It All Starts with Listening
It’s crucial that you understand the importance of listening to your clients needs. No one client is the same as the next, and each client has their own set of circumstances. Not to mention that every person’s financial situation is different too. In order to offer a client cost-saving solutions, you must first take the time to ask them in-depth questions. Additionally, its crucial that you actively listen to all of their concerns. Once you get an accurate assessment of a client can then offer tailored recommendations. By giving them a chance to express their preferences, they will likely appreciate your willingness to help.
Top Ways to Help Clients Save Money
1.Policy Bundling
While this may not be an option for agents only dealing with one insurance product, for agents that sell multiple products, bundling policies is a great way to help clients obtain a cheaper rate. The way it works is generally pretty simple. You offer your clients discounts for consolidating multiple policies under the same provider or carrier. You may have seen some of the big companies advertising bundling, but you can get in on the action too! With that said, it may be a good idea to talk to your team about the consumer incentive it provides. A great example of this includes bundling health insurance with a life insurance. Another common example is bundling home with auto coverage. This tactic ultimately saves your clients money. It also displays your appreciation, for their loyalty.
2.Gaining Insight with Comparison Shopping
Comparison shopping is huge in the insurance industry. While this technique commonly used by consumers to help them get the best coverage for the best price, agents can also utilize it to gain a competitive edge. In theory it’s pretty simple. The prices of insurance are constantly fluctuating for both you and your competitors. In order to offer your clients the best prices, you need to know what others are offering too.
Before meeting with a client, take a look at their current policy. Also look at the policies that you offer that will potentially interest them. Then in turn, take a look at your competitors’ offerings for the same product. If you the other companies offer lower cost, you can try to find a better option for your client. You probably won’t always be able to offer the lowest price point. With that said, but doing comparative analyses , you will gain useful industry insight. In turn, you’ll be able to adjust accordingly when it’s beneficial.
3.Subsidies
An even more direct way to save your clients some money is to look at various available subsidies. Subsidies are payments to individuals (usually from the government) in an attempt to help stabilize the economy or to aid individuals with certain circumstances.
Some of the most common subsidies for insurance are the two that are offered by the ACA (Affordable Care Act). The dollar amount of these subsidies are on a sliding scale and are aimed to help people with low to moderate incomes afford health coverage, by lowering their premiums and out-of-pocket costs. The first type of ACA subsidy is called the premium tax credit, and reduces the monthly insurance payment for those who are enrolled. The second ACA subsidy is called the cost sharing reduction (CSR). It helps to reduce the deductibles and other out of pocket costs for doctors and hospital visits. In order to qualify for these subsidies, individuals must enroll in a plan offered through the health insurance Marketplace.
While not all of your clients will qualify for these subsidies, its important to have this information at hand. This way you can offer it when applicable, since it’s truly a game-changer for some people and their families.
4.Other Tax Incentives
In addition to the subsidies discussed above, depending on what products you sell, there are a variety of other tax-related incentives that you can offer to your clients. Educating yourself in the tax advantages that these incentives offer, helps to save your clients money. It will also aid your reputation when it comes to customer service. Here are a couple examples of some prominent tax incentives:
- Tax Benefits for Life Insurance: Many life insurance policies will provide policy holders with things like tax-free payouts to their beneficiaries, or tax-deferred cash value growth. This allows for your clients and their beneficiaries to maximize the amount of money that both build up while they are living, and and the amount that is paid out after a death.
- Health Savings Accounts (HSAs): Health Savings Accounts are tax-advantaged accounts funded by individuals, helping them to pay for a variety of qualified medical cost. These accounts are usually paired with high-deductible health plans (HDHPs). As an agent it’s your job to offer this combination when relevant. Additionally, you must be sure to thoroughly explain the functionality.
These are just two of the more common tax incentives that you can offer to your clients. It’s important to keep benefits like these in mind when dealing with clients, as many people are not aware that they even exist. Offering them could be the factor that pushes a client to sign up for a policy.
5.Special Discounts
Another creative way to help clients cut their insurance costs is by offering specialty discounts and promotional offers. When coming up with these promotions, think about gearing them towards specific groups of people. Examples include certain professionals, or demographic groups. Some ideas include discounts for military members (active duty or retired), and discounts for educators such as teachers and professors. These are just two examples, but there are countless other ideas that you could use to provide special discounts. When meeting with clients, be sure to ask them about their professional background so that eligible clients never miss out. In addition to providing clients with big cost cuts, promotions like these will also help you to establish a great reputation in your surrounding community.
6.Mitigating Risks
Since the insurance industry focuses on risks, a proactive way to help clients manage cost in the long run is to help them mitigate some of these risks. As you know, high risk clients generally pay more on their insurance premiums, and vice versa for low risk clients. By suggesting your clients with effective ways to avoid these risks, their insurance costs will likely go down over time. One example of these suggestions includes providing small business owners with helpful ways to reduce their liability risks. Another one, this time related to health insurance costs, is to encourage clients to use preventive care benefits such as vaccinations and regular check-ups, to decrease the likelihood of sickness or injury.
To Wrap It Up
For insurance agents, satisfying your clients keeps them coming back to you year after year, which means more money in your pocket. While there are a plethora of ways to increase your number of satisfied clients, helping them save money is at the top of the list.
By treating each client as a unique individual, and carefully paying attention to each one of their needs, you can suggest effective cost saving measures. This makes their lives easier and less stressful. Subsidies, special discounts, risk mitigation, and policy bundling all keep clients happy and confident since they know they’re protected without having to break the bank. With all that said, it’s important to keep in mind that satisfying your clients isn’t just good for the present day, but also for the future. So put your best foot forward, listen to your clients concerns and preferences, and you will be successful for years to come.
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