How to Retain Insurance Customers

When you became an insurance agent, did you know you were getting more than a sales job? It’s true! Agents with strong insurance client retention rates find their role is equal parts sales and customer service.

Implementing customer retention strategies provides real results! We’ll walk you through everything you need to know to start building rapport with your clients.

What Determines Client Loyalty?

Consumers who rate their experience a 10 out of 10 spend 140 percent more. If you provide top-tier, excellent service to your clients, they’re more likely to keep shopping with you and buy more!

Beyond just numbers, you can translate those same customer values into actionable selling practices:

• Quality — Develop a trustworthy, professional, and reliable relationship with your client.
• Customer Service — Provide prompt and courteous responses to questions.
• Rates — Offer competitive rates. (It’s OK if they’re not the lowest!)

It’s important to remember that your client looks to you for guidance. As an independent agent, you work for the client, not the insurance company.

Focus on a client as a person, not just a policy. When your client holds the value in the renewal process, you show them a level of quality that’s tough to beat.

Be an Agent Who Cares

When you deliver a positive customer experience, clients are more likely to keep coming back and tell their friends. You never want them to think you’re just trying to make a sale and forget about them.

This isn’t just about you, though. It’s about the client.

Although most people can shop for insurance online, a survey found that even in the age of AI, 88 percent of people still prefer to interact with a human.

Getting Started

Nobody expects you to memorize everything about every client. However, a simple spreadsheet can help you keep track of important details, like birthdays. Adding notes to their contact information in your phone is another way to make sure you always have that info on hand.

Try learning these things about your client:

• Personal details:
  • Spouse’s name
  • Kids’ names and ages
  • Birthdays and anniversaries
  • Their job/industry
  • Sports/clubs clients or their kids are in
  • Upcoming vacations
  • Favorite sports teams
• Preferred method of contact:
  • Text
  • Call
  • Email

While this might sound like a lot of work on your part, it’s worth the effort to avoid losing customers. Remember, it’s harder to “fire” a friend than an agent!

Put Your Current Clients First

The more you communicate with your clients, the better your chances of retaining them. When your clients know you respond quickly and care about helping them, they’ll come to you first with their concerns.

But making your customers happy isn’t just about retaining one sale. Excellent customer service also earns you easier cross-sell opportunities, more referrals, and more returning customers.

Excellent customer service earns you easier cross-sell opportunities, more referrals, and more returning customers.

Don’t Discount Your Renewal Commissions

There’s no denying Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement initial commissions are a great foundational income. However, by their very nature, they pay out at that rate only in the first year.

If you put a larger focus on satisfying those turning 65 and new clients you find after their initial enrollment, their cumulative renewal commission rate will likely surpass that initial commission within a few years (as long as you stay certified).

Consider how much of your time and resources you’re spending each year on initial enrollments in comparison to serving the clients who have already purchased a policy. Ask yourself, “When a dissatisfied client intends to change their plan this AEP, will they also find a new agent?”

If a dissatisfied client changes their plan this AEP, will they also find a new agent?

Launching your own client loyalty strategy? Download our guide, The Complete Guide to Client Loyalty and Retention!

Stay in Touch

The more you stay in touch and know about your clients, the more likely they probably are to feel appreciated and well taken care of.

Times you can reach out to clients:

• Plan renewal dates – check in about their coverage
• Before the annual enrollment period – offer plan reviews
• Celebrate their “planniversary” – the date they signed their first policy with you

Ways to stay in touch can include:

• Newsletters (personal and business-related)
• Email campaigns (birthdays, turning 65, a new plan enrollment)
• Surveys
• Cards or letters

Resources to Help You Stay in Touch with Clients

Developing a strategy to build client retention and loyalty can feel overwhelming. Remember the tips we shared in this post and apply them to your everyday interactions with clients.

Use the resources we mention in The Ultimate Agent Resource List Pt 2 to keep in touch with your clients and build lasting relationships for years to come.

At Ritter, we want you to succeed, so we’ve created a Content Library for insurance agents to use with their clients.

Resources are included in your Ritter registration so get started with us today and start applying these great materials in your practice!

When you keep consistent contact with your clients, your relationships become more mutually beneficial. As you build a steady, reliable source of referrals and generate easier cross-sales opportunities, your clients gain better protection, increased clarity, and greater peace of mind from following your advice.

Client retention isn’t just another business strategy; it’s the foundation of long-term success! Register with Ritter to access resources to help build client loyalty such as our Content Library, and IntegrityCONNECT to help you source leads.