What Do Clients Want From Their Health Insurance Agents

Navigating health insurance can be overwhelming, so in order to win over prospects and retain existing clients, agencies need to do everything in their power to facilitate positive relationships and give clients what they want. Luckily, what many clients want from their insurance agents tends to be the same across the board. It all comes down to feeling like they have a partner in their agent who is supporting them every step of the way.

In this blog, we’ll discuss the things every agency should strive for in their interactions with prospects and clients in order to provide the best customer experience possible, as well as the technology that can help your company achieve it.

Breaking Down What Health Insurance Clients Want

Compliance changes, Medicare changes, and the impacts of inflation are feeling more intense than ever. It’s been a year for agents and policyholders alike. And there are only more expected to accompany the upcoming enrollment season and new year. One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is what clients want from their insurance agency, which is:

• Value in the rates your team finds for them
• Their insurance needs taken care of
• To trust you and your company
• Quick service responses
• Personal attention
• Coverage choices
• To feel confident that they are making the right insurance decisions

As Open Enrollment approaches, some specific ways your team can ensure top-notch customer service include thoroughly sharing plan updates with clients, answering any and all questions, and maintaining empathy when advising on coverage choices. The common thread here, you may notice, is communication.

Just as what clients want from their advisors hasn’t changed, neither has the importance of communication in delivering it all. Many agents know this, but we’re human, and things can fall through the cracks. However, it doesn’t have to be that way.

How the Automated Workflows in Your Agency’s Health Insurance CRM Can Help

The only surefire way to ensure timely communication occurs with prospects, clients, and agents is to automate it — or at least automate reminders to your team to reach out.

Automation allows you to transition from manual processes to efficient and consistent processes. This way, nothing falls through the cracks. Clients are contacted when they should be, tasks are assigned so they're taken care of at the right time, and you're able to monitor all activities happening so everyone is on the same page.

More specifically, automated workflows empower you to deliver exactly what prospects and clients want most, driving retention. Their confidence in your and your team’s ability to always be on top of things, making the world of health insurance that much easier to navigate, fuels loyalty.

Automated workflows allow you to use the data within an agency management system (AMS), like AgencyBloc's AMS+ solution, to set up the criteria and triggers that prompt actions. In other words, you choose what happens and when.

There are a lot of scenarios where your team can employ automation from lead nurturing to onboarding to client retention. Here are some more specific scenarios you can build using industry-specific technology, like AMS+.

Lead Follow-Up Automated Workflow Details

Trigger Type: New Lead

Trigger When: A new lead is created via your website’s lead form

Actions:

• Immediately: Email is sent to the lead who filled out the form ("Thanks for your interest!")
• Immediately: Activity assigned to the agent of record with a due date to follow up

After you’ve sold this lead, you want to make sure you retain them in the coming years. Use an automated workflow to automate their policy renewal that helps you keep their retention top-of-mind!

Automatically assign activities to the policy’s account manager or agent of record to remind them to reach out and get the renewal process going.

Policy Renewal Automated Workflow Details

Trigger Type: Policies

Trigger When: A policy’s renewal date is approaching

Actions:

• 120 days before renewal date: Email sent to the client to alert them of the renewal and encourage them to schedule a meeting
• 90 days before renewal date: Email sent to the client to remind them of the renewal and urge them to start the process
• 60 days before renewal date: Email sent to the client with a reminder about the renewal
• 30 days before renewal date: Activity assigned to policy’s account manager to tie up any loose ends on the renewal

Include compliance documents in your communications to ensure Medicare clients sign their Scope of Appointment or others sign their annual attestation. It’s also best practice to always include your scheduling link to streamline appointment setting.

6 Pre-Built Automated Email Templates 

Another client retention tactic you could set up a workflow for is a simple “Happy Birthday” message, letting your clients know you’re thinking of them.

In this case, the message’s trigger would be the date, but triggers can be anything from status changes to new record creations and beyond. It’s custom, so you can build automation uniquely to your agency’s needs.

That being said, AMS+ includes the following six pre-built automated workflow templates to use as a starting point.

1. Happy Birthday: Send an email to a client honoring their special day. (For a unique celebration, send it on their half-birthday.)
2. New Individual Prospect: Never miss a follow-up with automated activities assigned to agents in your account.
3. Lead Form Submission: Thank new leads for their interest, confirm their submission, and let them know that someone will be reaching out soon, all while assigning an activity to a member of your team to follow up ASAP.
4. Policy Application Submission: Never miss a step and streamline the policy application process.
5. Group Policy Renewal: Get a jumpstart on policy renewals with an automated reminder ahead of time. Send an email to the policyholder to get them in the mindset as well.
6. Agent License/Insurance Expiration: Simplify agent management with automated reminders for when their license or E&O insurance is expiring, and rest assured they're taken care of.

Ensure You’re Always Primed to Give Clients What They Want

Knowing that communication is what prospects and clients crave, you just need to find the best way to deliver it consistently. For busy insurance agencies, the best way is undoubtedly with automation.

To use automation tools and ensure you’re giving clients what they want, you must be using a CRM or an agency management system (AMS). If you’re not yet, switching to a CRM or AMS is a vital step in providing your prospects and clients with the service they expect.

Ready to learn more?

This blog was originally published on September 26, 2018, and was most recently updated on September 10, 2024.

Posted by Kelsey Rosauer on Tuesday, September 10, 2024 in Insurance Agency Management System

1. client retention
2. data management
3. insurance automation