How to deliver the best customer service when insurance is not top of mind for your customer

Rita had been with her previous insurer for 15 years. During that time, she continued to renew her policy year after year and the conversation about her coverage didn’t extend much further than that. Everything changed when she went out to buy a new car. All of a sudden, she was new on the market and essentially a first time buyer again.This challenge prompted her to search for solutions and she contacted several brokers for quotes on auto insurance. She also contacted The Shepherd Group after her brother, a current TSG customer, urged her to try his broker. Despite her initial skepticism, Rita phoned us from the dealership lot as she was shopping for her new car.Without a firm decision in hand yet, Rita asked us for a quick quote so she could continue shopping and we were happy to assist her. As she deliberated which car to get, Rita mentioned she was also looking for home insurance and said she would be willing to discuss this with TSG.The following week once she had bought the car, she instructed us to source a quote for both home and auto coverage.As it turned out, our auto quote was competitive in terms of price, but the home policy was higher than what other brokers had quoted. In part this was because we had added overland water damage and sewer backup coverage to Rita’s policy. These coverages are crucial for homeowners today as water damage has become the number one source of claims.Water is the new fire, so to speak.Therefore we duly communicated the importance of having this coverage to Rita and met halfway to offer better value on the home insurance. Even though the rate was still slightly higher than what the others had offered, Rita decided to set up her policy with TSG.Being in sales herself, she was very well positioned to appreciate TSG’s dedication to informing her and following up. From personal experience, Rita knows how hard she must work in sales to satisfy customers, and that if you really want to get something done, you’re going to follow up. She based her decision to move her business to TSG in part on our ability and willingness to follow up which was well worth the extra cost.As a former business owner, Rita knows all about the value of customer service which helped forge a connection between her and TSG in that we both have access to each other’s worlds.You could say it’s a match made in heaven. Rita told us that we answered her questions more thoroughly than the other brokers and that we communicated more effectively.The trick was getting in communication, even as Rita’s busy schedule kept her from answering the phone. But we didn’t take voicemail for an answer and kept at it until we reached her. Because she’s been with one insurer for 15 years, it’s a bit of a revelation for her to be on the market again.In her world, she’s a first time driver again because she’s buying a new car. And there’s nothing like an experienced advisor guiding you. TSG’s putting her in the know and following up to answer all questions made a big difference.Serving Rita also helped us reflect on our identity and the way we do business. We realized that we should not put boxes around customers or assume they are familiar with insurance just because they’ve had it for years.Instead, we should treat them like a brand new customer by going through all their policy details and any other relevant information with them. Because insurance is intangible, it’s very important to explain what they’re getting.Does this sound like the kind of service you’re getting from your broker? Comment below or tweet us @TheShepherdGroup