I am in Tennessee and everytime a client of farm bureau comes in the door with a HomeOwners Policy I cringe. I am currently with Superior Access with the markets of Safeco and Metlife. I also have Travelers and The Hartford, but the do not write monolines. Not only can I not compete with them it is not even close. Being that I am in the first year of my business I do not have many options. I am just looking for advice from some the veterans on this forum. I know I need to get directly appointed with standard carriers in my area, but I am just curious if anyone else is having these issues.
Competing with Farm Bureau
- Thread starter Bradley
- Start date
I'm in AR and its the same story here. What's really tough to be are their farm policies. Have you check out Iroquois Group? You can sign with them and have binding authority, but I don't know what companies they have in your state. If you are interested I can give you a contact number. I should mention, I get nothing out of it and I do not work for Iroquios.
- 136
I had an acquantance of my fam say that Farm Bureau wasn't paying claims, giving him hassles etc etc. If they are unbeatable then they have to be taking it on the chin somewhere. I wasn't able to quote him though because his son and I didn't get along in HS.
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Although I did have a full time claims adjuster tell me that Farm Bureau is the best at paying claims in TX.
I use SA as well and what I need along with direct appointments is a good substandard/standard set of carriers. I've been thinking about talking to other independent agents about pooling our biz to get direct appts.
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Although I did have a full time claims adjuster tell me that Farm Bureau is the best at paying claims in TX.
I use SA as well and what I need along with direct appointments is a good substandard/standard set of carriers. I've been thinking about talking to other independent agents about pooling our biz to get direct appts.
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Maybe you should find out "why" they are coming in your door first...then you have a "pain" that you can try to take away for the prospect. Maybe it's service, coverage,personality conflict, etc. you need to find out what problem they're trying to solve before you can offer assistance.
danielnoah98
New Member
It's in Kentucky also.....They have been kicking our asses for years....BUT Feb 25th they started Insurance Scoring in our County....I have AAA insurance and have been beating them as of late. I had one of their agents call me complaining that i was beating him....I just said "Welcome to my World" Its about time they struggle for a while.
- Thread starter
- #6
I think you're missing the picture or need to do some more homework/scouting. If these people "want" to have their insurance with you, then you need to provide benefits that are worth a few extra$$ or find the competition's weakness' that make you a better bargain.
When we ask questions prior to preparing a quote, we're asking things like: if you could change one thing about your current insurance what would it be? Is there a service that you'd like to get but aren't getting from your current agent ? What made you decide to shop/compare? uncover their pains and offer solutions/benefits
When we ask questions prior to preparing a quote, we're asking things like: if you could change one thing about your current insurance what would it be? Is there a service that you'd like to get but aren't getting from your current agent ? What made you decide to shop/compare? uncover their pains and offer solutions/benefits
mybeloveds
Expert
- 22
i have farm bureau myself
SeaDeezKnots
Expert
I try not to compete with places like Farm Bureau on the basis of price. These customers are likely to shop the policy every year and turnover fairly quickly.
My strategy is to sell myself, my accessibility, and the service I provide. It's easier to keep customers than find new ones. If your price is competitive and you can demonstrate added-value in the above areas, you will get their business in most cases.
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This is sage advice. If Farm Bureau was so great, they wouldn't be coming into see you. Discover the reason they are there.
My strategy is to sell myself, my accessibility, and the service I provide. It's easier to keep customers than find new ones. If your price is competitive and you can demonstrate added-value in the above areas, you will get their business in most cases.
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This is sage advice. If Farm Bureau was so great, they wouldn't be coming into see you. Discover the reason they are there.
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First Met, Travelers, The Hartford are all standard carriers. And are you doing a complete comparison. Home and Auto combined. Run auto first. I would say that most of them are looking because of the auto rates. I carry Met, Travelers, Hanover, etc and beat the Bureau every time on auto. They kill me with the house but I win many policies because I compare the home side by side. Met and Travelers both have better home policies with things like water and sewer back up and extended replacement cost. The Bureau at times (not all of them) but I find many do not do a full explanation of policy coverage and benefits. Many customers are not aware of what they have. Here is what I do... look at the policies and ask questions.. how do they feel about the current coverage... do they have any water and sewer back up, if not are they concerned about that... do they know what extended replacement cost do for them...etc. Do this before you even quote it. Then explain what you look for and what concerns you, because they see you as an expert with a valued opinion, otherwise would not even sit down with you. Then quote it. The auto first, I always beat the auto... and I show them some benefits like met with identity fraud protection (comes with the auto) accident forgiveness, and deductible buy down. Get them sold with better coverage and when you go against the house you are selling benefits.. I avoid talking cost as much as possible. Down play the price when you are cheaper on the cars and you will get away with downplaying the price when you are more expensive on the house.
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