Does cycling uphill beat skiing downhill?
Way back in the day, advisers were originally told that a successful way to sell Protection was to “ski downhill”. E.g. generate a fully protected quote offering the highest level of life cover, critical illness and income protection.
When the cost was revealed and once the client had picked themselves up from the floor, the premium could be adjusted by looking at reducing the level of cover or even removing certain areas of cover.
A lot of advisers still use this method for selling protection and have adopted this for selling Buildings and Contents Insurance but it doesn’t always work, particularly if you are up against the internet’s price comparison sites.
Here are some options that are all variations of one core theme to help you to successfully convert a higher percentage of Buildings and Contents quotes.
Cycle Uphill
Go for a very basic level of cover to start off with – don’t add accidental damage or personal possessions and no Legal Expenses or Home Emergency cover.
This will typically generate a low-cost premium and will be comparable to the standard products found on the price comparison websites. You could even put in a higher excess to bring the cost down which again would typically be reflective of the cover offered online.
From this quote you can then add elements of cover and watch the premium “gently” rise, showing the value for money when you add in accidental damage, personal possessions, Legal Expenses and/or Home Emergency cover.
Bronze, Silver or Gold Quotes
Bronze would be the same as above – very basic cover.
Silver would be with accidental damage and personal possessions added.
Gold would be the same as Silver but with Legal Expenses and Home Emergency cover added.
You are giving your client’s choice and again they can see the price differences and what they are getting as value for money.
Full Quote vs “Skinny” Quote
A variation of the above but cutting out the “Silver” option.
Do a ‘skinny’ quote (Bronze) and a ‘Full’ quote (Gold) – your clients will see the difference in terms of cover and price, whilst being able to easily compare the quality of cover offered for the price.
To add even more value when talking about Buildings and Contents Insurance, you can also refer them to or show them the following websites:
www.police.uk – You can check for reported incidents in any postcode area for risk of crime. If the premiums appear to be a little high, it may be down to the incidents reported in the area such as burglaries or malicious damage.
www.checkmyfloodrisk.co.uk – Check the flood risk for your client’s postcode showing visible and unknown areas of water.
At Assurant, our BDM and Sales Support team are always happy to help and discuss any aspect of quoting Buildings and Contents cover with your clients at any time.
Good luck and have a Happy Christmas!