Insurance Agents
Represent insurance companies in selling insurance to clients.
Month-end at the agency
You are a licensed insurance agent at a small independent agency, in the last week of the month with a sales target on the whiteboard. It is Tuesday morning. The target is still a long way off, a storm hit the district last weekend and your phone has already rung four times before nine.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
I just want the cheapest contents cover. I have got a new laptop and a bike, but I do not want to think about it. Can you just tick the basic one and be done? I do not really read the fine print.
Tick the basic cover and finish quickly, because that is what she asked for
Dina is happy for now. But when her bike is stolen from a shared garage, she finds out that the basic cover has limits she never heard about.
Ask what she owns and where she keeps it, then explain which limits matter to her
Dina learns that her bike and laptop need different cover from the basic option. She chooses a plan that fits and does not pay for extras she does not need.
Sell her the most comprehensive policy, because it is better to be safe and it helps your target
Dina pays for protections she will never use. When she realises, she cancels, and the agency has lost her trust.
A tree came down on my shed in the storm. I rang the claims line but I do not understand the forms and I am worried they will say no. You are my agent, please can you help me through it?
Help him with the forms and photos, and keep in touch about the claim
The claim is lodged with clear photos and the right details. It is accepted, and Mr Papadopoulos tells his neighbours you stayed with him all the way.
Tell him the claims team deals with it now, and he should wait for their call
He waits, feels abandoned and misses a deadline for extra information. The claim is delayed and he blames the agency.
Fill out the forms for him and promise it will definitely be accepted
You were helpful, but you cannot promise what the insurer will decide. If the claim is declined, he will remember what you said.
We are well short of target. That client with the old car, Mr Tran, is due for renewal. His cover has not changed but could you suggest an upgrade? If he signs up we get over the line. I know it does not really suit him, but just give it a shot.
Suggest the upgrade, because your boss asked and the client can always say no if he does not want it
Mr Tran agrees because he trusts you, and later realises it does not suit him. You made the target at his expense, and you know it.
Tell Gwen you will review his cover and only suggest a change if it truly helps
You review Mr Tran's cover, find it is right as it is and tell Gwen so. She is disappointed about the target, but respects the call.
Tell Gwen it is not right, and refuse to speak to Mr Tran at all
You stand up for the client, but Mr Tran's renewal is left unchecked, and Gwen feels you shut her down without discussion.
How it went
At the end of the week you were still short of the target, but three clients had cover that fitted and one claim was under way. Insurance agents earn trust by asking, explaining and sometimes recommending nothing. Would you be comfortable putting a client's needs first when the target says otherwise?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The cafe that thought it was covered
A fictional case set in a small independent insurance agency in a fictional country town.
The situation
Carlos ran an insurance agency in a small town. Every year he rang his clients to check their cover was still right. When he rang the owner of a local cafe, she said nothing had changed, but he remembered that she had mentioned plans to add a catering van. Her policy covered the cafe building and contents, but not vehicles or food prepared away from the premises. She was keen to save time and asked him just to renew everything as it was.
What they did
Carlos asked her a few more questions about the van and where it would operate. He explained in plain words what her policy covered now and what it did not. He gave her a short written note describing the gap, and a quote for the extra cover. He told her it was her choice whether to take it. He did not push, and he made it easy to say no.
How it turned out
The owner took the extra cover. Four months later, an accident damaged the van while it was parked outside an event, and the claim was accepted. She told two other business owners in town that Carlos was the only person who asked about their plans before renewing.
What would you do?
- Why did Carlos ask questions instead of just renewing?
- How is giving advice different from pushing a sale?
- What would you want from someone selling you insurance?