With changes in consumer behavior and challenging economic conditions, sales professionals everywhere are struggling to differentiate themselves and grow their business. The insurance industry is becoming increasingly competitive, making it very difficult for brokers to win and retain clients. Brokers often struggle to get their foot in the door with new prospects. In this environment, brokers need to be innovative to stand out.
Mid-market is the most profitable and coveted segment, and therefore the most fiercely competed over. Medium-sized companies have the same problems as
Fortune 500 companies, just on a smaller scale. The problem lies in risk solutions; these solutions don’t scale and small companies are unsure of where they can turn for help. As a result, medium-sized businesses do not benefit fully from risk management.
Insurance brokers deal with these companies every day, sharing advice on one important aspect of risk: their insurance. Brokers specialize in helping these same companies use broader risk management resources, tools, and services. If the brokers do not provide risk management services, others will: accountants, lawyers, and OHS and WCC consultants.
Insurance brokers should talk to their clients and prospects about risk management in a way they understand.
Here are 8 points every insurance broker should discuss with their client:
Chubb Insurance recently launched its new interactive resource and community addressing risk management challenges for businesses and individuals, Risk Conversation. I think this is an important step in the right direction for the insurance industry! 
This industry is not well known for being innovative, so it is very encouraging to see Chubb leading the way. The Risk Conversation website includes loss prevention information, blogs, and risk assessment tools that help users identify, understand and mitigate risk.
• Risk assessors that help users identify potential loss exposures and test their risk management know-how;
• Blogs that provide risk management insights, observations and tips from Chubb’s underwriting and residential & commercial loss prevention specialists, as well as from other risk management professionals who join the conversations;
• Risk Management polls that gauge the public sentiment on timely risk issues; and
• News commentary and analysis of current events that impact the risk management landscape.
There is a real need out there for good quality risk management resources as well as a general need to raise awareness about the importance and value of formal risk management. I like this site because it has a lot of practical tools and information for everyone.
Check it out here http://www.riskconversation.com/
We aren’t technically in a recession (that we know of), but it’s not looking good! Troubled economic times make your clients and prospects price shop; that increased competition is the icing on the cake for brokers who are also struggling with the economy. A slight change in approach can go a long way towards growing brokerage revenues and weathering the economic storm. 
I once gave a presentation to a large regional brokerage on risk management, how they could use it to help them attract and retain clients and, of course, make more money. Everyone in that room nodded at the right time, laughed at the right time, and said all the right things – my presentation seemed to be on track. However, when I was done, a senior partner in the room piped up and said, “That all sounds really good, but we make money by selling insurance policies.” That was back in 2004 – things have changed since then.
Now, risk management is a value-added service that is often considered essential by insureds. I’ve discussed this topic in many posts before, including the post Using Risk Management to Increase Brokerage Revenue.
As a trusted advisor, your clients already expect you to help them manage risk. In fact, many of your insureds, if asked, would tell you that their insurance broker is their risk manager. You already have their confidence in dealing with risk, so why not take it to the next level?
Make no mistake, in these especially trying times, risk management has become the single most critical issue in the mindset of your target customer – if you don’t offer your customers a more robust and personalized service, by finding ways to minimize the cost of risk, they will find a broker who does.
This week, ClearRisk is proud to present a guest blog post by Allan R. Morton, Jr. CIC, CRM.
Allan is the managing partner of Morton Insurance & Risk Management. 15 years in the industry is marked by his passion to drop money to their bottom line and increase negotiating leverage with insurers via proactive risk management. He is a Certified Insurance Counselor as well as Certified Risk Manager.
One of the biggest challenges I have is how to keep a prospective client’s eyes from glazing over when the phrase “Risk Management” is mentioned. It’s almost like those two words are part of a magical incantation which puts many in upper management into trance-like states. It confounds me. There is something utterly unglamorous about it I suspect. It’s not exciting, flashy, or as sexy as landing a big deal.
Recently, I wrote a guest post for our partners Sitkins International. ClearRisk is a strategic partner of Sitkins International and provides Sitkins members with a way to deliver the risk reduction approach online ™.
This post summarizes the first of three steps in helping your clients understand the value of risk management.
The insurance market is fiercely competitive. Insurance agents and brokers (hereinafter agents) need ways to create a competitive advantage to attract and retain business. There is a great opportunity for agents to really differentiate themselves by helping clients to manage risk more broadly than just providing insurance coverage. The greatest challenge is that most of your clients don’t know anything about risk management; so how do you make them see the value?
Here are 3 how-to steps:
This is the second installment of five blog posts that summarize the 25 quick tips from my eBook, “Insurance Premiums Are Killing My Business”. This risk management ebook is a great start for small to medium-sized business owners that are curious about starting the risk management planning process.
The tips below have been written with small to medium-sized businesses in mind, although the same principles should be employed by very large businesses.
Click here if you want to review risk management tips 1 – 5 before going on.
Work with your insurance broker/agent to make sure you have all the coverages you need without paying for bells and whistles you don’t need.
Often a topic for debate, the issue of insurance as a commodity sparked a great discussion on LinkedIn. I’d like you hear what you have your say in own comments section below.
A commodity is defined a good that is the same no matter who supplies it, and can be differentiated based on price.
Is it true that all insurance is the same aside from price? How do most companies decide where to purchase their insurance?
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