The other night I was watching television and was shocked to hear an insurance company on there talking about saving money. Wow! That was a new concept I hadn’t heard in the last three minutes. But any way, they were hawking something about “not buying what you don’t need”. Of course, we all know the direct writers love to sell low or minimum auto limits to minimize their exposure to loss (and of course on six month policies so unsuspecting and naïve consumers think it’s half-price), but this ad was talking about homeowners insurance.
You can do this too, without hurting your clients, increase your close ratio, and save the client money by reducing coverage on somethings he might not own or need.
We represent an AM Best A-rated carrier Homeowners carrier who will allow their insureds to reduce or eliminate Coverages B, C, and D on a homeowners policy. Think about this: if your client lives in a house with a high replacement value, does he necessarily need 70% of that amount on his personal property? Or, often in urban areas, the client doesn’t have other structures such as garages, sheds or the man-cave in the back yard.
And, we need to bear in mind that the kitchen fire that got out of control when Uncle Elmer deep fried the Thanksgiving turkey in the living room while watching the Macy’s Parade isn’t a guaranteed first-class ticket to the Ritz.
Coverage D is additional living expense it costs to live in temporary living quarters while his or her home is being repaired; since this coverage can also cover loss of rents be particularly careful if you’re insuring a 2-4 family owner occupied home, or derives income from his home in other ways.
Reviewing your clients’ needs and adjusting these coverages can save your clients significant money, but done haphazardly can have catastrophic results, including a trip to see the man in the funny black robe in the big stone building in the middle of town. Once you’ve arrived at the proper amount of coverage, and saved your client some premium dollars, it gives you the opportunity to let him use that savings to protect himself with other valuable coverages ranging from service line, identity theft, and other important protection.
If you think the geeks behind the online and 1-800-RIP-UOFF providers will take the time to go beyond linking the address to Zillow and dinging the prospect’s credit card for the first monthly payment, you’ve probably seen Nancy Pelosi sipping wine at Mar A Largo too!
Chenango Brokers offers a wide range of top rated admitted (and non-admitted) carriers for your clients’ homeowners insurance needs; the coverage choices will vary depend on the location of the home, as not all of its markets are available in each state writes business in. They write 1-4 family owner-occupied homes, secondary homes, Airbnb in the home, in-home business products, vacant dwellings, homes in the course of construction, modular and mobile homes and more. They offer carriers who do not credit score, as well as those who do. Personal auto coverage is available in select states, and personal umbrella coverage is available in most of the twenty states Chenango writes business in.
Check out Chenango’s lightning fast new business underwriting team by taking a test drive. Send a completed ACORD app to quotes@chenangobrokers.com and get your quote back in 37 minutes or less; to become a broker, visit www.chenangobrokers.com/signup
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To learn more about the author and owner of Chenango Brokers, John Mason grab a copy of his latest book on Amazon: “Follow The Money: How to Go From Insurance Agent to Wealthy Entrepreneur and Live the Lifestyle of Your Dreams”
