Back in April I read an article online by National Underwriter’s Bob Hyle – The Great Equalizer: Technology for Personal Lines - on a study conducted by Novarica that looked at the top technologies being used by personal lines carriers. It was an interesting report but it occurred to me that what if the flip side didn’t match up? I mean what if agents were looking for other technologies and services from carriers than what carriers were focused on?

So, I contacted Karlyn Carnahan, insurance principal, Novarica and the point person on the study I read about. When we talked we agreed that it would be good to look at the similar issues from the agent’s perspective. Thus the PLGA Novarica study was born.

The survey, which received about a 20% participation by PLGA members, concluded over the summer and results were tabulated. I just posted a podcast with Karlyn where she presented some of the findings and we announced this morning a webinar for December 8th at 2PM ET where we’ll go into a full presentation of the findings.

I’ve been a member of and participant at both ACT and AUGIE meeting for many years and I’m always hearing from the agents in the room how important it is to have a single workflow that has at its foundation, the agency management system. It’s always made sense to me. The idea of having to go to different carrier websites, logging in and out in order to place business, make inquiries, etc. has never seemed the best workflow efficiency. So it was a bit of a surprise when one of the findings from the study showed that CSRs preferred, by a majority, to go through a carrier’s portal rather than their own agency management system.

There is more data behind that finding and you can hear about it next week during the webinar. I suspect, however, that a large part of the discrepancy between the study results and the ACT and AUGIE discussions is due to who is doing the talking. I still think working through the agency management system offers the most efficiencies, we just need to get that message across to everyone.

Register NOW for the December 8 Webinar

Title: How Technology & Service Drive Carrier Choice in Personal Lines

Time: 2PM ET

Since joining PLGA, I’ve talked with lots of different people about what it takes to grow their particular agency’s share of the Personal Lines market. Depending on their perspective, the list varies greatly from more competitive markets to shifting internal culture from service to sales to assisting with CSR scripts, and everything in between.

Occasionally, I’ll come across specific products that different vendors may be offering to help leverage the social media environment more effectively or it might be creative carriers that are supporting their agency force with content for Facebook or Twitter, etc. or maybe they’ve created an agency portal for rate quoting or other services.

Regardless of the focus of their efforts, generally there is one common element, the agency recognizes the value of personal lines and is making a concerted effort to grow that market. I recently read an article by Ross Dik, president of the Worchester, MA-based Knight-Dik Insurance Agency called An Argument For Personal Lines. It originally appeared in TAAR, The Anderson Agency Report and addresses the main reasons agents should consider building a strong personal lines book. Ross makes a very potent case for personal lines as a highly profitable market, one that leverages the key strengths of agency management systems and the stability that is inherent in personal lines.

In a follow up conversation I had with Ross, he talked about the four outcomes his agency is focused on when going after personal lines business:

• Retention of your existing business – renewals often proving the best retention methodology
• Upgrade of your existing policy limits
• Cross selling other coverages
• New business acquisition

If you’d like to hear more about this directly from Ross, check out this month’s The Power of Personal Lines Podcast.

Rick Gilman, Executive Director

I recently read an article called 3 Social Media Band-aids for Your Broken Business Model that drives home two points that I’ve been talking about for some time that bare repeating.

First, as the title of this post infers, you no longer control your brand. You can still have a significant impact and help shape it but ultimately it is your customers and various stakeholders that will define what your brand truly is. This shift in power is directly related to the growth in social media. The sooner you recognize this, the sooner you can engage them more effectively and participate in shaping that brand.

Second, and this point is difficult for many businesses to understand, social media is less about marketing and more about listening. I often advise agents that are new to using social media be it a networking tool like Twitter or Facebook, or even blogging, that the best first step is to surf the web for blogs and Twitter accounts that you find interesting. They should read them regularly, then begin to engage the writers with your thoughts. This step-by-step process introduces you to the environment, teaches you what a good and appealing blog or Twitter account is like and lets you begin your own foray into the social media world at your own pace.

