonably frequent contact, but account size and time often dictate otherwise. Using the 20/60/20 rule, you can design a customer-contact program that's effective with your customers and eliminates the guilt you have about not contacting them frequently enough.

The 20/60/20 rule is based on the assumption that 20% of your clients in Personal Lines and small Commercial Lines are your top clients. As a general rule, they're paying you more commission and therefore deserve more attention.

The middle category of 60% of your customers can be contacted less frequently, based on cost. Perhaps a contact every two to three years is adequate for these customers.

The bottom 20% of your customer base migh tneed very little contact. These customers are usually small and less active, and you probably don't want to develop their accounts. Whether to contact this group depends on time constraints.

What should you do for your top 20%? Our plan puts them through a Protection Review process. You can personalize the process by sending them a postcard or e-mail like the one shown at the bottom of this article. When they respond  by calling your office, one of your CSRs will use a Homeowners, Auto, or small-business checklist to ask a series of questions about their current policies and to determine whether there are any opportunities for account development.

The middle 60% of your customers will be mailed the same survey form you used on the telephone, except that it will arrive with a  cover letter from your agency asking them to fill out the survey form and return it to the agency. Be sure to enclose a postage-paid return envelope to encourage their response.

When you receive a survey form indicating a matter that needs attention, act promptly to make additions or corrections to the customer's insurance program, and to do account development.

For the 20% and the 60% groups, make a second follow-up if they don't respond. Design another postcard or e-mail to remind them that they owe you a phone call or survey form. If you get no response from the customer, document your files. This provides excellent E&O protection against any customer who hauls you into court if a noninsured event happens to them.

Keep in mind that you're providing a valuable insurance review. You've earned the right to ask account-development questions. What more can your customers ask than for good service and a desire on your part to do more business with them?

I can't think of a simpler, more effective system for providing good customer service in these times, when so few people are at home during the day. (Even when they are at home, you usually get an answering machine.) Your small Commercial Lines customers are running as fast as they can to operate their own businesses, so they'd just as soon complete a survey form at their convenience as talk to you at a busy time.

I've been reviewing your coverages and have some questions.

Please call  or e-mail me at your earliest convenience. I'm here from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m.,

Monday through Friday. 

Jenny Andrews

ABC Insurance Agency

111 Main Street

Anytown, USA 99999

Telephone Number: (123) 456-7890

E-Mail: [email protected]