How Agents and Brokers Can Help Clients Succeed in Uncertain Times

We’ve dramatically altered our way of life over the past few months, from how we interact with others to how we conduct business. While it’s been challenging, insurance agents and brokers have been working tirelessly to provide additional value and help clients navigate what’s ahead.

Setting-up your clients for success

Companies are making tough decisions about how to operate in our current environment, from extending work-from-home policies indefinitely to thinking about a return-to-work approach.

For clients planning to continue working remotely—especially for an extended period of time—agents and brokers should consider working with their insurance carriers to share best practices for cultivating a safe and productive home office space, including:

Making sure workspaces are equipped with ergonomic furniture, such as a chair with proper back support
Positioning computer monitors at the appropriate height and distance to prevent neck and eye strain
Adjusting lighting so workstations are fully illuminated without creating shadows, a glare or excessive brightness, and
Ensuring that electrical wires or other tripping hazards are safely out of the way.

Similarly, agents and brokers can offer risk management guidance around returning to the office. Once the decision to reopen is made, encourage clients to consider convening a return-to-work taskforce and consult with appropriate technical and legal experts as necessary. This will not only help distribute responsibilities, but also ensure that different perspectives, concerns and ideas are included in discussions and plans.

Additionally, agents and brokers can partner with insurance carriers to provide risk management resources on reopening following a shutdown, so clients can be better prepared for the logistical considerations of returning to work, from thinking about how to best engage and educate employees to testing the business’ equipment.

Setting-up your agency for success

In order to be strong resources for clients, agents and brokers must first protect their own businesses’ well-being.

Without the ability to network and meet in-person, agents and brokers might find it more challenging to grow their pipelines and make new connections. Recognizing that they’re already strapped for time and working harder than ever to advise clients, some carriers are offering training sessions on how to engage with prospects while remaining sensitive to what’s happening in the world. For example, Chubb’s recent webinar “How to Market & Keep Selling in Tough Times” emphasizes that clients will remember how companies act during the pandemic, and offers tips for appropriately acknowledging the current environment and leading with empathy. Additional training topics include managing through a crisis and tips for selling virtually.

While challenging, the pandemic has presented the agent and broker community with new ways to provide value and strengthen their own businesses. Whether they’re helping clients work remotely or navigate returning to the workplace, agents, brokers and carriers must help one another continue to grow and succeed.

Kurt Stemmler is Senior Vice President and Branch Manager of Chubb’s San Francisco office.