Chartis Boosts Training to Serve High Net Worth Clients

With an increased need for training and education for independent agents and brokers, more insurers are reintroducing or expanding their education options. One recent example is Chartis's Private Client Group and its “PCG-U,” a free training program for continuing education and multi-day sales training geared to insurance producers servicing high-net-worth customers.

We spoke with Jerry Hourihan, senior vice president and national sales manager for the private client group at Chartis, on the program's recent redesign and why it's important to agents and brokers.

Q: How has the economy impacted high net worth clients? Do you anticipate this to be a growing market as conditions improve?    

Hourihan: The economy impacted everyone, but the high net worth customer does not view insurance as a discretionary purchase. We have seen some changes in behavior, however. For example, they may take higher deductibles or they're acquiring fewer “toys” (yachts, planes, art). As the economy improves, we expect the buying habits of our clients to normalize. Another consideration in our world is the fact that wealth can make people targets for liability lawsuits; the risk is higher when economic times are tough. Proper insurance becomes even more critical.

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Q: What was the impetus for enhancing the education platform?

Hourihan: Private Client Group University (PCG-U) was established in early 2007 to foster the growth and development of the independent agents and brokers who represent us. By providing support and educational opportunities, we aimed to help these professionals better understand their clients' vulnerabilities, and arm them with tools to acquire new leads, increase sales and boost retention.

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

Sales training is an equally crucial component of PCG-U. Approximately 75 percent of high net worth consumers in the U.S. still buy insurance from direct writers; they are not benefiting from the counsel and choice available through the independent producer channel. Although direct writers are very good choices for the average consumer, their offerings are not intended to protect the assets and exposures that high net worth families face in their daily lives. We determined that we could help our producers gain more market share by taking a closer look at the insurance sales process—to make it more consultative and less of a comparison to a prospect's current and often inadequate coverages. We enhanced the PCG-U Producer Sales School to a year-long course. Through in-person sessions and monthly follow-up calls, participating producers can enhance relationships with their clients and act more as insurance “advisors.”

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Q: How many producers currently take advantage of the program, and how much do you expect to see this increase over the next year?

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

In our sales school last year, we trained 150 producers across the county. These individuals not only spent multiple days in the training course, but also participated in follow-up conference calls every month as a group. Consistent follow-up helps them master their sales process and learn from their peers. We expect to train well in excess of 250 producers in 2011. We are also coordinating custom on-site programs for several of our top-producing agencies.

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Q: What are the major benefits for producers?

Hourihan: In continuing education, our participants say one of the biggest benefits is that they are educated on trends and exposures they may not have been aware of, and that they can then discuss these additional exposures with their clients. This allows them to put together a more comprehensive risk management proposal to better protect their clients.

The fact that our CE courses are complimentary to our producers is also a perk; we even take care of filing the credits with the states, so attendees don't have to worry about reporting their credits themselves. Finally, the program provides networking opportunities with other high net worth advisors. Our CE classes are available to select non-insurance advisors who serve the same clientele, such as financial planners, accountants, attorneys and life insurance brokers.

Participants of our sales school have shared many examples of the lasting benefits to their firms. Their clients never knew they lacked proper coverage, because no one previously took the time to understand their lifestyle. Producers also get continuous support and mentoring from PCG-U staff through regularly scheduled conference calls and support as needed throughout each step of the sales process.  The school also enables producers to communicate and collaborate with peers across the country who experience the same client concerns.

Q: How did you redesign the program? Based on user input, or what you perceive as a need for producers?

Hourihan: For continuing education, based on participants' feedback, we added more course offerings and certified trainers across the country. We introduced six new courses in 2010, bringing our total to 25. Topics range from Preserving Art Assets to High Net Worth Liability Trends and Serving the Affluent. Bringing the courses to non-insurance professionals reinforces the critical role of insurance in one's overall wealth management plans.

The PCG-U school is constantly evolving based on “real-time” input from our participants. Most recently, we modified our enrollment requirements; we conduct detailed interviews in advance and only accept individuals who possess a high sales aptitude and are willing to invest their time.

We also added two curriculum tracks: one for those who focus on new business and another for those who service existing clients (including cross-selling and up-selling). Refining our focus has proven to be more effective when participants return to their offices and put their new skills into practice.

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Q: Do you have plans for other education programs?

Hourihan: We are always looking to educate our producers and advisors to high net worth individuals and families. Since it is built into our practice to collect input and suggestions from our producers, we can continue to innovate based on the ever-changing lifestyles of those we insure.

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Jerry Hourihan joined Private Client Group in 2002 and has held a variety of sales management positions throughout his tenure. Previously he spent 16 years with Chubb, including serving as senior vice president, co-European zone manager, with responsibility for the Asia/Pacific and Latin American personal lines businesses. You can reach him at jerry.hourihan@chartisinsurance.com or 212-458-8815.