The time it takes to send customers a quote can take anywhere from an hour to several hours, or in other situations, even days. In this age of quick service, insurance agencies are expected to keep up. Of course, with reduced time – agents must also ensure that information is collected efficiently and accurately.
One of our clients was met with the challenge of slowing down on quoting time. The main factor that added to this was the fact that they didn’t have enough resources to have team members focus exclusively on quoting. With responsibilities piling on, a solution was nowhere in sight. Excessive time spent on quoting not only hurt the progress of their additional pending tasks, but it also hurt their customer service which reflected poorly on their agency.
After hiring an Edge Ambassador is when things began to kick-off. Because our Ambassadors are thoroughly trained well before they’re even hired, the job to start picking up the pace began almost immediately.
Our Ambassador went through the standard quoting process much more effectively all while reducing the quoting time from 24 hours to just 15 minutes.
How did they do that? It’s simple. By just focusing on quoting and following a standard of processes to follow, the time it took to quote seamlessly dropped.
First Contact
The Ambassador begins every contact by building a great relationship with the customer. By listening and understanding the customer’s needs and requirements, it becomes much easier to analyze the requirements and needs in terms of coverage & premium. It also helps to suggest options best suited for the customer.
Data Collection
The data collection process begins with a list. To help stay organized an ensure that nothing is missed, following a check-list makes the whole process easier for both the agency and the customer. Our Ambassador does the following:
- Begin with general required information
- Ask additional questions to determine what the customer qualifies for in terms of discounts & services
- Re-analyze the needs and requirements of the customer by comparing it to the provided data
- Set an ETA with the customer
- Choose the best carrier to meet the expectations of the customer
- Ensure that any discounts the customer is eligible for is added
- Quoting multiple carrier to provide the customer with options
Finalizing The Quote
Now that collecting data is over, finalizing the quote is a crucial step. Our Ambassador double checks each entry before running a clue report to make sure that no entry has been missed or added incorrectly. Finally, a clue report is run before providing the quote, and producers sending it to the customer to ensure that an exact and correct estimate is provided.
Customer First
The goal is simple, providing the best possible solution for the customer. By providing options, the customer is able to choose what’s best suited for their circumstances. The Ambassador also informs the customer beforehand on any documents required to be provided at the time of binding to retain any additional discounts and services. Lastly, following up with the customer in case of any changes is essential to providing exceptional service.
The entire process is followed to ensure that quotes are done correctly, efficiently, and quickly, which is exactly what brought down quoting time to a 15-minute mark. Edge Ambassadors are solution-oriented – no matter the challenge.
