2001 Best Practices Study

A NALYSIS OF A GENCIES WITH R EVENUES L ESS T HAN $500,000

B EST B USINESS P RACTICES A NALYSIS

C USTOMER S ERVICE AND S ATISFACTION Over three quarters of the agencies in this revenue category are from smaller communities. Because their clients are typically neighbors and friends, they strive to show a sense of urgency and to be available to clients, be it longer hours of operations than their competitors, weekend appointments, or providing 24/7 availability through emergency numbers, pagers, or making their home phone number available. They use draft authority extensively to settle small claims quickly, and for larger claims are proactive in keeping the client apprised of the claims process and status. They are prompt at returning phone calls and responding to requests, have processes in place to continuously improve client coverages, and are quick to investigate and resolve problems that cause clients to be unhappy. Although carrier service centers are used somewhat for personal lines, the agencies in this revenue category tend to prefer to service their clients in house. This is a very difficult issue for the agencies in this revenue category. Most feel they cannot compete with larger agencies in attracting, training, and compensating new producers. If they are able to bring on a producer, it is usually through the acquisition of that producer’s book of business. Support staff is somewhat easier to identify and hire as a result of these agencies’ involvement in community and industry activities. Once on board, employees tend to become “one of the family” and turnover is generally low. Job satisfaction tends to be high because these employees are expected to do – and feel they have control to do – a job from start to finish. As one agent stated, “Whoever answers the phone owns that call.” Although small, these agencies offer employees many rewards including close relationships, a more casual atmosphere, recognition of their contribution, and monetary rewards when the agency succeeds. H IRING , D EVELOPING , AND R EWARDING E MPLOYEES

“Our risk management attitude separates us from the order takers. Nothing makes me more excited than improving a client’s coverage and eliminating fatal gaps in coverage. ” “A client will probably only have a couple of claims in their lifetime, whereas we see them regularly and could get callused if we didn’t try to view everyone’s claim as the most important claim we have ever had.”

“I give the people in our office credit for having common sense and experience to do a job without me having to look over their shoulder all the time. I back their decisions, make sure they have the tools and information they need and just let them do their job.”

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