...Is it Really That Bad?

[TonyC]

I've been talking with a few companies...about the prospect of selling Health Insurance.

From what i'm hearing...there's alot of customer service problems. Apparently alot of people callin the agent "after" the policy has closed. I guess they are getting a bunch of questions, etc.

1) How do agents curb this issue? How Can agents handle numerous phone calls from clients?

*I guess they hire an assistant to handle the calls...or your company has an asistant handle these calls....but at what level of production is needed to hire an assistant?

2) As a natural consequence...policy prices go up...so people are dropping policies...or shopping you every year....How do you cope with this issue?

*I guess you follow up with a phone call toward their BD...and try to reclose them again.




thanks very much for the input....

 

[somarco]

1) If you do a good job before the sale you will not have many follow up questions. I rarely have issues.

2) Prices go up. If you sell it right from the start people will stay with you. Most of my clients stay with the policy I wrote for 3 years before considering a change. I have one client with the same plan for 10 years.

 

[TonyC]

Very Good Somarco....

So what you are saying is Sell-Well from the start...and most issues will be answered.

 

[newmindfashion]

TonyC,
Kind of.

Although I tend to agree with Somarco most of the time and he is very astute, I do not find that just doing a good job in the beginning will NOT solve the pure volume of service you will eventually have to do. People forget a lot of what you told them in the beginning and will need hand holding right after a sale, during underwriting, shortly after approval and then periodically as time goes by. Some customers will be low maintenance, some won't.

Once your client base reaches 300-500 policies, if you're a good agent, you will have no choice but to spend a good portion of your time on customer service. That is if you want them to remain your customer. You should pitch your ongoing service as a plus to them to separate yourself from the herd of agents but be prepared to deliver when they call. Otherwise, if you don't service or don't know how to service properly, you're just a salesperson with little or no client loyalty.

 

[SC Local LAH Agent]

Always remember clients are buying YOU. You and your knowledge are part of the Value purchased. If you do it right client phone calls only add to your pipeline. I always ask for a referral after I have satisfied their questions.

 

[somarco]

OK, Jesse, perhaps I was a bit too brief.

Yes, folks do forget what you told them. No, I don't have 300+ clients (yet) but I am close. Most of them have bonded with me to a point. They call me when they have questions about changes in their coverage or new options.

They also appreciate things like what happened today. Although carriers do not provide me with renewal reports like I would like, I did notice one of my clients had a child's policy coming up for renewal. They opted for a Copay Select from GR last year. I called to tell them I was sending a proposal for a similar plan from Humana that is about $40/month less.

They appreciated the gesture and will probably make the change.

Even though the premium is less I will make slightly more since the Humana commission (first year) is higher than a GR renewal.

I rarely churn clients, but this one made sense. Most of my clients on on high enough deductibles and no copays that I usually can't find them anything better (and neither can they).