Golfing with potential clients can turn into one of the most effective ways of making sales if you know how to do it correctly. There is a fine line between letting your client have a fun and relaxing day on the greens and making them feel like they are being pressured to buy your products or services. Here are five tips to help you walk that fine line and turn your potential clients into actual clients while working on your short game.
Be assertive, but not aggressive. There is a time for aggressive sales techniques and there is a time to hold back and stop at being assertive. The golf course is one of the times when assertiveness, not aggressiveness, is a key component for making that big sale. An aggressive nature on the golf course can turn a relaxing and fun afternoon into a disaster that could cause your potential client to walk away frustrated and angry.
Feel the vibe. As an insurance salesperson, you have probably felt "vibes" from potential clients that let you know if that person is likely going to purchase your product or if they are not interested at all. If you have made it to the golf course with your potential client, there is a good chance that they are in the market to purchase some insurance or they are at least willing to hear about the products that you have to offer. If they keep trying to avoid the subject, however, it may be time to just concentrate on improving your swing.
Keep a positive attitude. Nothing is worse than listening to a negative salesperson. Would you want to spend your money and trust a person who only badmouths the competition? Don't fall into the negativity trap. You will be more successful in making sales during your golf game if you build your products and your company up rather than running down your competition.
Listen. It's as simple as that - listen. Many salespeople tend to think of what they are going to say next while their potential clients are talking without really listening to what they have to say. Your clients will tell you everything you need to know during the course of a golf game in order to sell your product to them, but you have to stay quiet long enough to find out what they have to say. It even helps to repeat what they say sometimes in your own words to make sure you understand them correctly.
Close the sale. The most important tip for making the sale on the golf course is to ask for it before you leave the links. You can't get the sale if you don't ask for it so make sure you close the deal sometime before leaving the course. Make a comment like, "So when should I get started on that paperwork for you?" or "Should I send the contract to you by fax or email?" Making confirming statements like this will help you increase your chances of leaving the 18th hole with a new client.
These are just a few of the things you can do to increase your chances of turning potential clients into actual clients during an afternoon on the golf course. Utilize these techniques and make your next golf outing with potential clients a successful sales venture.
By Daniel Hagy
Showing posts with label Insurance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Insurance. Show all posts
Friday, 13 May 2011
Auto Insurance Marketing Made Easy
Are you frustrated with auto insurance marketing? If you're at a crossroad in your marketing campaign, you need to make a decision that will help you succeed. Make internet marketing strategies your decision. Let's discuss how to get started.
Auto Insurance Marketing requires an Autoresponder System
The #1 tip that I can give is to use an auto responder / email system to base your Auto Insurance Marketing plan off of. This is the start. Autoresponders can be used with online internet leads. These Internet leads are both purchased and organic (your site generated). It is important to know that people get online to research and compare prices for auto insurance. Most of the people don't buy immediately. It may take 2 days to 6 months. You need to contact these leads on a consistent basis. You don't want to write individual emails to everyone. This would consume 100% of your time. Wouldn't a system be nice if you could make 30 emails, do nothing else and let the system do the work for you every day. Do it and leave it. There are online systems that you can use for a minimal monthly fee, that will do all this work for you.
Auto Insurance Marketing Stage #2
Not only do you need an email / autoresponder, your personalized agency website needs to be optimized and have opt-in forms on the site. Now days any insurance agent needs some type of website. Actually it can't be just any website. I'm sure you have been contacted by several web design companies and search engine consultants promising to get your website on the 1st page of search engines for several hundred dollars a month. You may have even done this at some point over the last couple years.
The problem is that these sales people know nothing about your business and how to attract the type of customers you need. Have you noticed that most agents have a website, whether it be their captive companies site or just a site to post information on their agency. The idea behind a successful insurance marketing campaign, is to have a site that everyone searching for insurance in your niche market, will see your site, enter your site and opt-in. The opt-in piece of the pie is to get leads name and emails in return for free information or informative insurance tips. This Opt-in list will grow and grow every month. Soon you will have a weekly or monthly email message to all you customers and leads to promote your special or what you can help your prospects with.
The whole concept behind building a successful agency is establishing a system to collect and build a list of names and emails. This can be done with purchased internet leads and autoresponders and setting up a website with opt-in forms. It doesn't happen immediately, but you will see results pretty quick. Remember, you need to get the ball rolling. Building a list of interested buyers is a great way to ramp up you auto insurance marketing.
