Insurance companies are great at acquisition but bad at retention. Jack Morton offers our unique POV and 5 ways insurance brands can keep more customers.

1. WHY INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE GREAT
AT ACQUISITION BUT BAD AT RETENTION,
AND 5 WAYS INSURANCE BRANDS CAN
KEEP MORE CUSTOMERS.
THE BREAK UP

2. CUSTOMERS ARE BREAKING UP WITH
THEIR INSURANCE PROVIDER.
INTRODUCTION Hanah Holpe
Creative Strategist at Jack Morton Chicago
Hanah Holpe
Once upon a time… insurance was sold exclusively by Agents – primarily
relying on building relationships and generating word-of-mouth to drive
business.
But today, customers have stopped caring about relationships because many
insurance companies have stopped focusing on them. Outside of receiving a
bill or filing a claim, a policyholder has only infrequent contact with his or her
insurance carrier. And that contact isn’t typically by choice—driven by a need
to file a claim or update coverage. Consumers have been choosing providers
by convenience, or even price.
The reality is that it’s a whole new insurance
ballgame, requiring a whole new approach.
The following pages highlight some top-level findings and focus on five ways Jack
Morton can improve your customer experience. We’d love to hear what you think.
THE BREAK UP: 5 WAYS INSURANCE BRANDS CAN RETAIN MORE CUSTOMERS
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3. CONSUMERS
VALUE EXPERIENCE.
In a recent study we conducted, we discovered that1…
80%
Agree (60% strongly)
87%
Agree that previous
78%
Agree (44% strongly) that
that overall experience experience is they’d pay more for a
is the #1 factor when important (62% very product or service if they
deciding to purchase a important) when choosing knew they’d have a unique
product or service. brands to use in the future experience with that brand
However, we found an interesting gap…
Only
26% believe that the experiences they’ve actually had
with brands have been extremely or very unique
THE BREAK UP: 5 WAYS INSURANCE BRANDS CAN RETAIN MORE CUSTOMERS
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4. AND THERE ARE
HIGH EXPECTATIONS
FOR THE WAY AN 66%
INSURANCE BRAND of recent auto insurance
buyers said “strong
ENGAGES. customer advocacy”
makes a big difference
when choosing an
Sure, price is a key factor when shopping for insurance, but insurance brand.3
it isn’t the only thing that matters. In fact, 10% of recent auto
64%
insurance shoppers didn’t select the lowest priced quote.2
It’s really about the
experience above all else. of recent auto insurance
buyers said it’s important
for a brand to be known
Research shows that strong customer advocacy and for “superior customer
superior customer service are rated the top two things service.”3
customers look for in insurance providers.
THE BREAK UP: 5 WAYS INSURANCE BRANDS CAN RETAIN MORE CUSTOMERS
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5. YET, THE PRICE
TUG-OF-WAR IS
COMMONPLACE.
Customers are armed with an increasing number of price-comparison shopping tools.
And brands are playing along with the price war with constant “switch and save”
messaging. But really, how low can insurance companies go?
In addition, switching rates have sharply increased – doubling from 2005 to
2011, rising sharply since 2008.4
THE BREAK UP: 5 WAYS INSURANCE BRANDS CAN RETAIN MORE CUSTOMERS
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6. AND THE SPLASHY
AD CAMPAIGNS ARE
PERVASIVE.
Do-it-yourself, rate-shopping companies and traditional insurance
companies are all campaigning to be the loudest –
investing a lot of money on mass advertising (4.15 billion in 2009
– more than double what the industry spent in 2000), and even
on multiple campaigns at once.5
It’s a competition to be the loudest, most convincing, or cheapest.
Sure, the messaging is attention grabbing and they’re getting
creative on storytelling, but they’re doing very little to
deliver on that investment. Ultimately, they’re losing,
rather than retaining, the customers acquired.
THE BREAK UP: 5 WAYS INSURANCE BRANDS CAN RETAIN MORE CUSTOMERS
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7. INSURANCE BRANDS
WILL RETAIN MORE
CUSTOMERS ONCE
THEY GET BACK TO
ENGAGING WITH
THEM (NOT JUST
TALKING AT THEM).

8. EXPERIENCE BRANDS
CREATE DEEPER, STRONGER
RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH
ENGAGEMENT.
Many brands are wising up. They recognize the power of experiences can inspire
people and drive business growth. They’re investing in unique engagements and
maximizing every touchpoint where they interact with key audiences.
