Insurance Cold calling

Hello, I'm planning out how I would sell general property & casualty insurance by cold-calling. The way I'm thinking is to actually go and ring the doorbell for all my prospects or putting flyers/brochures in mailboxes. However, I personally haven't heard many people doing that nor have I ever seen insurance flyers/brochures. Does it work or is it a deal breaker and that's why few people do it this way?

Going door to door could work. Folks can get a bit freaked out by someone knocking on their door. You might also need to get a license from City Hall because of the Green River Ordinance (called that in WA State anyway). Putting flyers in mailboxes is actually illegal. Only mail with canceled postage can go in a mailbox.

Are you selling homeowners and auto or business insurance?

We insurance guys, unfortunately are bound by the no call lists. If you haven't looked into this issue, you have no idea what a royal pain in the okole this is for everyone but politicians... who exempt themselves from the rules they make us live by.

There is nothing that I know that stops anyone from knocking on a door, but I would suggest you take a ride down to the local tax office or building department and look up the both the tax records or building design and get a feel for the replacement value of the homes you're soliciting and send them all a letter asking them if they have the right values of their homes insured.

Explain that there is no percentage in giving an insurance company an interest free loan if you're over insured, and the co-insurance penalties that they will suffer for being underinsured, especially today, are in no way worth the few dollars savings in premium.

Then there is jewelry, guns, atv's and the like that many don't insure or think that they are automatically insured under contents coverage but aren't.. at least not in the aggregate. Get them thinking, call them or have them call you.

There is a real opportunity here to do yourself some good with a website, even a simple one where you reinforce the the questions you ask in your letter or personal call.

Good luck with your business... property casualty is a tough business with miserable commissions, but has good long term benefits with hard work....

Aloha...

Thanks for the comments. Just curious then, how do agents get started if they don't have the million contacts and we're bound by so many rules?

(Oh, I do homeowners, auto, commercial, marine, SME, and special risks - I was an underwriter before.)

Talk to everyone you know. Network. Referrals. Advertise wisely in the phone book. Put your message out there, hand out millions of cards.

Worksite marketing for auto and homeowners is now happening too, this is what we do (supplemental not homeowners etc.. though I do have my own p/c agency) that runs now strictly on referral mostly...

Aloha... Tom