Frank Phillips is the head of ReSource Pro’s award-winning Insurance Experience (IX) Center.
The trouble with small account management
For many insurance agencies, their book of business includes a large number of small accounts. Servicing these accounts takes significant time and energy from account managers. Yet in many cases, this segment generates only a small portion of the agency’s revenue.
With high attrition and mass retirement sweeping the insurance industry, many agencies lack the resources to divide their attention between these small, often unprofitable accounts and larger ones that more directly drive growth. At the same time, rising customer expectations put even greater pressure on already strained agency staff.
How can agencies shift their focus toward growth?
In short, small accounts represent a profitability challenge. Agencies have tried a range of solutions to address this, such as using carrier service centers or creating small business units within their organization. Other agencies might leverage insurtech platforms for quoting and binding or delegate select tasks to third-party vendors.
We’ve learned from our discussions with agencies, however, that these strategies often don’t produce the results they’re looking for. For instance, some carrier service centers only deal with basic policies and won’t fully assist with accounts split between carriers. This leaves agencies still dealing with much of the work they hoped to eliminate.
Other tactics might even be harmful. Third-party vendors without insurance expertise can produce inconsistent work, increasing your exposure to E&O risk. And while small business units can be effective, they still require agencies to redistribute talented staff from other important areas.
Try a different approach
Between the talent crisis and the demands of small account management, agencies looking to grow face a huge challenge. Many solutions simply don’t get the job done.
Agencies need access to experienced professionals with the right industry knowledge to deliver high-quality service to small accounts. That support can’t require agencies to scour for fresh talent or remove internal staff from higher-value opportunities.
ReSource Pro’s ExpressIX can help agencies fill those gaps. Acting as an extension of your agency, ExpressIX provides your small accounts with end-to-end service so you can focus exclusively on the accounts important to your agency. At the same time, we’ll help turn this challenging segment into a valuable part of your agency’s revenue stream. With our team pursuing cross-selling, upselling, and other new business on your behalf, your small accounts can become a powerful source of growth.
Visit our ExpressIX page or set up a conversation with us to learn more.