Selling State Farm Life..Good Idea?

[Al3x Lee]

I did pretty well. I left because I got bored with P&C.

I'm thinking that's not the only reason you walked away from P&C

Her regional manager is hammering her to produce 6 life policies a month.

That's State Farm for you but for a full office that seems like a very achievable goal in any agency I would think

So I called them up. I got alot of upset customers wanting to go over their premium increase bill that SF issued out on all customers due to inflation.

Sounds like the P&C side of the business is more exciting than the life side!

The time to have offered these customers Life was when they first called in for Home and Auto. These customers are cold calls now.

I thought the time to offer life insurance was when someone was still young and healthy, but what the hell do I know?

The clients that ask for it are the existing SF customers that I have called up that already have Life thru SF and want to purchase more. ~ State Farm is not competitive in Life insurance.

There's your advantage. I would think that you've talked to enough State Farm customers by now to know that competitiveness isn't the name of the game. It's the name recognition and warm fuzzy feeling they get when they have the same insurance company their parents and grandparents used. The pricing is somewhat irrelevant. Most of your customers don't have life insurance and have no idea what the market rate is, but they trust you, so if you're not 500% higher than other carriers, you should still be able to close.

So that's why she wants me to be accountable for her life sales and wants me to report to her Regional manager.

A boss making her staff accountable for sales? The travesty. She should fire everyone and do it all herself

thatsbthe reason I left last year because I got tired of general P&C.

Tired or bored? Sounds like P&C maybe was too much in the current market?

 

[scagnt83]

There's your advantage. I would think that you've talked to enough State Farm customers by now to know that competitiveness isn't the name of the game. It's the name recognition and warm fuzzy feeling they get when they have the same insurance company their parents and grandparents used. The pricing is somewhat irrelevant. Most of your customers don't have life insurance and have no idea what the market rate is, but they trust you, so if you're not 500% higher than other carriers, you should still be able to close.

I think that is quickly becoming an antiquated philosophy for most consumers.

80% of people google a product before buying.

That means only 20% are not shopping rates for life ins.

State Farm life ins revenue is down almost 40% year over year from 2021-2022.

That is WAY more than industry average. Pricing has everything to do with that imo.

You can get a term quote for competitors in less than 5 minutes online. When someone sees they can pay $50/m instead of $100/m, and they can apply right then with the possibility of no medical exam..... SF loses that sale every time.

 

[scagnt83]

I thought the time to offer life insurance was when someone was still young and healthy, but what the hell do I know?

The best time to cross-sell is on delivery of the initial purchase. Not years later.

Its not impossible, but ratios are going to be much higher at time of initial purchase.

 

[Allen Trent]

The best time to cross-sell is on delivery of the initial purchase. Not years later.

Its not impossible, but ratios are going to be much higher at time of initial purchase.

in PC world, I disagree. In PC, if you have some home/auto, maybe umbrella, boat, RV or even commercial, your relationship with client builds. you are much more connected to their life events that impact their PC--marriage, new home, refinance, car accident, serious claim, new children born. I think the reason State Farm has so much active life insurance on the books is not so much because they are selling life insurance to new customers (it does happen), but because they are able to pivot on a PC renewal to Life.

At the time of a new PC sale, gathering all the minutae to get the auto/home/commercial completed & the hundreds of questions, it can be difficult to add life into that PC transaction unless the agent/staff make it a point to do a follow up call, delivery of PC to then verify everything is in order & offer additional products offered.

Last I saw, SF was up around 7% of life insurance market share nationally & we know that isnt because of #1 rates or #1 product innovation or ease of doing business

 

[Al3x Lee]

I think that is quickly becoming an antiquated philosophy for most consumers.

80% of people google a product before buying.

That means only 20% are not shopping rates for life ins.

State Farm life ins revenue is down almost 40% year over year from 2021-2022.

That is WAY more than industry average. Pricing has everything to do with that imo.

You can get a term quote for competitors in less than 5 minutes online. When someone sees they can pay $50/m instead of $100/m, and they can apply right then with the possibility of no medical exam..... SF loses that sale every time.

Clearly you don't talk to enough State Farm customers

 

[scagnt83]

Clearly you don't talk to enough State Farm customers

Ive sold against state farm many times over my 16 year career selling life insurance.

I myself am a state farm customer.

As I said, there is a reason their life sales are down 40% year over year.

Times are changing.

 

[scagnt83]

At the time of a new PC sale, gathering all the minutae to get the auto/home/commercial completed & the hundreds of questions, it can be difficult to add life into that PC transaction unless the agent/staff make it a point to do a follow up call, delivery of PC to then verify everything is in order & offer additional products offered.

Thats why I said at delivery.

You dont throw everything at them at once.

But years later is not the ideal time, in my experience.

Get them while insurance is still on their mind. But after the initial sale is finished.

 

[scagnt83]

Last I saw, SF was up around 7% of life insurance market share nationally & we know that isnt because of #1 rates or #1 product innovation or ease of doing business

For in-force business, yes. But that is 70 years worth of sales.

For new sales, I dont think that is accurate.

 

[Al3x Lee]

I myself am a state farm customer.

Out of curiosity, how long have you been with them and why?

 

[jdeasy]

The best time to cross-sell is on delivery of the initial purchase. Not years later.

Its not impossible, but ratios are going to be much higher at time of initial purchase.

I don’t know about P&C business but I get a lot of referrals. And the vast majority of them on policy delivery.