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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.
“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.”
H
IRING
, D
EVELOPING
,
AND
R
EWARDING
E
MPLOYEES
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.
“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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