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888-433-2254 www.inforcepro.- 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. 888-433-2254 www.inforcepro.com 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 888-433-2254 www.inforcepro.com 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. 888-433-2254 www.inforcepro.com 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. 888-433-2254 www.inforcepro.com