By Kevin Rich Kennedy
Auto Insurance Marketing requires an Autoresponder System
The #1 tip that I can give is to use an auto responder / email system to base your Auto Insurance Marketing plan off of. This is the start. Autoresponders can be used with online internet leads. These Internet leads are both purchased and organic (your site generated). It is important to know that people get online to research and compare prices for auto insurance. Most of the people don't buy immediately. It may take 2 days to 6 months. You need to contact these leads on a consistent basis. You don't want to write individual emails to everyone. This would consume 100% of your time. Wouldn't a system be nice if you could make 30 emails, do nothing else and let the system do the work for you every day. Do it and leave it. There are online systems that you can use for a minimal monthly fee, that will do all this work for you.
Auto Insurance Marketing Stage #2
Not only do you need an email / autoresponder, your personalized agency website needs to be optimized and have opt-in forms on the site. Now days any insurance agent needs some type of website. Actually it can't be just any website. I'm sure you have been contacted by several web design companies and search engine consultants promising to get your website on the 1st page of search engines for several hundred dollars a month. You may have even done this at some point over the last couple years.
The problem is that these sales people know nothing about your business and how to attract the type of customers you need. Have you noticed that most agents have a website, whether it be their captive companies site or just a site to post information on their agency. The idea behind a successful insurance marketing campaign, is to have a site that everyone searching for insurance in your niche market, will see your site, enter your site and opt-in. The opt-in piece of the pie is to get leads name and emails in return for free information or informative insurance tips. This Opt-in list will grow and grow every month. Soon you will have a weekly or monthly email message to all you customers and leads to promote your special or what you can help your prospects with.
The whole concept behind building a successful agency is establishing a system to collect and build a list of names and emails. This can be done with purchased internet leads and autoresponders and setting up a website with opt-in forms. It doesn't happen immediately, but you will see results pretty quick. Remember, you need to get the ball rolling. Building a list of interested buyers is a great way to ramp up you auto insurance marketing.
By Kevin Rich Kennedy
Prospect for New Clients With Your Own Insurance Blog
Share Your Knowledge and Professional Advice
One of the newest ways to network for qualified prospects is by publishing your own insurance blog on your Facebook and LinkedIn pages. It's not only fast and easy, but it's also free - and it's been proven to work.
Because people really do read the posts you put up on your Facebook and LinkedIn sites.
What's more, they pass them along to all the people in their own network for you.
How to Write Your Own Insurance Blog
Most agents think that writing a blog takes a lot of time and requires good writing skills - but it really doesn't... IF you simply write about what you know in an honest conversational manner. To begin with, your weekly blog needs to be no more than 200 or 300 words. And it can take as little as ten to twenty minutes to write and publish - just once a week.
When writing a blog, write just as you speak. Let if flow on paper as if you were talking with someone in person - face to face. Don't worry about grammar - just write.
Once you do it, you'll be surprised at how easy that really is.
And don't explain various types of coverage in your insurance blog, or use insurance jargon. Don't even use insurance terms or technical references. Write as if you are talking to a friend on the phone, or sitting across a table over a cup of coffee.
Think of your insurance blog as "sharing a thought" with your clients and prospects. And always conclude your blog with some sort of "call to action".
Examples of Insurance Blog Topics:
* Biggest Mistake People Make With Their Homeowner's Insurance
* How Health Care Reform Will Affect You
* What Alternative Do You Have to Low Interest Rates on Bank CD's
* Why You Need to Insure Your Monthly Income
* When it Makes Sense to Compare Rates on Term Life Insurance
Examples of Opening Line Ideas to Get You Started
* I was talking with a new client yesterday... (and discovered that she was paying more for her _____ than she should be)
* I recently helped one of my clients process a claim... (and here's what happened)
* I read an article last week on how the average person is investing for their retirement... (and was surprised to learn _________ )
* Got a call from an old client of mine a few days ago, asking for a quote on his __________ coverage... (and was able to save him $xxx)
* One of my business clients recently referred me to another small business owner who wasn't happy with her company's employee benefits package... (and wasn't getting much attention from her current agent/broker/advisor)
Examples of Insurance Blog "Calls to Action":
* Call Me for a Quote on Term Life Insurance
* Click Here for a report titled "Protecting Your Retirement Income - Guaranteed"
* Find Out if You Qualify for a Good Driver Discount
* Get an Assessment of the Gaps in Your Health Coverage
* Click Here to Watch a Short Five Minute Video
* Email Me with any Questions You Have Regarding Your Insurance (or Retirement)
Set Up Your Insurance Blog
You have many choices (most free) of blogging platforms to choose from. The top 5 I recommend are:
* Blogger - a Google owned blog platform that is very quick and easy to setup
* Tumblr - more of a "micro-blog", which is a cross between a blog and Twitter
* WordPress - most popular and well established blog platform. Has tons of features and plugins...
