Nearly 30 million small businesses pepper the Main Streets of every community across the United States, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
They are restaurants, dry cleaners, contractors and professional firms, and opportunity abounds for the insurance market when it comes to selling policies to these workhorses of the American economy.
In fact, a small-business survey from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners found that more than 90 percent of small businesses carry property and liability coverage, and just more than 60 percent carry workers’ compensation coverage. Further, as the small-business community grows, so does its need for insurance policies including workers’ compensation, business interruption, commercial auto and other coverages, according to the NAIC.
One important first step in targeting small businesses is for independent agents to understand and bring to light their advantages over their exclusive agent competition. Local agents can’t compete in the same way as exclusive agents who are spending more than $1 billion on advertising. Instead, they should focus on targeting small businesses who prefer to work with their community agent. Approach the small-business owner who prefers to do business on a local, neighborhood level and would rather work with a person, not a computer or call center.
Independent agents should remember what it is that makes them unique to the marketplace. When compared to their exclusive-writing counterparts, independent agents can provide more diverse products and services as well as white glove, in-person customer service.
So, how does a good independent agent tap into this lucrative market that could literally be next door? Let’s examine some buying selling strategies:
Read the full article in Property Casualty 360, written by Matt Masiello, President and CEO, SAN Group.