Key Resources in the Insurance Industry

This week I’m continuing my exercise of looking at the commercial insurance industry. I’ll be summarizing the some of the key resources that an insurance agency utilizes within the insurance industry as described by my mother, who has been in the industry as a customer service representative for more than 30 years.

              Some of the key resources that she was able to identify for her agency are multiple branches offering services statewide, knowledge about the customer, knowledgeable sales, knowledgeable customer service, a large network of represented companies, and long-term employees. When she started at her agency 30 years ago, the agency was only a single office staffed by a small handful of employees. Just like the agency was small, so was their reach into their market. However, over the past 30 years or more the agency has aggressively grown, through acquisitions, mergers, and organic grown, to the point where they now have 8 large offices throughout Michigan. The addition of the office locations allows the agency to better serve their customers wherever they are.

              We talked about their key resource of knowledge about the customer and how that expanded into knowledgeable sales representatives and knowledgeable customer service representatives. In an earlier article we discussed how the knowledge that the agency staff can bring to their client is one of their strong value propositions. The knowledge that their staff brings to their clients is a vital resource, helping the client determine what the right coverage is, what coverages they need, or don’t need, and how to handle any insurance claims that may occur. She feels strongly that in an industry like insurance, it is important to stand out to the client with a resource like solid knowledge about insurance.

              Another of the key resources that my mother identified was the large network of insurance companies that her agency represents. Because of this large network of insurance companies her agency can use to find their clients the best insurance options, there are few, if any, times where her agency cannot meet the insurance needs of their clients. This is particularly noticeable when you consider the range of industries the agencies clients operate in. They can find appropriate policies at competitive prices for clients in residential and commercial construction, in manufacturing, dentistry, healthcare, and in restaurants, just to name a few. There are some insurance concerns that are common to all industries, such as workers compensation insurance. However, there are insurance concerns that are unique between industries as well, and their large network of insurance companies can cover the entire range of insurance needs.

              The final thing that she was able to identify as a key resource were the long-term employees that her agency has been able to retain. This goes hand-in-hand with the resource of knowledgeable sales and customer service, although it would be possible to maintain that knowledge by hiring long-time insurance professionals from other agencies. However, keeping employees long term instead of “restocking” the talent pool because of employee turnover with long-time insurance professionals doesn’t maintain the level of comfort and trust that clients build with the agency by having the lasting personal relationships.

               The insurance industry on its surface appears to be a commodity industry. Price is often a driving factor of customers picking between insurance products. However, by utilizing the key resources of knowledgeable people and a large market presence is an effective way to stand out from the crowd in an ever more congested industry.