Editor's note: Dina S. Schultz is vicepresident of sales and marketing, Society Insurance

We all know that relationships are key when it comes to businessinsurance. Price is always a factor, but when it comes right downto it, I know as a carrier that our policyholders ultimately trusttheir agents. In situations where the price is at least in the sameballpark, an agent can guide an insured to the carrier he or shebelieves is the best choice.

But what carrier gets that distinction as the best choice? It'snot the same for every customer; if it was, you'd only have onecarrier. So what factors should be considered? What should you lookfor when trying to match a customer with a carrier?

If you're really interested in growing your renewal and referralbusiness (and who isn't?), it's important to carefully consider thecarrier you're recommending based on the following components:approach, coverage details, and, last but not least, ability tocultivate a positive relationship.

Although not all of your customers will ultimately fall underthis umbrella—let's be real, some will decide on price alone—yourbest customers will be worthy of further consideration based on thefollowing criteria:

1. Approach: How does my customer approachthe industry in which he or she works? Do I have a carrier thatshares the same passion for an industry as the customer?

Let's say you have a restaurant owner in front of you. She workslong hours and faces innumerable challenges in the hopes of notbeing yet another local news story about a restaurant closing itsdoors for good.

Why does she do this? It's pretty safe to say that she, likemost restaurant owners, is not in it for the money. Owning arestaurant is a lifelong dream for her, and it's not because shethinks she'll become a millionaire by doing so.

She's in the business because she takes a certain pride in herownership of the restaurant. She tells you that the most satisfyingpart about owning a restaurant is seeing people who come to herestablishment have a great time with friends and family, and thenkeep coming back again because they enjoyed the experience somuch.

The point centers on this concept: If you're looking to insure arestaurant owner that takes a clear pride in ownership, you want tomatch him or her with a carrier that has a similar passion for therestaurant industry. This goes even beyond specialized programs andcoverages and straight to the core of who the company is. Whetherpreparing a dining experience or putting together a high-qualityinsurance program, it takes a deep passion to stand out and beamong the best.

The important distinction to make in this example is that allrestaurant owners that come to you looking for insurance may notfit with your “best” restaurant carrier. They're not a good matchif they have different priorities. A restaurant owner with apassion for the industry isn't likely to be happy with theexperience of being insured by a company that only dabbles in theindustry and doesn't understand it. Likewise, a carrier with apassion for the restaurant industry may not want to insure abusiness owner who doesn't share that level of passion

2. Coverage Details:Do the coverage offerings match the coverage needs?

This is a simple one, right? You know what your customer needsand that's that? Maybe not.

With so many carriers and so many messages, it can sometimes bedifficult to isolate what's best for each business. And while mostcarriers offer something as simple as business interruptioninsurance, individual coverages often vary in small but importantways.

Imagine that the power at a hotel goes down on Friday before abusy holiday weekend. All of its events are canceled, and theamount of business lost is in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Your carrier of choice at this point could make or break thefuture of that hotel. Although business interruption insurance is astandard offering, most carriers require a 72-hour waiting periodbefore coverage kicks in.

In this instance, your knowledge of customer and carrier becomesparamount. If your customer can afford to take the risk of losingthat business, you may be able to save a few bucks up front withCarrier A. But if you know the bottom line is tight, you'll want tomatch your customer with Carrier B, which offers no waiting periodfor business interruption insurance.

3. Cultivating a relationship: Deep down,do you trust this carrier to form its own relationship with yourcustomer?

In the end, it comes back to relationships: in the same way youfoster a relationship with your customer, fostering a strongrelationship between your customer and a carrier is the best way tomaintain renewal business from year to year.

Of course, you can only do so much. Ultimately, the carrier youchoose should provide more than just coverage to your customer. Ifyou want to maximize your renewal business, choose a carrier thatwill make your customer feel valued.

When bad things happen to your policyholders, every insurancecompany will respond in some fashion; that's the base expectationyou have of any carrier. Claim service and expertise come into playhere, of course, and are not to be ignored. Carriers withstrong claims representatives focused on taking care of yourcustomers in a quick, responsive, and caring manner are key to yoursuccess.

But the best carriers make an effort to be there when things aregoing well, too. These companies utilize cutting-edge technology toprovide services that are both informative and selling tools toteach your customer why the company you're trying to sell is thecarrier of choice.

What does a company's field representative or underwriter saywhen he or she stops by your office? What's the tone of theircommunication with you? Does the representative or underwriterpoint you to things like blogs, case studies, and social mediaposts that you can share with your customers? Carriers that go theextra mile to give you this kind of information provide thoughtfulleadership and are more likely to leave an impression with yourcustomers.

Policyholders are the ultimate reason we're all in business.Without the policyholder, there literally is no business for any ofus—and no reason to exist. Sharing the same beliefs with a carriergoes a long way in ensuring a solid and smooth relationship betweenthe carrier, yourself, and your client. By taking a few extraminutes to consider the need to connect your customer to the rightcarrier, you can make the future a lot brighter for everyoneinvolved.