I recently spoke with an ad rep who’d wrecked his car. I reminded him
of how important it was to “not let go” of the repair process. He said
that he was sure his insurance agent was taking proper care of everything.
I asked why he felt that way, and his reply was simple...“I’m relying on people
who do this everyday.”
|
What a set of words! What a perception! Has he ever filed a claim
with this insurer? NO. Has he ever done anything with this insurer
other than mail in his premiums? NO. But he concluded that he was
more than confident in their capabilities.
|
What’s even more amazing is, I’ve shared with him over the past year
stories about insurers and their motives, and he still “let it go”
to his agent. Heck, I probably spoke with this guy more over the past
year than his agent. But, in the end, in a crisis situation he
reacted, he went “back to form”. Why?
|
Bottom line an insured believes compliance with an insurance company
is just like the way most people cooperate with the police when
something happens. The common perception is that they are an authority
figure there to help you...and are presumed qualified to do so.
|
What boggles my mind is you do thousands of windshield replacements
every year, but your knowledge and expertise of your business is
perceived as not as qualified and not as “foreground” as their
agents’ knowledge of your business. Why?
|
Focus group research reveals that in the mind of consumers, their
agent is held with the same regard as their doctor or lawyer. Your
place in their minds is more “behind the scenes”...an unknown
subcontractor or support staff, who they trust only because their
agent said so through his referral. It’s kind of like you’re an
assistant, a technician, or a paralegal, you’ve got a wealth of
knowledge, experience and great insight, but if a consumer needs
help, they believe they need to talk a “perceived” expert, like a
doctor or lawyer, and not to their support staff to find out what’s
the best thing to do.
|
When people are in a crisis situation people go “back to form”...they
RE-act. It’s the “fear/flight” instinct we all have in us. When
“cooler heads” prevail, you will win hands down, every time.
But that doesn’t happen often enough. And there’s little chance of
that ever changing. Instinct rules.
|
In conclusion...the only way to beat this is to become so well known
that your perception, credibility and reputation in the marketplace
are undeniable. Then and only then will you too will be perceived
as an expert. When people know you that well, that’s when the
paradigm shifts. You have to bring yourself out of the shadows and
become an accepted behavior.
|
|
And that’s when “The people I’m relying on who do this every day”
will be you too!
|
