Annual Reviews (also called Customer Protection Reviews) have been around a long time. The basic idea is that you meet with every client each year to review their coverage and make adjustments as needed. It’s also seen as a good opportunity to up-sell. But here is my experience with the “typical” annual review process…
Your staff spend too much time just trying to set appointments. It involves mailing postcards and making phone calls. Once they finally manage to schedule a few, you realize it’s the same few people that show up every year and they A) just want you to save them money or B) have something to complain about.
Occasionally they paid off, but for the most part, the whole process was a waste of time and money and an opportunity to get complaints on a one-on-one basis. Not my idea of running a profitable agency!
So we decided to forget “business as usual” and instead go with something simple and automated.
In reality, most of your clients are too busy to come in the office for an appointment unless it is truly necessary. They need something quick and simple. You want to use the communication methods that your clients prefer while keeping the cost manageable for you. Typically this involves email and phone call appointments.
Start out by sending your annual review appointment notices by EMAIL. You can do this in under 10 minutes for a very small cost. (Try Constant Contact here and pay only $30 a month or less to send as much email as you’d like.)
Here is a sample email to send…
Hi [first name],
It’s that time of year again! Time to take a few minutes to review your insurance policies and see if they need any updates.
We would like to schedule an appointment, either by phone or in the office, to review your coverage.
Please reply and me know when would be a good time.
We’ll look at your current policies to see that all contact information is up to date and that your needs have not changed in the past year. This is our way of making sure “you’re in good hands” (or whatever you company slogan might be!)
You can also call us at {number} to set up a time.
We appreciate your business,
Send something like this to everyone who is due for an annual review. You might do all of them in one month or break them up by last name or renewal date. (I always avoided renewal date because it seemed that we’d get more issues with premiums going up at those times.)
Send this email and again to those who don’t reply within a week.
Try to batch your appointments close together so you don’t spend all day long doing annual reviews. Then call each person at their appointment time (if it’s a phone appointment) and get them taken care of!
My goal was to always try to find at least one way to make the client extra happy. (Happy clients give referrals!) Look for a new discount, a way to increase coverage, something that could give them better coverage without spending any more money…those kinds of things! I would review the policy quickly before getting on the phone to try to find this type of solution so I felt prepared.
Remember to talk about your referral rewards programs and to make sure they are friends on your social media too.
Some agents have taken this to an even higher tech-saavy level. You could do your reviews on Skype or Google Hangouts so you can see each other on webcam!
Some also create website forms for the client to fill out. The client notes any certain changes and answers basic questions (did you get married or have a baby?) Then you make any changes based on the info in the form and call them to complete endorsements as necessary. Very streamlined and effective.
The sky is the limit. The important thing is to not limit yourself to standard in-office only reviews. Get creative and look for ways to WOW your clients, make them feel good, and drive more referrals and keep clients for years to come.
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