It is something that every insurance agency has to deal with – some clients will decide to move on and cancel their policies at some point. Learning what to do when a client cancels can sometimes help you change their mind and prevent the cancellation. At the very least, it will let you know what changes you can make to prevent other clients from taking their business elsewhere in the future.
Try to Convince the Client to Stay
Most clients will let you know they want to cancel before they begin the cancellation process. After all, you typically need to be involved in the process. This gives you a chance to use your retention strategies and convince them to stay.
Prepare for this by learning about the most common reasons that clients are likely to cancel. This way, you can prepare strategies to convince them to stay ahead of time.
Changes to Assets
Depending on the type of insurance that your agency sells, your products may no longer seem like a good fit if your client has a change in assets. For example, maybe you sell business insurance, and a client is permanently closing their company. Or maybe your client has recently purchased a high-end vehicle or valuable art collection, and they don’t think that your agency has the expertise to insure assets that are a bit less common.
In this case, you want to reassure your clients that your policies are flexible. You can easily modify their policy to fit their changing needs.
The Prices Increased
One of the most common objections in insurance sales has to do with cost, especially when premiums rise. This can cause clients to leave in search of better rates.
The solution here is as simple as working with clients to find a better deal or different combination of coverage that fits their budget. As with cancellations due to changing circumstances, this is the time to highlight the fact that you work with a range of carriers. You can also highlight the fact that you offer a variety of policies.
Make sure to ask clients about the deals they found elsewhere. This will give you a specific price point that you need to beat and will help you ensure that you’re comparing similar coverage options. If the policy that they have with you has increased policy limits and they’re comparing those rates to a policy with state required minimum coverages, it’s also a good time to educate your customer on the importance of having the right coverage amounts in place. If you can get close to that price point, you may be able to convince the client to stay. If you can’t match the price, you can still convince them to stay by showing them the added value they’ll get from working with your agency.
They are Relocating
Another common reason for cancelations is if a client is moving. They may think that they have to get a new policy that is within their state.
In this case, explain to them that not all insurance types and carriers require new policies when you move, even you move between states. Then, explain that even if their situation means they need a new policy, they can still get it through you. This is especially true if your agency is licensed in multiple states.
Reinforce that if the premiums rise from their new location, you can work with them to adjust their coverage and meet their price point.
At the very least, remind clients that they don’t want to have a lapse in any insurance. This could make it much harder to get a new policy or lead to higher premiums in the future. Instead, encourage them to lower their coverage limit temporarily.
They Are Unhappy with Your Customer Service
This is one of the scenarios where it will be the hardest to prevent your client from canceling. Even loyal customers may want to work with a different insurance agency if they have a poor experience with you.
Do your best to understand why your client is unhappy. Acknowledge their dissatisfaction and explain how you will correct the issue. You should outline how you will remedy the situation and how you plan to prevent it from happening again.
Prevent Cancelations by Building Client Loyalty and Relationships
Before you even get to a situation when a client wants to cancel, work to prevent that by building customer relationships. Building a positive relationship with your clients will lead to loyalty. You can also build loyalty by offering good service, affordable rates, and flexibility.
Remember that part of building loyalty includes asking for feedback regularly and implementing it.
Learn from the Cancelation and Prevent Other Dissatisfied Clients
When you do lose a client, make sure to turn it into a learning experience. The most important thing to do in this situation is to survey your clients when they leave. Ask them specifically why they left and if you could have done anything to have prevented them from doing so.
Take the information you get from clients to heart. This applies to both the clients that go through with the cancellation and those you manage to retain.
Keep track of the various complaints and reasons for cancelation. If a reason appears only once, then it may have been a one-off. Even so, you should confirm that it is not an issue by getting feedback from other clients.
More importantly, if you notice multiple clients cancel for the same reason, work to address the issue. Maybe there is a particular service they wish you offered or something they wished you could do differently.
Maintain a Positive Interaction Throughout the Cancelation
In addition to using the cancellation as an opportunity to learn how to improve your agency, use it as a chance to maintain your reputation. This is as simple as being polite and professional throughout the cancelation process. After the client cancels, send them a note saying that you are sorry to see them go and thank them for being a client. You can send this note right from your Jenesis software.
This will ensure that your relationship with the client ends on a positive note. This email or note is also the perfect opportunity to ask for the feedback mentioned above.
Conclusion
Cancellations are an unfortunate but natural part of running an insurance agency. Developing a strategy ahead of time will help you retain clients, even when they want to cancel. If they still choose to cancel, ask them what led to their decision so you can prevent issues with other clients.