In that same sense, even when you are fully engaged in the social networking environment spend more time listening to your customers and markets than talking at them. This way you can learn exactly what your customers want from you, expect of you and how best to serve them. It puts your agency in a much better position to demonstrate your “Unique Selling Proposition” and can move the discussion away from bottom line price.

Jeff Yates, executive director of ACT, recently published an article about this very idea called Taking Back Personal Lines. In it he refers to a concept by futurist Dan Burrus whereby he advocates “going opposite” as a way to distinguish your brand from everyone else. If your competitors are pushing price as their selling point, go opposite and tout your unique selling and service qualities. For independent agents, it’s a perfect perspective.

So, if you’re out there on the social media circuit, what have you heard about your agency lately that you didn’t know? What insight into your customers and prospects have you uncovered? And, what are you doing with that new found knowledge?

Rick Gilman, Executive Director

PLGA is partnering with Novarica on a new survey of agency personnel on the technologies you find important from your carriers. What are the online features of your top insurers?

Your responses will be used in aggregate only to help insurers understand agents’ viewpoints on various elements of distribution technology. Your individual responses will not be shared with insurers.

Whatever your role in the agency is (producer, principal, CSR), your opinions matter. Please share them with us and have others in your agency participate, as well.

The survey is a short 14 questions and for your efforts, your name will be put into a drawing for an iPad 2 (WiFi model).

The results of this survey will be published in the PLGA newsletter, in an article on this website and in a webinar with Novarica.

Novarica (www.novarica.com) is a research and consulting organization that advises insurers on technology strategy.

https://www.surveymk.com/s/NovaricaAgentSurvey2011

 

Rick Gilman, Executive Director

The recent news stories about the tenth of a point drop in the unemployment rate to 8.8 percent and the growth in jobs added in the month of March is, according to some, a sign that the U.S. economy is “kicking” into gear. I have seen signs myself of at least a perceived improvement in the economy of a lot of people. My 401k is feeling the benefit too, thankfully.

As I was reading some of the stories today it occurred to me that, while you might naturally think these improvements will have a positive impact on the commercial lines market (which it might, if it is sustainable), there will also be benefit for the personal lines market.

I believe as people are finding themselves employed once again and feeling the relief of having a regular income, they might consider trying to achieve a certain sense of security in other aspects of their lives. What better way to do that than to insure their assets.

Of course, it’s unlikely that anyone dropped their auto coverage or homeowners during their “employment hiatus” unless financial circumstance were very dire. But what about talking with your personal lines clients about rounding out their accounts? Do all of those appropriate accounts have personal umbrella? What about flood insurance? If your agency sells life too, is now a good time to bring that into the discussion? Or long term care?

Sometimes growing your personal lines business can be as simple as asking for it. Hopefully, if you’ve built up a solid relationship with your PL clients, you would know if they had been let go during the down turn or have been part of the recovery. There are so many ways you can have positive impacts on your clients lives, you just need to be part of their lives in some small way.

Rick Gilman, Executive Director

I recently read an article in the Wall St. Journal about how teenagers are building traditional summer-time jobs into not-so small businesses. The kids down the block washing cars or mowing lawns for the summer to earn some spending money are now your newest entrepreneurs.

Who’s the Boss? When Jobs Are Scarce, the Kids Are got me thinking about the fact that more and more small businesses are being owned and run by 20 and 30 somethings. While the independent agency system already is succeeding in the commercial lines market, to fully realize similar growth in the personal line business, we must understand who’s in control of the service and product demands. Those same up and coming business owners are the same homeowners and auto owners that you’re prospecting for their personal lines business.

Recognizing the similarities in personality between the young business owner and the Millennial that bought their first home or condo might help you apply similar relationship tactics when you go after the personal lines business.

There are a number of paths to success in personal lines and one obvious one should be through your existing commercial lines customers. Start with going after the key personnel in the businesses you currently write to sell home owners, auto, personal umbrella and the like. Then once you’ve proved the quality of your personal lines products and services, talk to the “powers that be” about possible payroll deduction programs or about doing a presentation to staff much like 401k savings plans do to encourage enrollment.

