With anincreased need for training and education for independent agentsand brokers, more insurers are reintroducing or expanding theireducation options. One recent example is Chartis's Private Client Group and its “PCG-U,” a free trainingprogram for continuing education and multi-day sales traininggeared to insurance producers servicing high-net-worthcustomers.

We spoke withJerry Hourihan, senior vice president and national sales managerfor the private client group at Chartis, on the program's recentredesign and why it's important to agents and brokers.

Q: How has theeconomy impacted high net worth clients? Do you anticipate this tobe a growing market as conditions improve?

Hourihan:The economy impacted everyone, but the high net worth customer doesnot view insurance as a discretionary purchase. We have seen somechanges in behavior, however. For example, they may take higherdeductibles or they're acquiring fewer “toys” (yachts, planes,art). As the economy improves, we expect the buying habits of ourclients to normalize. Another consideration in our world is thefact that wealth can make people targets for liability lawsuits;the risk is higher when economic times are tough. Proper insurancebecomes even more critical.

Read related:“Safepassage”

Q: What was the impetus for enhancing the educationplatform?

Hourihan:Private Client Group University (PCG-U) was established in early2007 to foster the growth and development of the independent agentsand brokers who represent us. By providing support and educationalopportunities, we aimed to help these professionals betterunderstand their clients' vulnerabilities, and arm them with toolsto acquire new leads, increase sales and boostretention.

PCG-U hasalways emphasized continuing education courses and sales training.When creating the course curriculum, we wanted to bring attentionto exposures that are particular to high net worth households. Thelifestyles of our shared customers are constantly evolving, andthere had never been educational content available to helpproducers stay on top of relevant trends or risks. Over the last 3years, the demand for knowledge has never waned so we knew it was aworthwhile investment to expand the curriculum.

Sales trainingis an equally crucial component of PCG-U. Approximately 75 percentof high net worth consumers in the U.S. still buy insurance fromdirect writers; they are not benefiting from the counsel and choiceavailable through the independent producer channel. Although directwriters are very good choices for the average consumer, theirofferings are not intended to protect the assets and exposures thathigh net worth families face in their daily lives. Wedetermined that we could help our producers gain more market shareby taking a closer look at the insurance sales process—to make itmore consultative and less of a comparison to a prospect's currentand often inadequate coverages. We enhanced the PCG-U ProducerSales School to a year-long course. Through in-person sessions andmonthly follow-up calls, participating producers can enhancerelationships with their clients and act more as insurance“advisors.”

Read related:“Who will cover my shrunken heads?”

Q: How manyproducers currently take advantage of the program, and how much doyou expect to see this increase over the nextyear?

Hourihan:In 2010, 4,841 producers/advisors attended our CE sessions acrossthe country. We are continuing to add more CE trainers, all of whomare seasoned Chartis employees, and we expect the number ofattendees in 2011 to exceed 6,000.

In our salesschool last year, we trained 150 producers across the county. Theseindividuals not only spent multiple days in the training course,but also participated in follow-up conference calls every month asa group. Consistent follow-up helps them master their sales processand learn from their peers. We expect to train well in excess of250 producers in 2011. We are also coordinating custom on-siteprograms for several of our top-producing agencies.

Read related:“Train your producer.”

Q: What are themajor benefits for producers?

Hourihan:In continuing education, our participants say one of the biggestbenefits is that they are educated on trends and exposures they maynot have been aware of, and that they can then discuss theseadditional exposures with their clients. This allows them to puttogether a more comprehensive risk management proposal to betterprotect their clients.

The fact thatour CE courses are complimentary to our producers is also a perk;we even take care of filing the credits with the states, soattendees don't have to worry about reporting their creditsthemselves. Finally, the program provides networking opportunitieswith other high net worth advisors. Our CE classes are available toselect non-insurance advisors who serve the same clientele, such asfinancial planners, accountants, attorneys and life insurancebrokers.

Participants ofour sales school have shared many examples of the lasting benefitsto their firms. Their clients never knew they lacked propercoverage, because no one previously took the time to understandtheir lifestyle. Producers also get continuous support andmentoring from PCG-U staff through regularly scheduled conferencecalls and support as needed throughout each step of the salesprocess. The school also enables producers to communicate andcollaborate with peers across the country who experience the sameclient concerns.

Q: How did youredesign the program? Based on user input, or what you perceive asa need for producers?

Hourihan:Forcontinuing education, based on participants' feedback, we addedmore course offerings and certified trainers across the country. Weintroduced six new courses in 2010, bringing our total to 25.Topics range from PreservingArt Assets to High Net Worth Liability Trends and Servingthe Affluent. Bringing the courses to non-insuranceprofessionals reinforces the critical role of insurance in one'soverall wealth management plans.

The PCG-Uschool is constantly evolving based on “real-time” input from ourparticipants. Most recently, we modified our enrollmentrequirements; we conduct detailed interviews in advance and onlyaccept individuals who possess a high sales aptitude and arewilling to invest their time.

We also addedtwo curriculum tracks: one for those who focus on new business andanother for those who service existing clients (includingcross-selling and up-selling). Refining our focus has proven to bemore effective when participants return to their offices and puttheir new skills into practice.

Read related:“Agency education is up to you.”

Q: Do you haveplans for other education programs?

Hourihan:We are always looking to educate our producers and advisors to highnet worth individuals and families. Since it is built into ourpractice to collect input and suggestions from our producers, wecan continue to innovate based on the ever-changing lifestyles ofthose we insure.

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Jerry Hourihanjoined Private Client Group in 2002 and has held a variety of salesmanagement positions throughout his tenure. Previously he spent 16years with Chubb, including serving as senior vice president,co-European zone manager, with responsibility for the Asia/Pacificand Latin American personal lines businesses. You can reach him at[email protected]or 212-458-8815.