When you work in the insurance industry, you sometimes find odd coverages. It’s amazing to think of some of the things people want to be insured against. We hear stories of everything from celebrities insuring body parts to stargazers seeking alien abduction coverage. With so many unusual and unlikely lines out there, it’s easy to dismiss new coverages as wasteful. That might be a mistake.
While lines like cyber liability coverage might sound a sci-fi as alien abduction, it is a vital coverage. Companies that operate without some form of cyber liability are at risk of legal and operational problems. That may be something that you already know, but if you have been in the industry a long time you probably know how alien modern coverages can appear to older insurance agency owners.
Set In Your Ways
When you reach a certain age, it’s easy to dismiss things you don’t fully understand as faddy and unnecessary. You can get set in your ways when those ways have worked fine for thirty or forty years. However, another facet of being an older insurance agency owner is the fact that you will soon need to sell that agency.
A younger buyer may approach a purchase expecting certain lines to be a part of the deal. Buyers usually prefer to use the existing staff after the purchase, making your people’s knowledge a factor in the deal. A lack of knowledge of modern, emerging risks could negatively affect the salability of the agency.
That doesn’t mean you should rush out and implement every new line and research every emerging risk you hear about. Your agency’s overall value relies on growth and revenue, so you need to build everything around a solid range of core products.
Implementing New Lines
However, there are measures you can take to make sure that you don’t get left behind by forward-thinking rivals.
Research: You probably monitor insurance trends already; the difference here is to make sure you carry that monitoring into real research into new products. You need to know which will become vital lines and which are a waste of your time. Research is the only way to accurately make that distinction.
Hire the right people: It is important that you hire producers who are willing to learn and develop new skills if required. Progressive employees can help you to understand new trends and offer far more value to clients and potential buyers.
Focus on client needs: Effective research and knowledgeable employees will allow you to implement whatever new trend you like. The trick is knowing which ones suit your business. If you identify a new line that will be important but will require new employees and a big outlay, you need to know it will fit your current clients’ needs. If the new coverage would only suit a new client market, it may not be worthwhile.
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