What other pathways to profits do you use? Join the conversation and share your thoughts.

Rick Gilman, Executive Director

If you’ve ever heard a great a cappella group perform, the harmonies that serenade you are amazing. It is a perfect example of when the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The famous Wiffenpoofs from Yale University are a great example of this. Yale University’s Wiffenpoofs

Another great example is when I attended a meeting down in Tampa of the AIMS Society, the ACORD User Groups Information Exchange (AUGIE), and Agents Council for Technology (ACT). While there was some wonderful singing taking place during the evening events, the harmonies I heard were in the common purposes, the complementary visions and the camaraderie felt by everyone that attended the joint meeting.

I was fortunate to have been there and had the opportunity to talk to a lot of people about PLGA and how we might “harmonize” with the group. The mission of PLGA is very simple: help the independent agency system capture a greater share of the personal lines market. The first step is to “make the case” for the value and importance of personal lines; the second step is to help agents do it.

To my thinking, this second step is NOT about PLGA creating all of these new resources, training guides, webinars, etc., they already exist in organizations like AIMS, AUGIE and ACT plus a whole lot more. But if we can link to them, point to their resources and encourage our members to take advantage of what’s already there, then we’re doing our jobs and making a difference.

That’s why over the coming months, I will be developing on the http://personallinesgrowth.org website harmonies with our peer groups, listing resources, descriptions and links to a whole host of resources for members to tap.

We’re are still moving forward with our The Power of Personal Lines podcast series and have already recorded two of them courtesy of American Agent & Broker magazine and the Agent/Broker channel on the PropertyCasualty360.com website. To start, we’ll be coming out with a new one every month which (if I can figure out how to insert a podcast player in our website) will be posted over on the left there for you to hear. Archives of PLGA podcasts can always be found on the PropertyCasualty360.com website.

So, if you have a success story about growing your personal lines business, let me know. If you’re a personal lines-only agency or carrier and would like to share what’s you’re doing to be successful, I would welcome the opportunity to talk. Remember, communications happens when you bring information together with intelligence.

Let’s harmonize!

PLGA presentation to AUGIE 2-18-11

Download the presentation first, then follow along with these comments.

PLGA Presentation at AUGIE Meeting – Talking Points

SLIDE 1

The Personal Lines Growth Alliance is one year old this month. I’ve been executive director since September and can honestly say this is the right time for this organization.

SLIDE 2

I say that because we have a fairly simple mission, which is to help independent agents and brokers grab a larger share of the personal lines market. We do that by conducting an educational, communications and leadership campaign to do two things, primarily. First, raise awareness of the value of personal lines business for agents and brokers and second, help them understand how to go after it.

SLIDE 3

Personal lines is a $230+ billion business, 50% of all Property/Casualty premiums. Personal Auto alone account for one third of all P&C premiums annually. And independent agents and carriers only capture around 35% of it. $150 billion goes to the likes of lizards and cavemen.

The current economy has hit our industry, as you all know, but fortunately not as bad as others. I’m sure all of you are feeling it in the commercial lines area. The recent survey conducted at the Joint Industry Forum shows that CEOs from the leading insurers agree. While they believe the worst is behind us, by line of business, they see a difficult year ahead for commercial lines while conversely seeing a continued improvement and growth for personal lines business.

SLIDE 4

That’s why it is a great time for agents to focus on the personal lines market. And PLGA is here to help.

SLIDE 5

First, PLGA is all about helping agents and brokers grow their share of the personal lines market and so membership is free for them. I hope you will all join if you’re not already a member.

Carrier and solution provider partnership fees are less than the price of a single full-page ad in most trades, so it’s not a huge investment but potentially can return a lot back to the companies.

Associations and User Groups are an important source for getting the PLGA message out and so, I will trade memberships with them for support like this.

I encourage you to visit the website – http://personallinesgrowth.org and check out our blog and feel free to send me your comments. You’ll soon find our latest feature, a regular podcast series entitled, The Power of Personal Lines. If you have a success story to share on how you’ve increased your personal lines market share, drop me a note and maybe we can do a podcast on it.

