Trevor Insurance

Dwight and Alan Trevor work in the insurance business started by their father, Lyle Trevor. Their problem is that to buy out their father's interest in the company they need to generate a larger income stream. They can obtain a bigger income by finding more clients, providing larger policies, or both.

To make matters more complex the insurance business is changing. Consumers are looking at larger deductibles to hold down policy costs, more are seeking term life insurance rather than cash value policies, and large companies are offering agent-less policies which eliminate a layer of costs and allow for lower pricing.

Advertising in the insurance industry has traditionally been image-based with such symbols as strong hands, mighty rocks, and comfy blankets. Since the Trevors do not have enough money to launch an image-based campaign, they instead turn to media marketing.

Finding the Media

The Trevors visit the library and quickly produce a media contact list. Since they live in a large city, they don't bother with suburban newspapers, but they do find two daily papers, six television stations, 31 radio stations, one city magazine, a weekly business paper and an in-town free- advertiser distributed in their neighborhood. Their contact list includes 62 names.

Develop a Program

The tradition with insurance brokers has been to mail renewal notices on an annualized basis, a tradition the Trevors decided to change. Rather than a simple renewal notice the Trevors prepare a personalized, individually-typed letter to each client and mail it about six weeks before renewal notices are scheduled. The letter goes like this:

Dear Mr. Smith:

Each year we conduct a special insurance audit without charge or obligation. Please complete the attached form and we will then prepare a computerized statement showing what policies you have, the type of coverage provided, and your annual cost. Where possible we will suggest where coverage can be changed to produce lower costs without meaningful reductions in coverage. The audit statement we send back should be included with your insurance records while a second copy is retained in your safety deposit box.

Please complete and return the audit form in the stamped, self-addressed envelop. Your information will be returned within seven days of receipt.

Once the form is received the Trevors complete the audit and then respond with a report folder stocked with specialized modules.

Working from a client's information, the Trevors might include modules on health, auto, and life insurance. Each module explains how individual policies work, what they cover, what is excluded, and how the policy can be changed with endorsements. For example, a homeowner's policy can be revised to include full replacement value rather than just the property's fair market value, which may be substantially less.

Through their insurance audit the Trevors obtained four benefits.

• They effectively updated their mailing list.

• They offered a service of value to clients.

• They developed a solid information base.

• They showed clients where coverage was weak and where policies are needlessly expensive.

The last "benefit" might not seem to good for the Trevors since their business goal was to sell as much insurance as possible. However, the best way to market their product was not to extract a client's last dollar. Instead it was better to give the client a better deal and build client loyalty that would carry over many years.

Peter G. Miller is an image, marketing, and public relations consultant whose clients include selected national corporations, associations, and web sites. Mr. Miller can be reached at peter@boardroomarts.com