Safeco Insurance®
If you ask new producers who they’re targeting, they will often say something like: prospects who rent or own a home and autos and have a decent driving record. Essentially, they’re targeting nearly anyone who lives within 25 (or 2,500) miles of their office!
If you’ve spent any time marketing, you know how difficult it is to craft a message. It’s even harder to develop a compelling message that will appeal to 100,000 people. The only universal insurance messaging is around price, but that’s the domain of direct carriers who can’t offer the same benefits as an independent agent. Focusing on price alone is a losing proposition for IAs.
So, what can you do? Focus on your unique superpowers of ease, choice and advice; then direct your messaging to a specific target customer, such as those who own rental properties, RVs, or watercraft. It’s much easier to persuade your audience to consult you for a quote when they have a specialty need and you’re speaking their language!
According to Liberty Mutual consumer and product research, customers who have specialty exposures:
- Are more likely to value coverage over price
- Are more likely to buy insurance from a trusted advisor
- Deliver a four- to five-point improvement in your retention and loss ratio
- Deliver 2x the written premium per account
- Refer you to their friends and family
- Prefer to bundle all their policies together with one expert advisor
By focusing on specialty lines as the lead line of business, you can build a more preferred customer base.
Which niche is right for you?
Instead of quoting anyone who will submit a dec page, identify a niche in which you have interest or experience. It can be a product-level niche, like watercraft, or hyper-targeted, like sailboats. This allows you to direct your marketing efforts to speak the language of your prospect.
If you own a toy or a rental property, you’re more than halfway there. If you don’t, consider what interests you. Do you love getting out on the water? Camping/traveling? Car shows? If you don’t feel comfortable with your current knowledge, there are many places you can turn for help.
- Visit dealerships and mechanics in your community. They can tell you about the types of vehicles most often sold in your area and the damage/claims they see regularly. You might be able to quote their personal and commercial insurance, too!
- Once you’ve identified a niche or two, spend some time online. An afternoon online can yield coverage ideas and questions to ask your prospects. Visit popular manufacturer sites, vehicle valuation sites and your carrier’s product pages
- Finally, use what you’ve learned to start attracting your prospects. You can use social media sites to join groups centered around your niche. You can also set up a booth at local events to meet people who may be in the market to buy.
By narrowing your focus down to a targeted customer, you’re more likely to attract a preferred customer who values the ease, choice and advice offered by independent agents.
- Specialty Markets
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Don't let this major opportunity pass you by
We’ve talked over and over about the incentives of adding commercial business to your book – higher retention rates, higher referral rates, and increased commissions. But commercial business is more time-consuming to learn and can often be difficult to place, many agents just didn’t find it worth the investment. However, the Commercial growth we’ve seen proves that many agencies are moving this direction, and positioning themselves as leaders in the community when it comes to providing for the needs of consumers. Are you one of them? Check out the 2019 Issue 3 of Smart Choice Magazine for more.