The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted so many economies. It has also affected the insurance industry. This has been challenging for us insurance agents because our day-to-day jobs involve going into the field to look for leads or meet clients. Which means that we’ve had to really focus on how to navigate this new normal so our businesses remain standing.
However, while trying to sort out this challenge, it’s very easy for us to forget that COVID-19 isn’t our only problem because our insurance businesses face other challenges every day. In this article, we explore other challenges that we face as insurance agents:
- Lead generation
Lead generation is one of the biggest challenges we all face when selling insurance. While selling is our top priority, it can be hard to achieve. This is because many prospects are often doubtful and unwilling to accept that the type of insurance we’re selling to them is a necessity.
- Lack of trust in the industry
Many customers are apprehensive about the insurance industry. I’m sure we all have that experience where we’ve been unable to sell insurance because of the lack of trust for the insurance industry. I’ve personally been told off enough times with the words ‘you insurance people are liars/ conmen/ thieves’. This mistrust mostly stems from failures to pay claims or payouts.
- Competition
To be honest, the number of insurance agents in Kenya is quite large. According to the IRA, there’s approximately 10,000 licensed insurance agents in Kenya. The products offered by different insurers are quite similar. Which means that the competition in the industry is quite stiff. Therefore, every agent has to look for a unique way to generate and close leads. It’s even harder for new agents because they are yet to build reputations, as compared to more seasoned agents.
- Increased customer expectations
By the mid-90s, millennials had overtaken generation x to become the largest living generation globally. Therefore, as the years progress, more and more millennials are becoming insurance customers. One thing that we have to keep in mind, though, is that this group of customers isn’t the same as the older generation. They expect convenience, instant information, and 24/7 customer service for their inquiries involving their insurance policies. They also expect to achieve this on the move.
This is a challenge for insurance agents who are yet to catch up with the times. If you can’t meet your customer’s expectations in a timely and satisfactory manner, you’ll probably lose them to a competitor.
How to meet these challenges
Lead generation: In order to create an effective lead generation strategy, you need to evaluate what you’re currently doing that isn’t working. From there, you can adopt a new lead generation strategy. For example, we’re living in a digital age. Can an informative blog help you generate leads? What about social media marketing? Apart from the digital angle, can you use your existing loyal customers to refer their friends or family to you? Such methods can easily work in your favor.
After collecting leads from these methods, get personal with these people. Make sure you meet with them face-to-face so you can explain to them why the coverage you’re selling will make their lives easier. This will help you close your leads (this is a tip from a seasoned insurance agent)
Trust: When dealing with customers, you need to always keep in mind that customer relationships are established through trust. You can build trust by always being open about what you’re selling; for instance, by clearly explaining all the terms of a policy.
Competition: Stiff competition will always be there. So, it’s up to you to approach your customers in a way that’s unique from your competitors. Differentiation is key to creating competitive advantage.
Customer expectations: The increasing customer expectations are an opportunity for you to differentiate your services. With excellent customer experience, you’ll be able to meet these customer expectations better than your competitors.
Conclusion
If you’re an insurance agent who thinks on your feet, you’ll use the challenges you face to differentiate yourself. And as mentioned above, customers now expect instant service and information. Modern technology can help you offer this to your customers. It will help improve your efficiency and effectiveness, and differentiate you from your competitors. This means improved customer satisfaction, and possibly customer referrals. As a result, you’ll be able to overcome such challenges.
Agencify is all about using modern technology to solve some of the challenges that insurance agents face. By offering an insurance management platform, we enable you to manage your insurance businesses on the go. This creates time for you to chase and close leads. It also helps you offer exceptional customer service. To learn more about the Agencify platform, reach us on email: contact@agencify.insure
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