Why the Nice Man Fired His Insurance Agent

How to Keep Your Customers and Agency Living Happily Ever After

Once upon a time, there was a very nice man who moved his entire family from one state to another. The move meant leaving his many friends and business contacts behind. Included in these lost contacts was his insurance agent. So, the nice man asked some friends if they knew where he could buy policies in his new state. Someone did. He suggested an independent agent. The man called the agent and they had a pleasant chat. He was happy because he knew where to buy his replacement policies.

Once in state, the man called his new agent for an appointment. He was not in. Instead, he was told that he could meet with a friendly customer service rep who would help him. So, the man drove to the agent’s office and asked to see the CSR. After waiting, he was directed to her desk. It turns out that she was not so friendly after all. The CSR did not stand up to greet her visitor. She simply said “sit down.” The man sat down. He showed her his out-of-state policies. The CSR quoted almost exactly what was on them, so the man had to make several coverage suggestions of his own. He then wrote out some checks and left with a stack of quote sheets and binders on his auto, homeowners, umbrella, and floater policies. He was told to wait for the actual contracts. So he waited.

Eventually, the policies showed up in large manila envelopes. The man noticed that the CSR hand addressed them in gigantic text with a marking pen and rubber stamped the agency’s return address. He also noticed that some policies had cover letters. They were not output on stationery but on copier paper with the agency’s letterhead printed in black on an inkjet or laser. No matter, thought the man, maybe they ran out of nice envelopes, letterhead and address labels. The important thing is to have good protection.

A little while later, the man was involved in a small car accident. His vehicle was damaged but still drivable. The man called his CSR. He wanted to report the accident and learn where to rent a car while his was being fixed. The CSR told him to call his insurance company’s 800-number and that she could do nothing for him and besides, he didn’t have any rental coverage. But, said the man, “I see it here on my auto quote sheet.” Finally, the CSR said she would review the application. After waiting, he followed up several times because he heard nothing. Finally, she called back and told the man his policy was issued without the coverage and the company would have to locate their copy of the original application to see if there was a mistake made in issuance. Finally, the insurer found the original application and saw that rental reimbursement was supposed to be included. Perhaps they wondered why the CSR didn’t catch the error before mailing it out. The CSR told the man he had to pay more money to be covered retroactively. He agreed to pay, arranged for his rental, and went to the collision shop.

After the man’s dent was fixed, he decided it was time to buy a new car. So, he traded in his old vehicle on a brand new shiny one. He called in the change of car himself. This time, he did not ask for the CSR, believing anyone in the office could handle so routine a request. After waiting on hold, another CSR hurriedly took the information, including the VIN. She decided she didn’t have to read that long number back to make sure that it was right. She also decided not to send out new insurance ID cards. So the man had to wait until the insurer processed the endorsement and sent his cards. The man looked everything over and was surprised that the VIN was nothing like the number that he had provided. Plus, he was startled to find that his liability rates had increased as well as his physical damage. He contacted the agency with his concerns and a third CSR answered his questions. It turned out the second CSR had arbitrarily decided to change how the car was rated and that she had made up the VIN on her own.

At this point, the nice man gave up. He moved his auto insurance, homeowners policy, umbrella, and floater to another independent agent who was recommended. The new CSR did a terrific job explaining coverages and options, estimating his home’s replacement cost, and saving him big dollars over his old policies. All of the new contracts arrived promptly in a nice envelope, were issued correctly, and were accompanied by a personal thank you note. The nice man smiled and stayed insured with the new agency for many years to come.

The moral of this condensed, stylized, but essentially true story of someone I know, is to train and supervise your reps by keeping a watchful eye on their actions and attitudes. Check every policy before it’s sent out and buy some decent office stationery. Only then can everyone live happily ever after.

Topics Auto Agencies