* SquareSpace - commercial blogging platform starting at $8/month
* Posterous - easy to use "email-to-blog" system. Create new posts by sending emails...
Most, if not all of these options, allows you to easily post your blogs to your Facebook and LinkedIn pages.
By Dan Vinal
One of the newest ways to network for qualified prospects is by publishing your own insurance blog on your Facebook and LinkedIn pages. It's not only fast and easy, but it's also free - and it's been proven to work.
Because people really do read the posts you put up on your Facebook and LinkedIn sites.
What's more, they pass them along to all the people in their own network for you.
How to Write Your Own Insurance Blog
Most agents think that writing a blog takes a lot of time and requires good writing skills - but it really doesn't... IF you simply write about what you know in an honest conversational manner. To begin with, your weekly blog needs to be no more than 200 or 300 words. And it can take as little as ten to twenty minutes to write and publish - just once a week.
When writing a blog, write just as you speak. Let if flow on paper as if you were talking with someone in person - face to face. Don't worry about grammar - just write.
Once you do it, you'll be surprised at how easy that really is.
And don't explain various types of coverage in your insurance blog, or use insurance jargon. Don't even use insurance terms or technical references. Write as if you are talking to a friend on the phone, or sitting across a table over a cup of coffee.
Think of your insurance blog as "sharing a thought" with your clients and prospects. And always conclude your blog with some sort of "call to action".
Examples of Insurance Blog Topics:
* Biggest Mistake People Make With Their Homeowner's Insurance
* How Health Care Reform Will Affect You
* What Alternative Do You Have to Low Interest Rates on Bank CD's
* Why You Need to Insure Your Monthly Income
* When it Makes Sense to Compare Rates on Term Life Insurance
Examples of Opening Line Ideas to Get You Started
* I was talking with a new client yesterday... (and discovered that she was paying more for her _____ than she should be)
* I recently helped one of my clients process a claim... (and here's what happened)
* I read an article last week on how the average person is investing for their retirement... (and was surprised to learn _________ )
* Got a call from an old client of mine a few days ago, asking for a quote on his __________ coverage... (and was able to save him $xxx)
* One of my business clients recently referred me to another small business owner who wasn't happy with her company's employee benefits package... (and wasn't getting much attention from her current agent/broker/advisor)
Examples of Insurance Blog "Calls to Action":
* Call Me for a Quote on Term Life Insurance
* Click Here for a report titled "Protecting Your Retirement Income - Guaranteed"
* Find Out if You Qualify for a Good Driver Discount
* Get an Assessment of the Gaps in Your Health Coverage
* Click Here to Watch a Short Five Minute Video
* Email Me with any Questions You Have Regarding Your Insurance (or Retirement)
Set Up Your Insurance Blog
You have many choices (most free) of blogging platforms to choose from. The top 5 I recommend are:
* Blogger - a Google owned blog platform that is very quick and easy to setup
* Tumblr - more of a "micro-blog", which is a cross between a blog and Twitter
* WordPress - most popular and well established blog platform. Has tons of features and plugins...
* SquareSpace - commercial blogging platform starting at $8/month
* Posterous - easy to use "email-to-blog" system. Create new posts by sending emails...
Most, if not all of these options, allows you to easily post your blogs to your Facebook and LinkedIn pages.
By Dan Vinal
Six Characteristics of Successful Insurance Marketers
Six common traits of effective insurance marketers:
1. They're not afraid to take action. When it comes to marketing, taking any action is better than taking no action at all. By not making a decision, or not taking action, you're choosing to not have any marketing. It's better to make a decision and have some form of marketing working for you (even if it's not perfect) than to not make a decision and have no forward momentum.
2. They reach decisions quickly. Effective insurance marketers look at the information, make a decision, and move on - right or wrong. And here's something important: they don't allow too many people to get involved in the decision making process. When there are too many cooks in the kitchen, recipes go awry and marketing strategies get very watered down.
3. They make marketing a top priority. I have one client who is the president of a sizeable insurance organization. He manages many employees and has no personal assistant. Yet he routinely reviews and replies to marketing-related emails and decisions within 24 hours. Nothing sits! And why should it? In most cases, it only takes 15 minutes to move a marketing project forward.
4. They understand that you have to spend money to make money. Over the years, I've seen many people start businesses and cut corners with essentials, such as their websites. In my opinion, your website is your most pivotal piece in your insurance marketing arsenal. If you're going to do a bargain-basement job, then get ready for bargain-basement results. If you spend money where it matters, you'll achieve your goals much faster.
