Pushing paper

There appears to be a lot of action on state legislative hills these days. Politicians have been meeting in most Western states to consider a wide variety of insurance proposals to regulate the industry. And hundreds of bills are likely to emerge, as legislators attempt to improve the lives of local residents and businesses.

There doesn’t appear to be similarities among the states’ proposals. While Colorado is concerned primarily with whether medical payments should be a mandatory part of automobile insurance, Washington hopes to develop a new fraud division. Hawaii wants to increase competition by allowing a new insurer to write auto and homeowners policies in the state. Meanwhile, California has a host of issues on its legislative roster — everything including proposals on mandatory insurance investments, new reinsurance regulations and automobile premium rating factors. And a stack load of other bills are likely to emerge all throughout the West during the rest of 2006.

Yet if you don’t get caught up in the flurry of paper moving from one legislative committee to the next, you’ll see at least one commonality: Regardless of whether insurance regulations are created, transformed or killed, independent insurance agents and brokers largely bear the responsibility of interpreting the new regulations, and conveying the information to customers.

Take for example the new weighting for auto rating factors that California’s Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi has proposed. Assume — just for an instance — that the proposal sails through. Consumers soon will be wondering why their premium rates have increased or decreased, and how their policies have changed. Even if there’s no impact on an insurer’s bottom line, if an average agent-broker writes 5,000 policies and the laws and premiums change, that’s a lot of explaining to do.

Insurance agents and brokers are often criticized for making money at the expense of others’ downfall. However, their earnings can be worth every penny. Because successful agents and brokers know they have an incredible responsibility, to help inform and educate their customers.

Customers might question their charges; the cost for insurance premiums to an average bystander sometimes seems out of line. But savvy information insurance agents and brokers know how to prove the value with their service.

Are you wise to good customer service?

You should be, if you want to be successful.

Ask yourself how you can help customers assess and understand their risks — and leverage their dollars. Your customers will soon realize that such advice, a.k.a. customer service, is priceless.

So the next time a regulation or policy changes, remind your customers that you understand your responsibilities, as well as theirs. Don’t be a slave to your computer, just sending out sheets of renewal notices and watching the checks roll in. Instead, assure your loyal consumers and businesses that you will help them navigate a complex and politicized system. Ultimately, that will increase your value — and you will be recognized and rewarded for a lot more than pushing paper.

Topics Agencies Legislation