Rough Notes • May 2024 • The Insurance Survey-A Selling Tool

AN insurance survey is an analysis of a client's insurable hazards together with an analysis of his present coverage with the purpose of bringing to light, first, any errors in his policies including duplication of coverage and, second, any additional insurance needs.

According to that definition a survey may be made for any type of client. So, before going into the how and wherefore of survey selling, let us recognize its limitations. Analyzing policies and hazards, carefully checking over all the assured's contracts, seeking ways of reducing rates without reducing coverage, writing all these down for presentation; this takes time made more valuable by knowledge. To make this sort of selling pay dividends you must maintain a fairly high percentage of sales surveys. And a ten dollar premium won't reimburse you for the effort of spending three or four hours in study, inspection, writing and selling-unless, of course, it may lead to much bigger things. Consequently it is not economical to go to the trouble of making a survey for every assured. There should be at least a couple of hundred dollars in potential premiums.

In everything written for local agents the one word most stressed is doubtless "service". If you'll stop and think about it you'll realize that, boiled down to its essence, service is nothing more nor less than knowledge of insurance and company and agency practice. We all agree that the word is over-used. That's because so many agents shout "service" when they actually don't know what they're talking about. Nevertheless, when you sell, when you talk service, too, your voice sounds just like all the rest.

It's an almost universal practice to do a lot of talking about service but not to give any of it until a prospect has bought, or has agreed to buy some specific policy. Survey selling is a way to give your prospect a taste of your service; that is, your interest in doing a good job for him, before he spends any money. Doesn't that strike you as a good basis for a sales talk?

Obviously there are two classes of assureds for whom you may make surveys: Clients and prospects. If you've never sold the survey idea, start off on your clients. It's easier. Of course if you already write all of a given client's insurance it may be going over old ground. Probably the best class of prospects for surveys is that class whose insurance is split among a number of agents, including you.

First you must explain what a survey is: The definition above plus enlargements based upon your knowledge of the particular man, his ideas and his needs. Present yourself not as a salesman nor as a sales agent but as a counselor on insurance. Your proposition includes no obligation whatever. All you ask is a chance to go over all his policies and, afterwards, perhaps, an opportunity to inspect his premises. In talking with him you will admit, frankly, that you may find nothing wrong and that he may have all the insurance he needs. But impress upon him that your experience has taught you that where several agents write policies for one assured over-insurance or under-insurance often exists. Try to keep away from the thought, until after the survey is made, that you are doing this in the hope that he'll. see the light and give you all his insurance. If you do a good job for him, if you show him how to save money in premiums or reduce still further the risks of his business, that will naturally follow.

Be sure to find out what coverage the assured thinks he has as well as what he actually has. Many a merchant, sad as it may be, never knows he has no insurance on his stock until after a fire. There are assureds who feel feel right proud of themselves for having the forethought to buy Plate Glass insurance but who don't know that only their windows and not their counters are covered. I have even known Acci-