Does your agency conduct renewal reviews for personal lines

[Insursync]

Do you usually reach out to all of your personal lines customers at renewal and pro-actively requote accounts where the premium increased significantly to offer better options or do you wait until the customer reaches out to complain about the increase?

 

[NY independent]

Unless you are a very small agency, it's largely impossible to do this given today's market. Nearly every renewal is a significant increase. Requote? There's usually no other market interested (at least here in NY). Having said that, in a "normal" market, yes, we would contact the insured if we saw a large premium increase at renewal.

 

[Insursync]

Are you noticing any improvement in the market in NY? I'm asking because I had an agency in IL for 17 years and we were proactive and remarketed all personal lines accounts that increased more than 10% before the customers even had a chance to call and complain about it. Even though we were not always able to find a better scenario, our customers knew that we were doing this and they rarely shopped us with other agencies/carriers. Our retention was 95% and I think it was highly due to this process. Then my agency was purchased by a very large broker that doesn't do this and they are they are losing customers non-stop. I get calls from old customers stating that they ask the new broker to re-shop and weeks pass with no response so they just find a new carrier on their own.

 

[North Texas Agent]

At my old office I had between 60-70 renewals a month and contacted each client. That is what separated me from most other agents.

 

[marindependent]

Then my agency was purchased by a very large broker that doesn't do this and they are they are losing customers non-stop.

Best marketing plan small agencies can have...is to scoop up large agencies stuff.

we were proactive and remarketed all personal lines accounts that increased more than 10%

In CA my clients would be lucky to only have a bump in premium of 10% - that is chump change right now.

There's usually no other market interested

- in CA 2

 

[NY independent]

Improvements? Nope. I see further decline. Carriers are saying that they are finally "rate adequate", and one month later I get another email stating that they're taking another xxx rate increase. HO is particularly bad, followed by CL property, and auto. Everything is E&S now (except auto). To those of you who think rate increases are good for retail insurance agents, think again. We've all received massive commission cuts across the board. Tough to keep the lights on.

 

[Insursync]

At my old office I had between 60-70 renewals a month and contacted each client. That is what separated me from most other agents.

I agree, it's a lot of work but it's what keeps retention high and generates a good amount of referral business.

 

[Insursync]

Improvements? Nope. I see further decline. Carriers are saying that they are finally "rate adequate", and one month later I get another email stating that they're taking another xxx rate increase. HO is particularly bad, followed by CL property, and auto. Everything is E&S now (except auto). To those of you who think rate increases are good for retail insurance agents, think again. We've all received massive commission cuts across the board. Tough to keep the lights on.

Yeah, certain states are especially bad right now. I would take rate stability any day over these crazy increases because it just causes a servicing nightmare. Since there are so few carriers writing new business, are you still able to keep retention pretty high considering the rate increases or they're going to direct writers/captives and finding better alternatives?

 

[Insursync]

Best marketing plan small agencies can have...is to scoop up large agencies stuff.


In CA my clients would be lucky to only have a bump in premium of 10% - that is chump change right now.


- in CA

Yeah the 10% figure was prior to 2020 so different times.