As an insurance agent, you’ve got a lot on your plate—and your job responsibilities are only expanding. Today’s clients want and need you to serve as their business consultant. The good news? You can actually use this to your advantage.
By positioning yourself as a trusted advisor, you can save your clients time and money, which not only demonstrates your unique value over the competition, but also results in lasting business relationships—and likely plenty of referrals.
So where do you start? The first step is to really dig in and ask questions to truly understand their business challenges and needs. From there, the conversation can take a number of directions based on their specific situation. The following are a few ideas for getting your foot in the door as your clients’ or future clients’ risk management expert.
Evaluate Their Total Cost of Risk
When evaluating risk, one of the biggest mistakes your clients can make is to think only about the insurance premiums they pay. Total cost of risk is the sum of all aspects of an organization’s operations that relate to risk, including retained (uninsured) losses and related loss adjustment expenses, risk control costs, transfer costs and administrative costs.
We know their true cost of risk encompasses much more. In fact, for every dollar a business pays in direct costs, they are paying up to an additional four times that in costs related to indirect losses.
As their advisor, your clients want to see cost savings from you that are both evidence-based and quantifiable. While some companies have risk management programs in place, no program is complete without knowledge of their total cost of risk. Evaluating their total cost of risk, including insurance premiums, indirect costs of claims, administrative expenses, retained losses, training costs and lost productivity, can help set you apart from the competition and strengthen your relationship as an indispensable partner.
Prepare Them for a Workers’ Compensation Audit
Annually, approximately 25% of accounts’ premiums will increase after a workers’ comp audit. That can mean thousands of dollars to your clients and a lot of wasted time if they are not prepared. Nearly every company that has undergone an audit will identify it as a major pain point. A great way to showcase your value is to prepare your clients ahead of timelping them streamline the process and avoid costly mistakes.
Become the Mod Analysis Master
One of the most efficient and effective ways to add value to both clients and prospects is through work comp experience modification worksheet analysis. Instead of creating your own reports from scratch, by leveraging tech tools for mod analysis, you can quickly and easily identify cost drivers and provide strategic guidance to help your clients improve their mod, instill a culture of safety and save money.
This strategy can deliver long-term, cost-reducing solutions to make a significant impact on a clients’ bottom line. What’s more, you’ll gain their trust, helping to lock in retention.
Help Them Develop a Risk Management Process
While many companies likely have components of a risk management program in place, helping your clients create a comprehensive, documented risk management process can have a huge positive impact on their business.
First, help them gain a greater understanding of the four main steps:
- Identify exposures.
- Develop strategies.
- Implement a program.
- Benchmark results.
Then, guide them through the process with resources, toolkits, training and safety manuals to help make it productive and painless.
By approaching your clients and prospects with a valuable program or process that can save them time and money, they’ll have a higher regard for your expertise and appreciate your offering on a whole new level.
To learn more about any of the business strategies mentioned above, contact Zywave at [email protected]. For tech solutions to better position yourself as a risk management consultant, visit www.zywave.com/property-casualty.