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Policy Review in a Call Center Environment:
Using Service to Sell on Concepts and Value
with InforcePRO®
This is a true story from an insurance distributor’s direct marketing channel. The names have
been changed.
A policyholder with a $75,000 term policy
called in to change his address. We’ll call
him Jack. He was connected to an agent,
Sam, who was on the “Policy Review”
Team, a group of 15 individuals who took
and made a combination of in and outbound calls.
During the conversation, Sam unearthed
that Jack had bought a second home and was now splitting his time between Wisconsin
and Utah. He was spending much of his time golfing. The rep congratulated Jack on his
successful retirement and spent some time discussing their shared interest in golf. Their
relationship and rapport was excellent from the start, and Sam had the opportunity to
expand the purpose of the call from a simple address change to a full policy and coverage review. Unfortunately, this case takes place before Sam’s firm implemented InforcePRO so the tools to get the sale were not in place.
The Conversation
Sam instinctively probed for the rationale
between Jack’s net worth (having two
homes) and his having only $75,000 of term
life coverage. He asked whether Jack had
any insurance elsewhere and Jack said that
he did not. Sam then asked why Jack
bought the policy he had. Jack said it was
really rather simple, how he thought about
insurance: “I had a 10 year before, and it ran
out, so I had to get another 10 year”, and
that was that. There was no more consideration put into it, so it was Sam’s
job to help him think about it more thoroughly.
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Jack was 76 when he bought his last “10 year”
and that was three years ago. Sam proceeded
to take the opportunity to remind Jack about
his options (using his CRM data); he told him
about a valuable rider that they had put in
place which would cover his premiums should
he obtain a terminal illness; and he told him
about his ability to convert his policy rather
than having the policy lapse at age 86. That
option was appealing to Jack immediately.
When Jack asked, “When is that option over,
and how much would that cost?” it was a great
buying signal for Sam.
However, Sam didn’t have the material in front of him to answer that simple question.
Instead he provided the diplomatic answer that it would ‘depend’ on when he did it, how
much he did, and what the rates were at the time.
Jack’s interest started dimming very quickly under the weight of the vague answer provided to him because it’s human nature to be wary of vague answers from a sales rep,
especially pertaining to cost. Jack took control – “Well I might like to discuss it if you call
me back in a couple of years". The conversation ended cordially but both parties lost.
We can imagine an alternative scenario in which Sam had the InforcePRO® “Cost of Waiting” report accessible with just one click based on
Jack’s policy number.
He could have searched for Jack’s
Policy Review and instantly been
presented with the Needs Review as
well as a list of options and costs according to his specific contract, regardless of when it was sold. He
may have been able to make the
sale on the spot. For instance, the
Cost of Waiting would let him explain specifically what costs Jack would incur with each
year (or, depending on his date of birth, each day) that he delayed converting. He could
have even emailed Jack that report with one click to provide the power of visualization
while they spoke.
The report would have also shown Sam that Jack was very healthy for someone in his
late 70’s – he had been rated Preferred Best just 3 years prior. Jack would likely have
been very confident in his chances of longevity but his policy would only take him to 86.
Had Sam had the Needs Review, the Cost of Waiting, instant comparable quotes and
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illustrations based on the allowable conversion rating, and other pertinent information
from a comprehensive policy review report in front of him, he would not have been
guaranteed to, but would have had a much greater likelihood of, protecting Jack’s wife
permanently, and perhaps at a more appropriate level, while generating new
revenue and a longer customer relationship.
The Results?
With InforcePRO, 30 agents were
monitored for 3 months. Their term to
permanent conversion rate increased
to 27%. We do not know the conversion rate of this particular group of
agents prior to the use of the system, but
LIMRA tells us that only 2% of term policies are converted as a whole,
meaning the uptake was as much as 10x.
The average agent generated $5,250 in new new premium per month with a cost per
lead of $3 from the use of the software. It’s important to keep in mind that they spent an
average of 1 hour per day engaged with the system, meaning it was not their full time
role. A rep fully focused on the system multiplies those results. Focusing exclusively on
policy review as a dedicated resource can exponentially increase those results, both
because the agent generates pattern recognition and selling ability around it, and because he is focused. Even in a part time role, the system generated a 23x return on investment.
Sam did an excellent job with the information that he had, so it is important that we think
about the tools that he needs to do a better job. Often times, agents and agencies, and
carriers for that matter, are like an army fighting on the front lines with bows and arrows,
while someone behind them whispers about a new tool, but they yell “we’re too busy
fighting!” At InforcePRO we obviously believe very strongly in the power of software to
transform how policies are serviced. With a low start up cost and rapid set up, users are
up and running quickly with full-featured implementation, ideal for the fast paced work
environment of a call center.
Had Sam had the dynamic InforcePRO Needs Review pulled up, there could have been
some pointed questions added around why he got that amount of coverage, how long it
would last for his wife should something happen to him, whether his wife would have to
sell one or both houses to keep up with the bills, and whether he felt he should adjust it
for inflation since it was also $75,000 two terms ago (13 years ago). That ‘decision tree’
is critical to getting Jack thinking about his coverage.
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What is InforcePRO?
Monitoring post issue business means InforcePRO has to access your downline in-force
data. Rather than relying on an agency management system, which is static and may
have lapsed and out of date policy information (if any at all), InforcePRO connects directly to the top 16 carriers based on your codes and authorization. InforcePRO has pioneered the development of technology which works with carriers to download in-force
data. Alerting your team to policy issues or dates is critical to not leaving policyholders
in the dark. But what next? The old school approach would be to identify a policy to be
reviewed (but how?) then call the carrier with a policy number to get an in-force illustration or, on term, determine whether it's convertible, at what health status, and to what
products. InforcePRO provides such detail with one click. Ideal for the faced paced environment of a call center.
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