SLIDE 6

We’ve recently started up the monthly eNewsletter again and members are automatically be added to the list.

In the future, we’re looking at maybe doing some webinars, developing a best practices guide, providing some agency analysis of your current preparation for personal lines growth.

SLIDE 7

My last point I’d like to make is to acknowledge all of the great work that AUGIE, ACT and AIMS do which ultimately help agents to improve their bottom line and some of that is by helping them to grow their PL business. There are many other organizations in the industry that share our common goal as part of their own missions, but there are none, that I’m aware of, whose sole purpose is to grow the Personal Lines market share for independent agents and brokers and the carriers they represent.

I hope you’ll come and check us out and decide to become a member or supporting partner.

Thank you.

My 12 year old son just loves his X-Box 360 console and long before the next greatest, “got to have” game is released, he pines over it, talking incessantly about how he can’t wait for it. He goes online and reads insider reviews of the game, checks his current issue of Game Informer magazine for any write ups and chats with his friends about what they’ve heard. When it finally arrives, his mother and I know that we won’t be seeing much of him for the next several hours.

When he has finally played enough for that first day, he comes upstairs to share the excitement of it all. I know at some point (usually sooner rather than later), he will have “beaten” it, reaching the highest level, and the game will, like so many others, be relegated to the shelf, no longer a challenge for the master.

Having achieved that level of expertise with the game doesn’t mean he’s bored with it. It just means that the game is now fodder to trade in to the store when the next “got to have” game comes out. It’s gone from a position of great importance to a commodity waiting for the best trade-in value he can get.

Like my son’s gaming attitude, independent agents once looked on personal lines business as very valuable and a great way to incorporate themselves into the community. Over time, PL value has been relegated to that of a commodity; not important to the agent’s business, not worth the effort to sell it for the little return, and certainly not as exciting as commercial lines accounts.

But that’s when the opportunities are lost. When agents can only see personal lines marketing in the same way their fathers did; when agents let a lizard or caveman dictate their business decisions; or when agents believe it’s an “either/or” and not the “both/and” choice that it should be.

Independent agents are letting billions of dollars in commissions slip through the cracks by not aggressively going after the personal lines market. The Alliance is here to show you how to “spackle” those cracks closed and keep more of that business from going to the direct writers and captive agents.

Keep an eye out for information about our new podcast series – The Power of Personal Lines. We want to bring you the tools you need to succeed. Hearing from successful agents that focus on PL and how they did it, could be some valuable advice. Let us know what’s missing; stay in touch.

Rick Gilman, Executive Director

I started my career as a journalist for the National Underwriter Life Edition and as the life agent beat reporter I remember writing a number of articles encouraging agents to “cross sell” their life clients on home and auto coverages. Back in those days, it was always touted that life insurance had to be “sold” but property and casualty was “bought.”

So, life agents saw P&C as a fairly easy sell, as you can’t buy a home or a car without the proper coverage, and they leveraged it to round out their book of business.

Fast forward nearly three decades and we find the pendulum swinging the other way with many agents viewing the personal lines side of P&C as a commodity and too difficult to compete with the big direct writers or captive agency companies because buyers are just shopping around for the best price.

Thinking that commercial lines business is where their future and success lies, independent agents couldn’t be further from the truth. When you consider that property & casualty insurance accounts for about $460 billion in premiums and personal auto alone represents 34% of that number, the potential revenue is staggering.

Right now national and regional independent-agency carriers account for only about one third of the total personal lines premiums. Think about how much is slipping through the cracks in the independent agency system into the hands of the direct writers and captive-agency companies.

Shifting the balance in personal lines premiums is just what the Personal Lines Growth Alliance is all about. Getting the word out to those people and companies that support the independent agency system, educating agents on how to build a real sales culture amongst their staffs and giving them the tools to drive growth of PL sales is why more than 300 independent agencies and brokers, trade associations and user groups, national and regional carriers, and several technology providers are all part of the Alliance.

If you’re not already a member and/or you know of carriers that aren’t on the member list but should be, let us know. Help us reach out to others to strengthen our message; help us help you.