Is this legal?

[marindependent]

With such an "unbelievable uptick in refis," how many clients can an agency afford to lose?

I don't know. My guess is that some tech company could solve part of this problem. Regardless the moment a prosepctive client comes to me wanting to switch because their agent was "slow" to get out refi documentation, I usually decline to participate.

 

[Ambrose]

It happened often enough that the insurance agents we worked with considered us a gold mine.

When people refinance, they often count on not making their mortgage payment that month. When they hear they're going to have to make a payment they weren't expecting to because you're not moving fast enough, loyalty...decreases.

I'm not saying it doesn't work, and you raise a valid point. That said, I'm not concerned with our policyholders doing this. At the end of the day we have far more benefit of the doubt then someone they have no attachment to, who are now presenting them with an inconvenience, and can easily be replaced. I've talked more people out of using certain mortgage companies for being a pain in the ass to deal with than we've lost due to slow response time, which technically isn't an accurate claim anyway.

 

[whatyouwantfinally]

I'm not saying it doesn't work, and you raise a valid point. That said, I'm not concerned with our policyholders doing this. At the end of the day we have far more benefit of the doubt then someone they have no attachment to, who are now presenting them with an inconvenience, and can easily be replaced. I've talked more people out of using certain mortgage companies for being a pain in the ass to deal with than we've lost due to slow response time, which technically isn't an accurate claim anyway.

If it was causing you a retention issue, I'm sure you'd know about it. So I'm sure you're right.

But I treat those requests as leads. The BEST personal lines leads. I personally try to get them on the phone, give them my little story about how I used to be a loan officer, try to get them to put me in touch with their manager, etc. It doesn't usually lead to anything, but sometimes it does.

Believe me, if you get even a few brokerages with 10+ loan officers considering you "their guy", it's (almost) embarrassing how easy this business becomes.

 

[Helpico_Insure]

I don't know. My guess is that some tech company could solve part of this problem. Regardless the moment a prosepctive client comes to me wanting to switch because their agent was "slow" to get out refi documentation, I usually decline to participate.

He'll be back soon. Let him close the refi and his home and car insurance are going in a pack, so if he has a good deal with you, he'll be back. Let him close on this

 

[Hawaii Agent]

If it was causing you a retention issue, I'm sure you'd know about it. So I'm sure you're right.

But I treat those requests as leads. The BEST personal lines leads. I personally try to get them on the phone, give them my little story about how I used to be a loan officer, try to get them to put me in touch with their manager, etc. It doesn't usually lead to anything, but sometimes it does.

Believe me, if you get even a few brokerages with 10+ loan officers considering you "their guy", it's (almost) embarrassing how easy this business becomes.

While I agree that you can make a living off of referrals from loan officers, I absolutely HATE working with them. The only ones that should work with them would be a captive that can easily make changes (meaning in less than 1 minute). I do not want to be someone's slave to all of their changes, rushes, urgent requests.

Better personal lines leads come from high-end realtors. They sell to people that aren't as price conscious and a lot of cash buyers. I've gotten 20x more multi-million dollar properties from realtors than loan officers.

Back to my point, loan officers can eat $hit with their ridiculous, demanding requests. If they aren't giving you at least 1-2 business days to work on stuff, they're not true professionals.

 

[whatyouwantfinally]

While I agree that you can make a living off of referrals from loan officers, I absolutely HATE working with them. The only ones that should work with them would be a captive that can easily make changes (meaning in less than 1 minute). I do not want to be someone's slave to all of their changes, rushes, urgent requests.

They don't want to work with captives because captives can't always cover everything they need.

And you know what's worse? Being a slave to lead companies/other marketing methods, having to rush to respond to leads, running urgent quotes for crappy leads, etc. Plus, mortgage brokers treat you with a lot more respect once you're "their guy." Thy only treat agents they don't know the way you describe.

Better personal lines leads come from high-end realtors. They sell to people that aren't as price conscious and a lot of cash buyers. I've gotten 20x more multi-million dollar properties from realtors than loan officers.

Sure, but how many of those are there? It's a hell of a lot easier to get "in" with a mortgage broker than a high-end realtor.

Back to my point, loan officers can eat $hit with their ridiculous, demanding requests. If they aren't giving you at least 1-2 business days to work on stuff, they're not true professionals.

The ones I work with are respectful of my time, but I'm also respectful of the fact that sometimes THEY get put in a rush and the reason they send me business is because I'm the guy who has shown he's willing to accommodate them when needed. And it's a LOT of business. Enough that I can pay other people good $ to handle all the service work involved, pay myself a huge salary and have plenty of free time to pursue other business interests.

To each their own, but courting mortgage brokers is one of the easiest paths to success for an independent agency working personal lines.

 

[NewAgencyOwner]

When I'm swamped and have too many of these at once, I also have started asking for the signed borrower's auth (not a bad practice anyway, to keep it on file!), as this will often buy me some time, since most requesters don't send that on initial request.