If you've decided to offer smart home insurance programs to your policyholders, you may want to figure out how to enable your agents to help you grow adoption for your smart home program. Before you rush ahead, though, you need to educate your agents. The quicker you get them up to speed, the sooner they'll become enthusiastic about these programs and sell them to customers.
So, how can you leverage your agent channels to ensure you get fast adoption and make the most of these new offers? Let’s consider three ways to encourage your agents and equip them to sell the benefits of this technology to consumers.
Explain the Benefits of Offering Connected Home Insurance
When insurance agents know how to communicate the benefits of smart devices, they can understand when and how to sell them to your policyholders.
Smart home technology, such as Notion, can offer a wide variety of benefits to policyholders and agents alike. Policyholders can get peace of mind from leaks or spills in their homes, expensive technology for a discounted price, and additional discounts from their insurer. On average, Notion has reduced claim frequency by 78% for insurance carriers it works with, and less than 1% of Notion users have ever filed an insurance claim while using their sensors. For those who file for an insurance discount, Notion and Notion PRO users are also eligible for discounts up to 20%.
It's little wonder that 84% of insurance adopters have changed their core business strategies because of IoT technology. When it comes to customer retention, it's a good idea to bundle these programs as part of a connected home insurance policy. In fact, insurance carriers that work with Notion can boost customer retention by up to nine percentage points.
Keep in mind, too, that these smart programs can be equally beneficial to small business owners, helping them reduce property risks and cut down on damage claims. Again, this can improve customer retention and position your company as innovative and caring.
The more you educate your agents, the better they'll understand these various benefits and be ready to communicate them to your customers. Talk to your smart home partner about collateral you can leverage to help educate your agents on the value of the technology. Top insurance carriers may develop one-pagers, press releases, FAQs, trainings and more. This will help agents understand the offer, teach them how to help policyholders sign up and learn how to get the product into their hands.
You could also introduce an incentive program to give policyholders a discount when they purchase smart home insurance products as part of the program. They'll enjoy savings on their homeowners insurance policy and be more likely to stick with your company. Ensure that your agents are aware of these incentive programs.
Put the Product Into Agents' Hands
The second step to encourage agent participation is to give them first-hand experience. That'll help them to see the benefits of using this connected device, and this should translate into enthusiasm when they head into the marketplace. Treat the product as an incentive to reward agents that meet certain benchmarks. For example, incentivize your agents to reach a certain acquisition target for the month. If they meet or beat expectations, they can get a Notion Kit.
Initial education is vital to encourage your agents to pitch the benefits of any smart device. Don't assume they will be on the same page as you from the outset, as they may not feel entirely familiar with the product. Further, some consumers may have questions about how smart devices affect discount policies. They may also want to know what happens if they need to upgrade or replace the current device, and your agents should have answers to these questions.
This is why putting the product into the agents' hands is key to creating a strong sell-through motion. It helps show them the value of smart home products like Notion's, especially when agents are trying to balance their customers' needs and their own acquisition targets. Often, in our smart home trainings with agents, we hear, "This saved me from a leak," or "It only took me 15 minutes to set up, and I love it!" These agents are excited to use Notion, and this will keep the product on the top of their minds.
Repeat and Remind
Consistency is key, and once you commit to selling a bundled IoT insurance program, it's important to manage agent performance. Remind them of the benefits, provide incentives where necessary and give them as much information as they need.
This is where your technology partner is key. Notion can help you with co-marketing efforts by providing product training, in-depth webinars and other collateral such as case studies. We can help provide this material in various formats, from one-pagers to more substantial documentation. This should give you sufficient options to encourage your agents, whether they prefer in-depth or minimal support.
Adopting an Integrated IoT Insurance Program
The growth of smart home technology allows homeowners to assess and monitor risks. But, crucially, these companies will need to educate and motivate their agents to sell these packages on the front line. This may take some effort, and they may need help from an industry expert.
Interested in working with one of the market leaders to help you establish an integrated smart home program? We can help you find additional ways to incentivize your agents once you have your connected home insurance program in place. Learn more about partnering with Notion and reach out to get started today.
