Transform Your Approach - Speak to P&C Agents and Help Increase Their Retention, Revenue and Referrals by Introducing Life Insurance

Shifts in the Property & Casualty (P&C) marketplace continue to pressure insurance producers. Premiums, commissions, and client retention are down; while overhead, workload, and price competition are up. Figuring out what to do next to keep the ship afloat is challenging but you can help.

For years, captive carriers have recognized the power of “fully monetizing” the client relationship, but that’s hard to do. At AimcoR, we are working on how our member BGAs can assist P&C producers in adding life insurance and financial planning services to their practice. In short, life insurance is one of the most powerful ways to navigate through the new insurance reality and drive increased client retention. 

Interestingly enough, P&C producers have a client base that the traditional life insurance producer can only dream about. Most P&C agencies having hundreds of clients, so the opportunity for substantial revenue growth following the introduction of life insurance is tremendous. The P&C market is soft and P&C producers have hundreds of clients that need life insurance. But the P&C industry has a poor track record of offering life insurance solutions. The conclusion: BIG OPPORTUNITY. 

Why do P&C producers traditionally steer away from life insurance conversations with their clients? Is it because life insurance is too complicated? Maybe the underwriting process takes too much time? Both of these could be considered valid reasons for the lack of life insurance adoption in the P&C space. However, we’ve discovered that neither is the real reason. The answer is that for years, life insurance companies, wholesalers, and producers have been positioning the life insurance opportunity to P&C producers as a way to make more money. Life insurance normally pays a large first year commission and very little, if any, recurring commission after. P&C producers are accustomed to recurring revenue and renewals making the year one commissions of life insurance not that appealing. In essence, what excites a life insurance producer is different from what excites a P&C producer. 

Therefore our approach needs to shift if we want to find success in getting P&C producers to offer life insurance products to their clients. Now the question becomes, “How will speak to the P&C producer?” Through our research and experience we have found that client retention is more meaningful to a P&C producer than anything else.

Positioning life insurance as an additional line of business offering increased chances of client retention is key in getting P&C producers to consider offering our products. The more product lines a P&C producer has in place with a client, the better chances they have of retaining that client relationship. This ultimately drives recurring revenue for their core product lines and stabilizes their book of business providing decreased attrition and an increase to their book of business’s valuation.

Each time a P&C producer engages with a client in a conversation about life insurance or retirement planning, the producer is opening their client’s mind further to the value the producer adds to their overall plan. In essence, selling life insurance becomes the gateway to a deeper relationship between the producer and their client.

If a P&C producer is interested in offering life insurance and financial products, they owe it to themselves and their clients to engage them in the right way. Without having an expert to support them, they are likely going to harm their relationship with their client and will steer away from the life insurance conversation all together. They know that their clients want the help and this is where a life specialist or wholesaler, like you, can add tremendous value to a P&C producer. You can help them transform their relationships, drive higher retention, add more revenue, and obtain referrals to new clients. It all begins with getting their attention and establishing trust. 

So how do you go about doing this? First, get in front of the producer. Don’t call, write, or send an email. They won’t respond.

Once you are in front of the producer ask if they personally own any life insurance. If they do, use this as an opportunity to teach them the process and offer to perform a complimentary review of their life insurance. Walk them through this process on their personal policies first and get them comfortable with the process. Talk to them as you would their clients and give them the full attention and service they can expect their clients to receive. 

Make them a believer in YOU and then work to get engaged with their client base. Expect the first clients to be smaller. No one will introduce you to his or her #1 client first. You’ll have to deal with smaller sales and build confidence through working on business you may normally steer away from. 

Ultimately this will lay the path to establish the trust, confidence, and comfort the P&C producer needs to introduce you to their largest clients. It will take time and patience to find success in this space. If you are willing to commit, you will build meaningful relationships that last for years. If not, you will be just another wholesaler and never see the true potential the P&C market possesses.

For more information on AimcoR Group, LLC please contact us at 866.428.0108 or visit our website at www.aimcorgroup.com.