Insurance World

What to Look for in a Lead Service

If you have a successful insurance company, but still believe there’s an untapped segment of the market that you haven’t reached, you may want to avail yourself of an online lead generating service. Insurance leads purchased from a reliable provider will not save a floundering insurance agency or make mediocre agents stellar sales people. But leads purchased from a service can certainly supplement the sales of an agency with a solid core of clients. Of course, no lead sells itself. Any contact you get, no matter how interested they may be in purchasing a policy, will take effort.

Here are some guidelines when considering an online insurance lead service:

* Be wary of any service that promises you extraordinary results.

* Make sure the leads you purchase are guaranteed against no call complaints.

* Leads should be from consumers who have requested a specific type of insurance quote (life, homeowners, medical, etc.).

* All phone numbers provided should be verified by the service.

* Fresh leads, sent within minutes of generation, are best.

* Companies that do not require a long-term commitment from you are preferable

* Go with a service that has no set up fee.

* Minimum purchases are a normal part of the business—the range is usually $500 - $750.

* Look for a service that has a track record—five years or more.

* A lead generating service that specializes in insurance and related products will best serve your needs.

* Examples of typical leads should be included on the company’s website.

* A service that is a member of the Better Business Bureau Online is preferable.

A solid lead should contain specific types of information regarding the potential customer. A lead is an outline for your sale, providing you with more than mere contact information.

Initially, the lead will be assigned a control number that will serve to identify it and that will be useful for your and the lead services’ tracking. It will also contain the lead type—life, health, automobile insurance, etc., along with the date the lead was received.

Contact information will include the person’s name, address, phone number and an alternate number. There should also be an e-mail address. For life insurance, there will be basic information about the potential client, including sex, age, height and weight. Any health problems and use of tobacco will be stated, along with information regarding the person’s housing—rent or own.

You may also receive data regarding the lead’s spouse, such as their age, weight, height and use of tobacco. Finally, there will be information detailing the amount of insurance and the type of policy in which they are interested. For life insurance you may receive two quotes, one for term and the other for whole life.

Other types of leads, such as health insurance, homeowners, or disability, will contain the same basic contact information but will vary greatly depending upon the type of lead it is. As an example, a good health insurance lead will provide you with information about the family members, including any health problems, use of substances and current medications.

When considering a lead generation company, be sure it is clearly stated how they get their leads, what will be in a lead and the profile of a typical lead. Companies that are an official partner with major search engines, such as MSN, Google and Yahoo, and that are recommended by high profile publications, such as the Wall Street Journal, often offer a good product. People that use the Internet are typically more educated and affluent than those who do not and thus leads from this source often make better prospects than those harvested from other places.

A lead generation company should also define what constitutes a valid lead. You should not be charged for a lead with bad contact information or that is listed in the National Do Not Call Registry. Also, a company should charge for the lead only—that is the person you will contact—and not the number of products you may sell that person.

Look for a company that will taper the number of leads you receive at a given time to meet your needs. If you have any questions or problems, ease in contacting the lead generating company, either through e-mail, chat or a toll free telephone number is a necessity.

Exploiting the Internet as an information center for your insurance business can help broaden your customer base and expand your market share, providing you with clients with whom you might otherwise never connect. Use it to your advantage.

Every home needs a home inventory updated at least once a year. Homeowners who live in hurricane stricken areas like Florida, coastal regions of Alabama or Louisiana and Texas are used to putting together a home inventory on a regular basis, but for those homeowners who live in the Midwest or in regions of the country without hurricane season abounding, they may think there is no need for a home inventory. This just is not the case!

No matter what part of the country you live in, a home inventory is a must have because fire, flood, and wind or tornado damage as well as theft or lost property can happen to anyone at any time. Not having your home inventoried can make the process of dealing with insurance agents an absolute nightmare, especially if you are trying to visualize from memory everything that was lost, damaged or stolen in your home while speaking to an insurance agent on the phone. The best bet for making sure your household goods are replaced to the fullest extent, is to keep some type of home inventory to help better replace these items.

There are several different ways to inventory the belongings in a home. Of course one of the easiest ways to inventory items is to get a notebook and pen and walk from room to room writing down anything that would or should be replaced in case of damage or loss. Inventorying items this way can be time consuming, but allows for everything in the room to be examined and approximate values to be determined, which should be included on an inventory list. The next step up from pen and paper would be to write the home inventory on a Microsoft excel spreadsheet or simply in a Microsoft Word file.

If the means are available for more hi-tech versions of inventorying home items, this is probably the best option. Simply turn the date and time stamp on the 35mm or digital camera and go from room to room taking pictures of each room, labeling the pictures with item information once the pictures have been developed.

Many homeowners also use video cameras to go around the house recording what each room looks like at a certain time and date. This is a great way to get a live action shot of what the material items look like at present and can easily be handed over to an insurance company.

A few tips to keep in mind when creating an inventory is to always keep receipts for major purchases and store these with the home inventory. The more you can estimate for the Homeowners insurance company the price and date an item was paid for, the more likely a price near that cost will be given back for repayment. If possible, it is also best to write down where the item was purchased at, the model number and a manufacturer’s name.

As well, it is important to always note the date and time on the inventory, and this is why using a still or video camera is a great idea. Although the Homeowners insurance company is supposed to be on the side of the insured, they will be estimating costs at a minimum to save themselves money. So be smart about a home inventory, so that items will be replaced at full cost and in a timely manner.

Remember that it is not necessary to inventory items that would not be missed if they are lost or damaged, such as a paperback novel or a $10 pair of flip-flops, but if you are a book collector who has an extensive collection of antique books or a shoe collector who has hundreds of dollars worth of shoes, be sure to inventory these items.

Of course large items like furniture, artwork, appliances, electronics, large sports equipment, and large outdoor equipment should absolutely be inventoried. It is probably wise to also inventory or at least photograph clothes, home interior accessories, tool sets, kitchenware, and even workout equipment, but the major rule of thumb is to know the value of your own personal property to determine if it is worth adding to a home inventory list.

After the home inventory is created it should be placed somewhere other than the home. This could be stored at a family member or neighbor’s home, although the safest place for a home inventory list is in a safety deposit box or a fire and flood proof security box.