Service Center

[Porter]

Just curious does anyone have an opinion on using the carriers service centers? Carriers like Safeco, Kemper and Allied have all asked if I would be interested in using it for like 2 points off commissions.

I would like to know if anyone else is using them or not.

[rodgwag]

Service centers like Safeco's "Gold Service" are worth the two points. Encompass also has a service center that we use. With Encompass you don't have to pay the two points until renewal.

[CObroker]

Absolutely for the smaller cert intensive accounts. It can reduce your need for an extra csr.

In addition, have you noticed that most Csr's complain about the high service requirement and penny pinching that goes on with those little accounts. Sometimes the Csr's will spend half the morning complaining about 1 account. If you add up every time those <$500 revenue accounts call in, by the end of the year it has cost you money to insure them.

My opinon is to absolutely move those little pain in rears to a service center.
(I have only used Hartfords service center. They do a great job 90%+ retention)

However, keep the ones that give you referrals.

My .02

[CATHIEA]

Just my opinion but might be food for thought. If all the client contact is with the service center then why should they stay insured with you? What is your value to them? What stops the client from rewriting their policy direct if they buy a new house or ???? As for CSR's that spend half the morning complaing about working - I have a remedy for that in my office - it's called unemployment.

[jaybird]

From a CSR's point of view, I would love to be able to put the service centers to use. My employer does not like the idea of shirking client calls to another party. I agree in a way, but there are those small accounts that constantly call with billing questions & other minor things that a service center should be able to handle. I think offloading these smaller needy accounts could result in more productivity. Some of these tiny BOPs and auto require more maintenance than they are worth. There are days that we can spend 3 - 4 hours just answering billing questions,small claim questions & other little things. I would love to have this time to do the re-marketing & quoting & other stuff that makes clients happy. Most of this stuff has to be done afterhours as we are dealing with the billings & stuff during the normal work hours.
- Just 2 cents worth from a CSR.

[rodgwag]

Safeco Gold will give you full credit if one of your client's buys a new policy of any kind. Clients are often impressed if you have a separate 24 hour call center that they can call for service. You will not lose clients, in fact, they will stay longer. As for value to your customers, your value is your choice of carriers and insurance knowledge.

[wlunday]

Jaybird makes a comment about productivity... well, maybe. Like any business, taking some of the responsibility off an employee like a CSR may only enable laziness unless the manager also takes steps to re-direct the staff. I hired an additional CSR expecting more from producers and CSR's alike and simply found that they all worked a little less!

I know some large agencies use the Safeco Gold Service. More power to them. But, for 20% of my agency cash flow I can afford to have 2 CSR's full-time and still put money in my pocket!

[Porter]

Thank you for your posts. I appreciate everyones time and opinions.

[steve32]

Has anyone recently switched to using a service center? If so, how did it go?

Or, has anyone used a service center and then gone back to servicing your clients directly?

I have a smaller agency and starting to think that this might be a good idea. It's a very small percentage (i think like 2 points) to use them.

Thanks for your help in advance.

[Big Dog]

Here are some thoughts from the "client side" perspective. I work for a large healthcare provider in their risk management department. Our work includes the review of insurance requirements and often includes dealing directly with a vendor/contractor's insurance agent/broker.

For those that have their insurance coverage that's handled by one of these "service" centers, the task of getting just a Certificate of Insurance issued correctly is a story in and of itself. Many of these "service" centers make it almost impossible to reach someone of any skill level to get the job done correctly.

I've dealt with CNA, Hartford, and Travelers (thus far). All make it quite difficult to get to the right person to get a simple COI issued correctly, or to get a coverage question answered.

Rough translation - they can be a pain in the butt for someone on the client side....

[Brenda H]

As a veteran CSR, I was told many moons ago, that the only thing we, as an insurance agency, had to offer that was different than our competitors, was ourselves, and our service. I wholeheartedly agree! I have worked for several small agencies that did not utilize the service centers, and one larger one that did. I have to agree, that having SC clients, just makes the CSR's lazy. And I am in that position! If I am having to stay later or come in on the weekends to get my work done, then I should re-priortize my day. There is no reason that a CSR shouldn't be able to answer billing/claims questions and still be able to get other work done also. I am in unique position, being a two person office, so I handle servicing issues as well as new business for both small commercial and personal lines and I rarely, if ever, have to stay later in the office, take work home, or come in on the weekend.

I have heard, on several occasions, from different insureds, that they enjoy calling our office and knowing that 1) the phone is answered by a real human, and 2) that the person they are talking to actually knows who they are and they don't have to go through an autobiography every time they call.

On the other side of that coin, I have also heard from COI holders that they enjoy only having to request once a COI that issued correctly the first time, and that they can actually talk to the same person twice. I undestand that completely, since most of the companies that we deal with as IA's you don't ever talk to the same person twice, so you have to repeat your story every time you call.