{"id":12565,"date":"2020-02-20T17:00:50","date_gmt":"2020-02-20T22:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/case-study-transform-your-employee-benefits-renewals\/"},"modified":"2024-07-15T10:14:47","modified_gmt":"2024-07-15T14:14:47","slug":"case-study-transform-your-employee-benefits-renewals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/blog\/case-study-transform-your-employee-benefits-renewals\/","title":{"rendered":"Case Study: Transform Your Employee Benefits Renewals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How to Improve Renewal Processes and Sell More<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To shop or not to shop? That\u2019s the question around renewal season for employee benefits agencies. One regional risk management firm asked its clients this and found that most did want to move forward with going to market, spurred as always by rising rates. Then the circus would start all over again\u2014producers and service teams all working to help the client obtain quotes. In the end, though, only 5% of their clients would want to switch carriers. It was a shocking amount of work that resulted in little action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But how could producers change? They were hesitant to stop mass remarketing to clients, fearing that they\u2019d appear like they weren\u2019t doing their due diligence and might lose clients. Let\u2019s dive deeper into how one firm found a new approach that addressed client needs while increasing productivity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Case Study: Firm Stretched During Renewal Process<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

ReSource Pro worked with an independently-owned risk management firm with global reach. On the employee benefits side of the business, the firm was being stretched during the renewal process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Challenge: Missing Information in Pre-Renewal Meetings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

ReSource Pro\u2019s Operations Optimization consultants conducted\na process mapping exercise with the firm that showed that it wasn\u2019t the\nbroker\u2019s process that was to blame. They had a great renewals procedure,\nincluding pre-renewal meetings with clients and internal status meetings to\nmarket or go with the incumbent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what the consultants uncovered was that in the pre-renewal meetings with clients, the producer often showed up with little to no information. To have a successful meeting, the producer needs to convey what\u2019s going on in marketplace and make informed, data-based recommendations. Perhaps because they lacked the information they needed to choose, clients were asking to shop around 80% of the time, even though only 5% switched carriers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides adding extra work to producers and service teams, the always-remarket approach was disruptive to the employer. Each side was feeling the pain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Solution: Employee Benefits Renewals Best Practices<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Together, the firm and ReSource Pro established new best practices for employee benefits renewals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Structure in more milestones leading up to renewal<\/strong>. Smaller steps toward renewal can break down the process to manageable pieces, rather than an overwhelming decision for clients. Smaller steps also help clients meet deadlines.<\/li>
  2. Define a pre-renewal meeting process<\/strong>. Meetings should have a standard agenda and be infused with insights. This allows producers to figure out the best course of action for clients. And if remarketing is necessary, producers can come to the meeting knowing which plans will provide the most value. This shifts producers\u2019 time and focus to the pre-renewal phase rather than leaving everything until renewal meetings.<\/li>
  3. Put producers in the right place to sell<\/strong>. Producers need to own the client relationship because they are the face of the relationship and know the client\u2019s business, the industry, and the strategies for appropriate risk management. To lead properly, though, they\u2019ll need to put time into researching market figures and identifying emerging risks for the client. Done correctly, the producer-led meetings should also provide more opportunities to cross-sell and upsell.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Impact on Teams<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    While the firms\u2019 producers worried they would lose clients without going to market each year, it turned out that clients valued strategically discussing their needs and hearing about market intelligence. With the new consultative approach, 58% of clients asked to go to market instead of 80%. This saved teams 5 hours per renewal, adding up to 1400 hours saved a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The teams used this freed up time for internal meetings to maintain alignment between sales and service teams on all active accounts. Spending just 30-35 minutes per week on this eliminated the need for a lot of back-and-forth and made renewal meetings more efficient and focused. Producers could then devote more time to selling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The impact included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n