We call these brands “experience brands.”
However, too many insurance
brands are still missing the mark.
They fall short at exactly those moments when a brand can build a
relationship with its most important people.
THE BREAK UP: 5 WAYS INSURANCE BRANDS CAN RETAIN MORE CUSTOMERS
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9. TO BE AN EXPERIENCE BRAND,
INSURANCE BRANDS SHOULD…
1. AVOID THE PRICE WAR AND FOCUS ON
HOLISTIC VALUE
2. TRANSFORM THEIR EMPLOYEES AND
CUSTOMERS INTO BRAND ADVOCATES
3. CREATE CROSS-CHANNEL CONSISTENCY FOR
A SINGULAR COHESIVE EXPERIENCE
4. DELIVER SUPERIOR CUSTOMER SERVICE BY
ENHANCING OWNED MEDIA
5. BUILD LOCAL RELATIONSHIPS TO GENERATE
QUALITY REFERRALS
THE BREAK UP: 5 WAYS INSURANCE BRANDS CAN RETAIN MORE CUSTOMERS
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10. 1. AVOID THE PRICE WAR AND
FOCUS ON HOLISTIC VALUE
Price matters to shoppers and customers
alike. But what matters most is the return on
experience (ROE) brands provide.
D
EX
Make it your goal to redefine what value
AN
YO IEN
PE
means to your brand – not just customers’
BR
R
pockets – by championing the unique offering
UR CES
UR
(beyond your products) you provide to UNIQUE
YO
customers. VALUE
Every interaction your brand has with
customers and shoppers should provide an
inimitable interaction that brings your YOUR PEOPLE
brand’s unique offering to life – your
brand, your people and the experiences you
provide help differentiate.
THE BREAK UP: 5 WAYS INSURANCE BRANDS CAN RETAIN MORE CUSTOMERS
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11. 2. TRANSFORM EMPLOYEES
(AND CUSTOMERS) INTO
BRAND ADVOCATES
Similar to any franchise model, keeping the brand consistent from marketing to field agents is difficult.
Align and guide your most important assets – front-line employees including Agents,
Agency Managers, Customer Service Reps and Sales Reps. They can be your greatest advocates—
transforming your customers into advocates, too. A three-pronged focus will help your Agents become
a relationship-focused and make your brand a proactive, service-oriented brand.
Distribute focused, timely and relevant communication to your
COMMUNICATE workforce so they’re up-to-date on key messages and programs
Provide a forum for agents to share insights and ideas, fueling a BRAND
ENGAGE sense of ownership and responsibility for corporate initiatives PASSIONATES
Equip agents with useful tools and information that empower
EMPOWER them with confidence to advocate your brand
THE BREAK UP: 5 WAYS INSURANCE BRANDS CAN RETAIN MORE CUSTOMERS
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12. 3. CREATE CROSS-CHANNEL
CONSISTENCY FOR A
COHESIVE EXPERIENCE
Today, insurers rely on multiple channels:
along with agents, they sell directly through call CU
S RR
centers, the web, and increasingly, mobile devices. P ER FIELD E
OFFICE
N
P
And the consumer is in the driver’s seat – expecting to
T
O
CU
L.
SH
MO
seamlessly and conveniently hop from one channel to
CIA
SO .
DIG . SO
BIL ITAL
BIL
S
TOM
E
ITA CIAL
NEW
the next.
MO DIG
E.
L.
ER S
.
Cross-channel selling is complicated. And while every
touchpoint should be customized by audience and SALES CLAIMS
need, focusing on holistic experience design – CENTER CENTER
choreographing the interactions between a brand and DIGITAL. MOBILE.
SOCIAL.
its most important people – makes a big difference.
Create simple and direct transitions from one touchpoint
to the next to enable customers to focus on the
experience rather than the logistics.
THE BREAK UP: 5 WAYS INSURANCE BRANDS CAN RETAIN MORE CUSTOMERS
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13. 4. DELIVER SUPERIOR
CUSTOMER SERVICE BY
ENHANCING OWNED MEDIA
Insurance is an intangible product (not to mention complicated). Owned media
experiences – the touchpoints and assets your brand owns – in the customer’s shopping, purchasing
and service journey are most important in helping make it as simple, empowering, helpful and
tangible as possible. Three owned media channels are key: your digital ecosystem, your people and
your environments. Enhancing owned media will, in turn, influence positive earned media.
