Winning CSR Cites Need For Value-Added Service

Many in the insurance world believe the price of insurance becomes more important to the client in the absence of value. How might a customer service representative add value to the insurance-client relationship?

Consider expectation and entitlement–there's a clear difference between the two. Today, our society has shifted from expectation to an attitude of entitlement. In some situations, the feeling of entitlement is self-inflated, while in others, the feeling is just and true…most especially when there's financial loss (or gain) at stake.

For instance, as soon as President Barack Obama was inaugurated, expectations to deliver on his well-articulated promises began to intensify. Then attitudes shifted toward entitlement, when taxpayer money largely became involved and corporate bailouts were handed out quicker than paper plates at a family picnic.

Anxious taxpayers (such as myself) feel entitled to a successful plan, product and future now more than ever.

Similarly, the insurance world shares this trend. Any client who invests in an insurance program is entitled to a sound product, service at a high level, and even to be coddled. To achieve this, insurance professionals should remember the promises made when courting a client.

Some ways a CSR can help fulfill said promises and add value are to:

o Build a genuine relationship with their client.

o Establish mutual trust.

o Evolve through education and exposure.

o Acclimate themselves to changing technologies and consumer behaviors.

o Promote value-added marketing.

In car sales, soon after the negotiable item is exchanged and the ink-dried contract filed, a customer can instantly enjoy their shiny new car. Unfortunately, insurance is a product that fails to deliver this type of instant gratification.

At best, the client is issued a certificate of insurance that is nothing frame-worthy. As a result, the chase for the elusive Minimum Premium becomes overly important, whereas a policy's true worth becomes a distant second place.

One method to counteract such a distraction is for a CSR to build a genuine relationship with their client.

Hawaii, they say, is a melting pot. We're exposed to people of all walks in great quantity. I've learned that regardless of ethnicity, nationality or orientation, a genuine relationship is the basis of all joint accomplishments.

Once the relationship is established, mutual trust is a by-product. With these at hand, a CSR can understand a client's wants and needs on an instinctive level. Any adjusting or adding of coverages will come with a natural blessing.

Our business should be more than just markets, invoices and payments. And although premium is measurable, a quality relationship is beyond price.

A CSR's evolution through education and exposure is vital for longevity–vital not only for the CSR's career, but also for the benefit of the client. Continuing education keeps a CSR abreast of an ever-changing industry and list of dreaded exclusions. With exposure to the market, a CSR gains knowledge of the various underwriting guidelines and techniques.

Perhaps the most valuable is exposure to each underwriter's idiosyncrasies. Knowing their underwriter enjoys a daily coffee is one thing, but knowing to phone after they've had their morning Joe is another–truth be told, it could mean a favorable response to yet another rush inquiry.

Education coupled with field exposure helps solidify CSRs and compels them to grow wiser. Through these experiences, a savvy CSR can emerge to guide the client at a higher level. The price of an insurance policy simply cannot top an astute CSR.

The rate at which we exchange information is remarkable. We live in the age of the iPhone, BlackBerry, Bluetooth, Facebook, Twitter–and, of course, e-mail. Acclimating to changing technologies and consumer behaviors is a must.

It's impossible to fathom efficiency without utilizing technological innovations. More and more consumers prefer to exchange information through an electronic medium because it's less daunting and it minimizes interruption in their daily business. Seamlessly adjusting to the client's behaviors adds a whole new dimension of doing business.

In the end, the main benefit here is time. Affording your client more time to attend to their trade would, in turn, allow them to generate more revenue that would've been otherwise lost if a CSR were to resist changing with technological advancements and behaviors. Sometimes achieving a certain policy price is not as valuable as having a CSR who helps a client become more efficient.

More value-added marketing will allow the CSR more opportunities to be in front of the client and opportunities to nurture the relationship. It will also evoke important thought, and if done using a contemporary medium such as an e-mail newsletter, a CSR can evoke thought in an accessible and very cost-effective manner.

Evoking your client's thoughts is mutually beneficial. A client will either learn they're properly covered (thus building a genuine relationship and trust), or they'll identify deficiencies and will seek greater coverage at long last (thus creating a sales opportunity). Value-added marketing takes those who are fixated on the cheapest price and transforms them to realize that quality coverage is far more coveted.

Protecting the things that are important in life is a full-sized responsibility. Simply meeting an expectation half-heartedly won't suffice. Our clients are entitled to something greater than a smaller premium.

A CSR should address a client's exposure as if they were protecting their own. Once CSRs can envision themselves and their clients as one-in-the-same, only then will the feeling of entitlement resonate in their minds.

Ronie Foronda, CISR, an account manager for Finance Insurance Ltd. in Honolulu, was named “2009 Outstanding CSR of the Year,” a program run by the National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research. This is his award-winning essay.