How to Handle Chargebacks?

[agent992]

insurance I guess can be a little scary- I had no idea chargebacks are such an issue esp if there are advances. I recently started working for a company and did well my first couple of months- except for one damn thing- chargebacks. The first one scared me- b/c there was no reason for it either. The customer just cancelled after leaving me a voicemail upset that united healthcare took money out of their account the day the plan started (isn't that what a company's supposed to do)? It was strange...then she cancelled. But then more cancellations happened mostly with ancillaries and with some plans due to erroneous reasons...its still a small percentage but it's adding up now. I assume this is normal and how can you prevent this?

i tell my customers everything- inform them correctly. One lady got angry lately for no reason and got mean then cancelled. She was angry b/c another agent gave her an incorrect quote and I actually gave her the right one but she didnt trust me, the honest agent- and got rude with me, which again made no sense. Another cancelled and i dont know why..some people call b/c they dont need it and i understand that... do customers KNOW they have an impact on a brokers' commission? it seems they do..some of them...they treat it like a powertrip or something over the broker...

i sold life ins last year and it was awful--from home. customers were harassing me saying i just wanted their money. in one month i made 37.00 and even that was charged back and i got harassed abused and even had to yell at a customer it was so bad...health is a little diff its not as bad but there are 'some' rude customers...

i guess the thing is...are chargebacks normal and how as an agent can you mentally deal with them knowing youre losing money--or have to give it back..

 

[rousemark]

insurance I guess can be a little scary- I had no idea chargebacks are such an issue esp if there are advances. I recently started working for a company and did well my first couple of months- except for one damn thing- chargebacks. The first one scared me- b/c there was no reason for it either. The customer just cancelled after leaving me a voicemail upset that united healthcare took money out of their account the day the plan started (isn't that what a company's supposed to do)? It was strange...then she cancelled. But then more cancellations happened mostly with ancillaries and with some plans due to erroneous reasons...its still a small percentage but it's adding up now. I assume this is normal and how can you prevent this?

i tell my customers everything- inform them correctly. One lady got angry lately for no reason and got mean then cancelled. She was angry b/c another agent gave her an incorrect quote and I actually gave her the right one but she didnt trust me, the honest agent- and got rude with me, which again made no sense. Another cancelled and i dont know why..some people call b/c they dont need it and i understand that... do customers KNOW they have an impact on a brokers' commission? it seems they do..some of them...they treat it like a powertrip or something over the broker...

i sold life ins last year and it was awful--from home. customers were harassing me saying i just wanted their money. in one month i made 37.00 and even that was charged back and i got harassed abused and even had to yell at a customer it was so bad...health is a little diff its not as bad but there are 'some' rude customers...

i guess the thing is...are chargebacks normal and how as an agent can you mentally deal with them knowing youre losing money--or have to give it back..

Have no idea what it is but you are definitely doing something wrong! Charge backs happen but not to the extreme you are talkign about. Yes, there are rude clients but not to the extent you describe.

 

[Jerard]

My advice is a to take a deep breath, become more laid back, when you speak with a client use a soft voice, and don't act like a salesman but a friend. Make them believe you truly care about them like you've known them for years. This will create trust in their eyes for you...not the other guy.

And take the time to talk about things other than insurance. Look for grandkid pictures and ask about them. Talk about sports if you see that you both are fans of the same team. If you see turds on the floor mention that you have a horse that does the same thing....outside.

The more you can relate to the client the fewer chargebacks you will have.

 

[agent992]

well to be honest--the 'other' sales people are acting like sales people, not me. I am laid back and use a really soft voice..theyre the ones who are loud and overly confident and for some reason the customers trust them and their lies even. Also im not having a lot of chargebacks maybe just 2 bigger ones now and some smaller ancillaries...but its still scaring me...I think I basically project total honesty.. and it seems customers are taking advantage of it..but I know that chargebacks are normal too

 

[goillini52]

well to be honest--the 'other' sales people are acting like sales people, not me. I am laid back and use a really soft voice..theyre the ones who are loud and overly confident and for some reason the customers trust them and their lies even. Also im not having a lot of chargebacks maybe just 2 bigger ones now and some smaller ancillaries...but its still scaring me...I think I basically project total honesty.. and it seems customers are taking advantage of it..but I know that chargebacks are normal too

They trust their lies...who do you work for, Banker's Life?

Maybe you're not showing confidence when you sell a policy and they can see it...then get scared and cancel.

Hold back part of each commission for chargebacks, because you're going to have them.

 

[WinoBlues]

What did you do before Insurance?

 

[DHK]

According to his other thread, he was "in sales for a long time"... but I'm willing to bet that his selling style may be too aggressive?

With customer service issues and chargebacks... there's something going on.

 

[WMG]

Never been a problem for me. I am not in the group health business any longer. I sell life and high-end DI. The only chargebacks I have -- and it is rare -- are when I place a policy, and we make a change to it shortly thereafter. However, it's rare because if changes need to be made, we make them upon paying for the case.

If the genesis of the chargebacks are due to clients cancelling, and it happens more than on a rare occasion, then something is going on. Buyers remorse, payment issues, drafting issues, whatever -- this all needs to be handled and addressed.

 

[Heather]

Plan for those chargebacks.
I had a medicare customer dies two months into the policy recently had to pay back $408. Then today I got a commission stmt showing I owe this particular auto ins. company 1,700 worth of chargebacks and could I please mail a check in the envelope provided. I had one lady whose car was stolen, two more totaled their cars, then there was the repossessions and finally the customers who ran up the bill and cancelled for non-pay. The bulk of my customers are low income and lack financial planning skills. I used to get crazy upset and feel like I am working in circles to just pay chargebacks. Now I come to plan and just set money aside for this. People are poor they have other priorities and sometimes its not us that's the problem.

 

[LGilmore]

You haven't disclosed who you are selling, but something is wrong if they are cancelling that fast. It may be your product, it may be your pitch. Is this just health insurance your talking about?

If chargebacks are a problem, consider as earned. That way if someone cancels, you're not having to come up with commissions to give back.

Annual commissions are nice, but when you factor in chargebacks, they become a roller coaster. Consider as earned. It sucks at first but if someone cancels, it's not as big a deal.


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