DIGITAL PEOPLE ENVIRONMENTAL
• Empower consumers with easy- • Provide a clear set of customer • Develop a kit of parts to make
to-use online tools and apps service expectations to deliver a each local office experience feel
• Balance education and seamless experience and look the same
entertainment on your website • Offer educational and training • Make each local office
• Leverage social media for opportunities that focus on the environment feel like a destination
ongoing customer customer experience • Bring your office into the
service and • Develop a platform for employees community with a pop-up or
STAT!
insight- COOL lennials to stay up-to-date on campaigns mobile experience
f Mil
gathering 48% o h 28%
it
and programs
ared w
(comp mers)
get
oo
of Baby B otes
nce qu
insura
online.
4
THE BREAK UP: 5 WAYS INSURANCE BRANDS CAN RETAIN MORE CUSTOMERS
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14. 5. BUILD LOCAL RELATIONSHIPS
TO GENERATE QUALITY
REFERRALS
Relying on cold calling will do very little in building relationships (not to mention little opportunity
to differentiate from the competition). What generates the most successful and long-term business is
creating a pipeline of quality referrals – from both your most loyal customers, of course, but
also your (many times overlooked) local business partners. From mortgage brokers and real
estate agents to the local go-to auto shop, these connections can help Agents tap into a pool of like-
minded, relevant shoppers.
Create appreciation Integrate business Develop a standard
programs for your most partner referrals into process when
valuable local business your sales goals and engaging partners
partners to encourage metrics to encourage for agents and agency
referrals, celebrate your the field to hunt for managers to fully maximize
partnership and generate new relationships and the long-term power of
brand loyalty. strengthen existing ones. these business partners.
THE BREAK UP: 5 WAYS INSURANCE BRANDS CAN RETAIN MORE CUSTOMERS
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15. INSTEAD OF THE LONG-TERM
RELATIONSHIPS
GETTING INVOLVED INSURANCE BRANDS
IN A SEEMINGLY CREATE WITH THEIR MOST
IMPORTANT PEOPLE –
NEVER-ENDING FROM EMPLOYEES TO
ACQUISITION CUSTOMERS, SHOPPERS,
COMPETITION, BUSINESS PARTNERS AND
THE LOCAL COMMUNITY
MAKE IT YOUR – IS KEY TO BUILDING
PRIORITY TO A STRONG BASE OF
LONGTIME CUSTOMERS.
SATISFY AND
RETAIN CURRENT
CUSTOMERS IT’S TIME TO
BY HAVING GET BACK TO
MEANINGFUL ENGAGING (NOT
INTERACTIONS JUST TALKING).
WITH THEM.
THE BREAK UP: 5 WAYS INSURANCE BRANDS CAN RETAIN MORE CUSTOMERS
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16. RESOURCES
1. Jack Morton proprietary study,
“The Best Experience Brands”, 2011
2. J.D. Power & Associates Reports, “Importance
of Price to Insurance Shoppers Increases,
While Satisfaction with Price Decreases”, 2010
3. Forrester, “The US Auto Insurance Buyers Journey”, 2009
4. McKinsey Consumer and Shopper Insights,
“Consumers Shake Up the Insurance Market”, June 2011
5. Advertising Age, “How the Insurance Industry Got Into a
$4 Billion Ad Brawl”, February 2011

17. ABOUT JACK MORTON JACK MORTON WORLDWIDE IS A
GLOBAL BRAND EXPERIENCE AGENCY WITH OFFICES ON
FIVE CONTINENTS. OUR AGENCY CULTURE PROMOTES
BREAKTHROUGH IDEAS ABOUT HOW EXPERIENCES CONNECT
BRANDS AND PEOPLE—IN PERSON, ONLINE, AT RETAIL AND
THROUGH THE POWER OF DIGITAL AND WORD OF MOUTH
INFLUENCE. WE WORK WITH BOTH BtoC AND BtoB CLIENTS TO
CREATE POWERFUL AND EFFECTIVE EXPERIENCES THAT ENGAGE
CUSTOMERS AND CONSUMERS, LAUNCH PRODUCTS, ALIGN
EMPLOYEES AND BUILD STRONG EXPERIENCE BRANDS.
RANKED AT THE TOP OF OUR FIELD, WE EARNED OVER 50
AWARDS LAST YEAR.
CONTACT
Doug Wilber
+1 312 274 6034
doug_wilber@jackmorton.com
© Jack Morton Worldwide 2012