Page 29 - COVID-Proof-Your-Agency

Chapter 4 – Take Action | Blew, Caldwell, Masiello

war and every major pandemic, like the one we're going through today, leaves behind a society

and a business environment that has been changed in some fundamental ways. There is always a

new normal. What will that new normal look like in your agency?

POTENTIAL CHALLENGES

In all likelihood, this crisis caught you as it did virtually all of us, unaware and

unprepared. As you think about the new normal for your agency, how are your clients going to

be impacted over the next 3, 6, 9, and 12 months? If you are primarily a personal insurance

agency what are the things your clients will be most focused on as the crisis clears? Are there

coverages which you have not focused on that you will want to talk to them about? For example,

is it possible that clients will have a heightened sense of interest in life insurance? Will they want

to purchase disability or income replacement coverages they were not interested in before this

crisis? Will you need to prepare to explain to them why they shouldn't cut coverages that they

may be tempted to do in order to save money?

If your agency writes business insurance, it's entirely possible that you will find that you

have fewer clients than you did before this tragedy. How will you replace them? Of the clients

that remain many will be receiving premium refunds because they had less payroll and sales than

originally expected. When their audits are due, that will mean commission reductions for your

agency. While you are renewing the coverage, it will almost certainly be at lower premiums and

lower commissions because of lower expected payroll and sales. Most agencies operate with

only a few points of margin between receiving profit sharing and not. You may have a reduction

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