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... Although consumers can benefit from this trend, it's important that all state and federal regulators be involved in this process. The ultimate goal, after all, is to protect consumers while creating a marketplace environment that allows agents, companies, and insureds to benefit from insurance transactions. Why partner in the first place? Because of their contacts with private and business clients, banks often are involved with their customers at the point at which insurance decisions are required. This provides banks with the opportunity to be at the right place at the right time for selling P/C insurance. Executives at both Travelers and Citicorp were very aware of this fact when they decided to unite. They recognized an excellent opportunity to expand revenues by taking advantage of the best both markets have to offer. In the end ... . The U.S. Supreme Court's Barnett Bank decision in 1996, however, changed all that. Even the independent agent associations no longer oppose the involvement of banks in the insurance process. Several independent agents I've spoken to recently see a business relationship with a bank as positive. This is especially true in small towns where the local bank concept still exists. An example is a recent relationship established between Van Den Huevel & Fountain Agency, a full-service independent insurance agency, and the National Bank of Sussex County, both located in Branchville, NJ. When deciding to develop a relationship with a local bank, Van Den Huevel & Fountain looked for a bank with the same culture and attention to detail they had always maintained. The agency's success to date is hard to measure because of the briefness of ...

... our client's need, it is imperative that we not only meet their service expectations but exceed them. So doing will build the agent/client relationship and help insure client retention. Two Approaches Two schools of thought exist on how an agency should handle claims, and both have advantages. The agency must decide which way is best for its needs and build processes that will enhance the quality of their customer claims service. Agency Claims Department: Some agencies have a person or persons who do nothing but handle claims. This can work very well as these people learn the claims procedures followed by various insurance companies. The downside is that customers are passed on to someone other than their agent. The more people a client must deal with, the greater the chance for customer dissatisfaction. This person is ... x No Thanks Loading.. Agency Claims Procedures: A Time To Shine 5/21/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Lois Van Horn This content has not been rated yet. Insurance agents sell clients a promise-an intangible product. It is nothing they can hold or enjoy and probably what someone told them they ought to have. It's an idea: peace of mind. They depend on their policy to take care of them if anything bad ever happens. Then something unpleasant happens, and clients call, knowing or hoping they have coverage. They might be upset or even angry about what has just happened. Great Expectations I finally get to USE my insurance, ' they say. And heaven only knows what the clients expect from us and from the coverage they've purchased. Perhaps they've been watching ...

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... pages and pick a name. You may have singled out someone who would rave at your homeowners rates. Do the same thing in the yellow pages and you may have identified a contractor who would find your fleet coverage to be a perfect fit. In either case, you could just be a few touch-tones away from a new client. Of course, you could also be targeting someone else's satisfied customers who would praise their agents, laud their coverage, defend their rates, and bid you a good day-or just as likely, hang up in a huff. The trick is, obviously, to abandon random selection and somehow separate the likely prospect from the loyal policyholder-before you dial. As more and more insurance professionals are discovering a well-planned telemarketing effort can greatly increase and agent's chances of getting an ... party on the other end of the line and ultimately produce a significant number of new accounts. As a result, the telephone has moved to the center of sales strategies in insurance agencies throughout the country. Exact growth statistics for insurance telemarketing are currently unavailable, according to Lee Van Vechten, the Freehold, N.J., publisher of The Van Vechten Report, a telemarketing management resource. However, says Van Vechten, recent studies of the attitudes and expansion plans of managers in a broad range of industries show that telemarketing in general is growing by leaps and bounds. WHY TELEMARKETING? A number of factors account for telemarketing's recent surge in popularity within the insurance industry. Economic trends, for example, have made many independent agents more marketing-oriented. The recent hard market in this area forced agents to look ...

... the phone and finds out you are a salesman, he is anticipating the moment when you will ask him to part with his money. This creates call tension. Identifying yourself clearly and getting to the point will help, but superb listening and communication skills also are required to ease the tension. Listening takes practice-listen to successful salespeople, and have them listen to you. 6. Thou shalt allow the customer to do some of the work. The best salespeople say the least, yet do the most by getting the prospect involved in his own education. By asking very focused questions, they allow the customer to do most of the talking, which reveals his interest and/or objections. 7. Thou shalt ask for the order. Nine out of 10 telemarketers are afraid to close, and ... reach. Cultivate your support staff. Let your hardware and software handle repetitive tasks. 10. Thou shalt follow through. You are fully responsible for all communication with your customers. Call regularly. Call when you say you will call. Write when you say you will write. Send thank-you cards to customers. Ask for referrals. Handle problems now. Source: Outbound Resources, Inc., Van Nuys, CA. Login or Register (for FREE) to gain access to thousands of other great articles. Need more reasons to join? Need insurance for you, your business or your family? Get quality appointments - Save yourself a whole lot of time & money when you use our directory of carriers, wholesalers and service providers. Negotiate lucrative contracts with carriers and wholesalers. Net result ...

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...p or a van, does it contain any customized equipment? ...

... business commissions, Cunningham says. Jack Kwicien, senior vice president, personal insurance marketing for The Maryland Insurance Group, asserts that in order to achieve a decent profit margin in Personal Lines, there must be $125,000 in commission revenue per employee. Eidson adds, "When you want someone who does everything you have to have highly organized people." CSRs must be "adaptable, customer focused, career oriented, and willing to work in a completely automated environment," says Cunningham. 4. WRITE IT DOWN Put your sales strategies on paper. How will you assist your producers with warm leads? Where will the new sales come from? The plan should list the specific tactics you'll take to complete your mission: e.g., the number of new referrals and contacts needed ... x No Thanks Loading.. How To Build Your Personal Lines Book - Part I 5/21/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Peter Van Aartrijk 1 Verified Reviews - 5 of 5.0 1 2 3 4 5 Personal Lines competition continues to intensify, as more and more players enter the marketplace. However, independent agents can fight back — if they're willing to make some fundamental changes in the way they do business. In this two-part document, Peter van Aartrijk presents 17 ways to help you build your Personal Lines book. If implementing all of them seems impossible, try three or four. But make a commitment, and go for it. [Note: Because this article was originally published in 1993, names, positions, and employers might not be current; but the information is as ...

... your long-distance phone company for ways to decrease your vulnerability. The phone company may have informational materials for your staff. 7. Educate your employees, starting with your switchboard operator. He or she shouldn't transfer incoming calls to an outside operator. Outside producers should make sure no one is listening or watching when they read or key in their calling-card number. Phone companies say they will never call a customer for verification of a personal identification number (PIN), so employees shouldn't give it out to any caller. 8. Consider insurance. Yes, even insurance agencies may need coverage for toll fraud. If you have a PBX system: 9. Conduct a monthly security audit on your PBX system. Check authorization codes. 10. Consider buying a PBX protection package. It can help you ... x No Thanks Loading.. 10 Ways To Fight Telephone Fraud 5/21/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Peter Van Aartrijk 3 Verified Reviews - 5 of 5.0 1 2 3 4 5 Telephone industry analysts estimate that telephone fraud in the United States costs businesses and residences as much as $4 billion per year. Whether you're installing a new phone system or just want to take full advantage of your present system, you should protect your agency from costly phone fraud. While computer hackers may break into telephone systems for thrills, other criminals make a living at it. These lawbreakers often sell their services to retailers' who offer stolen phone-access numbers to drug traffickers or illegal immigrants. This underground service can translate into expensive calls to far-off destinations in a brief time. The major long-distance carriers all ...