Carrier Reps - Most Worthless Humans on Earth - CUTTING THEM OFF

[BlockO]

That 30 minutes is what I get w/ my daughter before she goes to bed when I get home after a long day.

I respect that and totally understand that. Believe me! I understand the juggling hours part of it. My wife had a major stroke three years ago, and I'm really a part time agent/ part time caregiver. the only thing that still allows me to sell insurance is that I work at home. Time is valuable!

but reps only account for about 3 or 4 hours of your time per year. to me it's worth it.

 

[insurance1822]

OK then can you guys give me examples of how a carrier rep helped you in any real measurable way? Like actually enough so that you consider them "worth" more then their weight in dog excrement?

And I'm not crying about my time at all, I'm making my point. Them are fightin words Shawn. Buck up

 

[1manshow]

Could you please ask her to just come in and sit there for a photo. My email is [email protected]...I'll let you know the agenda for the follow up meeting

 

[hesse]

My carrier rep is more of a help on commercial with credits, changing gl codes ect. But he has a few times gotten exceptions on Serious speeds DWI's that would normally make the insured not acceptable.

That being said hes about the only marketing rep that actually has any power or influence. Most of the rest just stop and beg you to sell more.

Better off building a relationship with the Underwriter.

 

[indienoise]

My newest carrier is a small one. So the rep who was in my office for a couple hours this week apparently does productive stuff for the company, not just meet & greets. He pops in on New commercial accounts and had some interesting stories to tell me about stuff he's seen.
Point being, he can be my worst enemy if I don't do everything right, or can help me get stuff by underwriting if it isn't by the book but still looks like a good risk. He knew the idiosyncrasies of his company's underwriting to help me figure out exactly what business to chase under their banner.
Yes, personal lines is much more cookie cutter, but he pointed out important things to help me on that end. He even offered to be my personal data entry clerk if I wanted to roll business.
Yes, all of that served the purpose of encouraging more business to come to his company, but that's his job, right? And he provided me real value as well. I feel it was time well spent.
Needless to say, not all rep visits are that useful. But it was at least one positive experience amidst a sea of not so great rep visits.

 

[Norwayguy]

I don't do P&C but why not call her tell her you understand she has meeting goals but your not interested but if she leaves you alone you will confirm a fake appointment.

 

[insurancemansam]

In 20 years I have had 2 good reps, a lot that are just collecting a paycheck and 1 terrible rep who thought a monthly contract threat would make me favor his company. It's rare to find a decent rep.

 

[Matt37]

The best reps are usually ex sales people or ex producers who are the middle person between you and the underwriter.

They are that sales minded person of ration (haha) .. as you know a lot of underwriters out there are stone cold crazy and do not want to write anything.

The rep is the balancing act because they want to write EVERYTHING (the good ones at least)

When utilized correctly that is a very powerful tool you can use.

 

[AZDave]

When I first went Indy the carrier reps were invaluable. One rep spent two full days assisting with the stacks of quote sheets. Of course she was hoping that her company would be the best fit for all those accounts.

Since the learning curve is over, I agree, not much use. One rep would always say, "if you need any help with uw, let me know". One day I called her on that. I added a commercial auto to an existing account that already had 18 units. All 18 units carried a $500 deductible. The one I added carried $1000 - my mistake totally. Three weeks later, that unit was in a claim. Clearly the change should have reflected the $500 deductible. Company would not budge. Called the rep for assistance. She went from, "I will get this straight", to, "sorry, I cant help". I had to eat $500.

I had a Travelers rep that would hound and whine for business to no end. One day she was in assisting a new csr with a quote. I come out to find her with full control of my computer looking at total premium volume with all my companies. That was the last time I saw her, and soon after was switched to national.

Small talk bs. No time for it.

 

[leevena]

You must be the biggest horses ass in the world! How, or why would you treat another human being like this. I am on the benefits side, started out as a group rep in 1982 and agree with you that most reps are useless. But to treat a rep in this manner is wrong.

And keep something in mind, someday you will need help.