Claims are more important than sales & be humble!

Last nite while attending a wedding dinner, i was introduced to another younger guest who is also a life insurance agent from another insurance company. The first thing he mentioned, "I am a five years insurance agent, while my wife is a group agency manager of six years in the business. We both have been qualifying the Million Dollars Round Table and are high producers for our company". I felt good for him and hope he and his wife could stay longer to serve their clients.

Most agents i met, they talked more of sales and their achievements than their deliveries. Selling is easy but to meet an insurance claim, one has to stay long enough to experience them. Sales are income for the companies, whereas claims are out going expenses. All sales are recognised by the agency managers, who throw challenges for those who are winners for the week or month. However nobody talks about claims, serving and support. The team celebrates as winner on their sales target but the agent who has a claim works alone to solve his problems. Sales are approved quite easily within a few days. Sad to mention, a claim might take weeks or months to get it paid for. Most agents are competence in all aspects of the selling procedures and the wide range of products to market. However not many agents are qualified to understand the steps of making claims, especially death claim.

I believe the problem lies in the hand of our companies. They are always hunger for business when they need to show sales and profits, neglecting the emphasis and the important of claim making. The glamour is always given to agents who sell well currently and not recognising those agents who serve the needs of old sales or clients.

In replying to the younger agent I met; "I am not a high achiever and producer for my company, but I have been serving my clients faithfully for twenty seven years. I had sold many thousand policies and had settled without fail countless claims on death, accident and sickness. I had given hopes and values to many families who respected me more. I am just an ordinary agent not important to the company".

Food for thought - "The opposite of pride is humbleness, meekness, submissiveness, or teachableness". — Ezra Taft Benson (1899-1994)