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In today's competitive insurance market, agencies looking to drive growth may be fighting against the high cost of new customer acquisition: According to some reports, while insurers spend approximately $500 to $800 to acquire a new customer, for agencies, that cost spikes to $900.

With new business costs so high, agencies should consider turning their focus to customer retention, using policy renewal time as an opportunity for the agent to cement their value as a trusted advisor and offer additional products for small rate increases. Here, we offer suggestions for strong, customer-centric retention strategies that capture every possible renewal so that when a new customer does come along, they're not backfilling for another that has left for the competition.

Strategy 1: Adopt a proactive-retention model.

Renewal time is the most likely time for customers to leave. The ones that do typically have had some type of uncommunicated change to their policy. That change could be a jump in price, a midterm endorsement that altered their policy or an increase in coverage. Any of these surprises could drive the customer to the nearest search engine to browse other insurance agent options. 

Rather than leaving it up to the at-risk customer to call with questions or concerns, agents should have processes in place to proactively initiate communication and engage with the customer at renewal time — or before. "Leaving it up to the customer" to call is a gamble in a competitive market with high customer-acquisition costs — and it's one that most agencies can't afford to lose. A simple call to check in and make sure a customer is aware of upcoming changes in their renewal goes a long way in ensuring customer loyalty.

Strategy 2: Level-up your cross-selling.

Customers that have multiple lines with an agency are more likely to remain. And renewal time — when the customer is actually thinking about insurance — is the perfect opportunity to have those cross-sell conversations.

In order for an agent to cross-sell effectively, they must have at hand target details for specific products a customer may need: for example, flood insurance for a homeowner. Reaching out proactively with cross-sell opportunities that are a good fit demonstrates that the agent is a trusted advisor with the customer's best interests in mind. And, while using cross-selling to maximize customer retention, the agent is simultaneously increasing revenue with additional business.

Strategy 3: Invest in technology to underpin proactive retention.

In theory, engaging with each customer at or before renewal time seems a simple task. In practice, it's anything but. And with so many other business-critical tasks competing for their time, it's easy for agents to fall into reactive-retention mode. Technology can help here by replacing time-consuming manual tasks and by delivering the data agents need to make faster decisions and better understand their customers' needs.

For example, data analysis can flag at-risk customers so agents can take proactive steps to address issues and avoid customer turnover. At the same time, automated communication will ensure regular engagement with other customers so they always feel like they're top of mind.

One tool to with help them all.

Implementing these strategies may seem daunting, but technology can ease the burden. For instance, EZLynx supports each of these strategies with an easy-to-use process to proactively engage 100% of renewals and identify, prioritize, and engage at-risk customers. 

EZLynx Retention Center provides a single place where agents can see which customers are up for renewal each day and what changes have been made to their policies, eliminating any time-consuming manual searches. In the name of transparency and personalized service, it also easily generates comparisons of insurance policies so clients can compare their previous and upcoming premiums before they even request it. And, automated emails or texts ensure consistent communication with customers both during renewal and throughout the year. 

For higher-risk customers, Retention Center's predictive analytics risk assessment identifies the most at-risk customers, providing an opportunity for agents to focus their attention on those who might need a more personalized touch. 

EZLynx Sales Center, boasting an all-new intuitive and modern look, is easily integrated to help agents sift through their business and quote data for potential cross-selling opportunities. Sales Center provides tailor-made dashboards that deliver visibility into an agent's sales pipeline so sales teams always know where time can be spent most productively. Then, workflow automation takes action in agent-prescribed ways, keeping clients engaged and focused.

It's clear that agency success in a competitive market depends on more than just customer acquisition. With the right strategies in place for retaining customers — including a comprehensive technology platform — agents can realize big payoffs at a much lower cost.