Client engagement is high on the agenda at Australian firm Newlane Risk, where it uses every policy anniversary to contact the relevant client for a review – even if it means more than one meeting in a year.
During an Adviser Panel session at last month’s Riskinfocus 25 Risk Advice CPD event in Sydney, specialist risk adviser, Daniel Isenhood, told panel host Chris Blaxland-Walker (ClearView Wealth) this strategy assists with client retention and education.
“We automate the offer for a chat with clients for every single renewal date, and for every policy,” he said.
“You might say that’s wasting time. But what that does is keep clients engaged. It really is a chance for a quick Teams meeting.”
…I’ve observed their knowledge of insurance has skyrocketed…
Newlane Risk gives clients a two-months heads-up before policy renewal and during meetings an adviser reviews the client’s whole portfolio of products. Isenhood says this not only demonstrates the firm’s commitment to clients, but increases financial literacy too:
“We’re only about two and-a-half years into this process, and I’ve observed their knowledge of insurance has skyrocketed,” he said, adding:
They’ve got no idea what they’ve got, and want everything explained…
“Most of the time when you sit down with a client who’s knocked back the review offer previously, it’s like talking to them from scratch – two years could have passed. They’ve got no idea what they’ve got, and want everything explained.
“But a huge percentage of clients who take up the reviews are engaged with their covers. Then when they see the debits on their bank statement, they are not thinking ‘what’s this for again?’
Adviser panellist Alex Thomaschuetz, Head of Risk, Altus Financial, said client engagement is an opportunity for retention and new business.
“Sometimes I’m the first person to find out whether there’s been a death, or a birth, or a divorce [and] they come to us for guidance,” she said.
“You can get a lot of opportunities out of the review service that you provide a client.
…With life insurance being 60 percent upfront, servicing that existing book of clients makes sense from a commercial point of view…
“With life insurance being 60 percent upfront, servicing that existing book of clients makes sense from a commercial point of view.”
Nicole Bendeich, Financial Planner at Calibre Life, was also on the panel and said having recently acquired a large book of business has meant building relationships with new clients.
“We realised that we need to form a relationship with those clients and make sure they know who we are, and that we are here for them for their advice needs,” she said.
“So we have for the last 12 months been nurturing that book. It’s important. It’s just as important as new business.”
