A Soft Market Can Expose a Weak Client Relationship

When consumers suddenly have more options, price is no longer enough to keep the book together.

For the last few years, insurance agencies have operated in an environment where choices were limited.

Carrier appetite tightened.

Underwriting became harder.

Prices increased.

And in many cases, clients stayed because there simply was not a dramatically better option somewhere else.

That is beginning to change.

More Choice Means More Shopping

As the market softens, carriers want to grow again.

More options enter the marketplace.

Pricing becomes more competitive.

And suddenly the client who had very few alternatives may have several.

That creates an interesting reality for agency owners:

Retention can actually become harder in a softer market.

Your clients are going to be approached.

Some are going to shop.

And a relationship built around one policy and an annual renewal conversation becomes much easier to disrupt.

Become the Full-Time Agent

One of Shane’s biggest recommendations is to look inside your existing book.

Do you only have the home?

Only the auto?

One policy sitting by itself while another agency handles everything else?

That is an opportunity.

Cross-selling creates additional revenue, but it also deepens the relationship.

The more of the client’s insurance you understand and manage, the harder it becomes for another agent to replace you with one cheaper number.

Do Not Stop Selling

There is also a danger in becoming so focused on protecting the existing book that the agency stops producing new business.

Some clients will leave.

That is unavoidable.

So while retention deserves attention, the sales engine still has to run.

The agencies that handle a soft market well will not choose between offense and defense.

They will do both.

Protect the relationships you already have, but never stop creating the next one.

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