5. They understand that there's no such thing as a one-hit wonder. Effective marketing requires a consistent, integrated effort - month in and month out. Like your own personal health and fitness, growing a company requires a disciplined process. If anyone tells you they have a magic no-work formula, RUN.
6. They have the ability to track and measure. If you have the ability to track and measure, then you can be much more sophisticated in your marketing approach. This is usually linked to having a good IT resource. By having internal IT talent or someone who you can access quickly, you're more likely to track and measure your marketing results, and quickly hone your strategies.
So now that you've read the list, ask yourself, "Am I doing the six things needed to maximize my marketing results?" If you're failing in any of these areas, strive for improvement. If the problem involves your company's decision-making structure, share this article with those in charge and challenge them to change the status quo. Change won't happen overnight, but awareness is a positive first step.
By Heather Sloan
1. They're not afraid to take action. When it comes to marketing, taking any action is better than taking no action at all. By not making a decision, or not taking action, you're choosing to not have any marketing. It's better to make a decision and have some form of marketing working for you (even if it's not perfect) than to not make a decision and have no forward momentum.
2. They reach decisions quickly. Effective insurance marketers look at the information, make a decision, and move on - right or wrong. And here's something important: they don't allow too many people to get involved in the decision making process. When there are too many cooks in the kitchen, recipes go awry and marketing strategies get very watered down.
3. They make marketing a top priority. I have one client who is the president of a sizeable insurance organization. He manages many employees and has no personal assistant. Yet he routinely reviews and replies to marketing-related emails and decisions within 24 hours. Nothing sits! And why should it? In most cases, it only takes 15 minutes to move a marketing project forward.
4. They understand that you have to spend money to make money. Over the years, I've seen many people start businesses and cut corners with essentials, such as their websites. In my opinion, your website is your most pivotal piece in your insurance marketing arsenal. If you're going to do a bargain-basement job, then get ready for bargain-basement results. If you spend money where it matters, you'll achieve your goals much faster.
5. They understand that there's no such thing as a one-hit wonder. Effective marketing requires a consistent, integrated effort - month in and month out. Like your own personal health and fitness, growing a company requires a disciplined process. If anyone tells you they have a magic no-work formula, RUN.
6. They have the ability to track and measure. If you have the ability to track and measure, then you can be much more sophisticated in your marketing approach. This is usually linked to having a good IT resource. By having internal IT talent or someone who you can access quickly, you're more likely to track and measure your marketing results, and quickly hone your strategies.
So now that you've read the list, ask yourself, "Am I doing the six things needed to maximize my marketing results?" If you're failing in any of these areas, strive for improvement. If the problem involves your company's decision-making structure, share this article with those in charge and challenge them to change the status quo. Change won't happen overnight, but awareness is a positive first step.
By Heather Sloan
How To Sell Insurance Using The Internet
Insurance agents need help to re-learn how to sell insurance. Knowing how to sell insurance is all about knowing where the customers are and letting them see your agency wherever they go.
Today it's more about marketing your agency, rather than selling. So many agents are focused on sending out 100's of mailings or making hundreds of calls a week, just to get a handful of leads. If you are like them, you are focused on the numbers game, and not on a targeted niche customer. Now, there is a niche for mailings and phone calls, because people don't have computers or email, but this is very small niche. I like leads and customers that actually find me and want to buy my products.
So what is out there and what can you do?
To be successful, you need to rethink your sales strategies. Remember you need to work smarter and not harder. So many agents, in fact most all the insurance, still use the phone books, radio, telemarketing and paid internet leads for their marketing campaigns. All of these campaigns are dwindling as far as results, except for paid internet leads. I have found that only a very few agents actually succeed with paid internet leads. The one way they succeed is by being completely persistent for days and weeks. For me, I hated calling the irritated lead day after day for 3-4 weeks. I found a great Autoresponder system that does this for me, but does not irritate the customer. In addition it actually works better than the phone calls.
The other top internet insurance marketing strategies include:
* A small website with SEO, so people will see your agency all over the internet. This needs to be your agency website, with opt-ins and quote forms. the site needs to be optimized and linked with the goal to be number one on the search engines like Google.
* Social Media Marketing: Use the tools like LinkedIn, Facebook, twitter, and local networking sites.
* Video & Article Marketing: This type of marketing gets your messages out and go viral. It's a way to get visibility of your agency to a lot of people online.
* Direct Mail - OptIn Marketing: Discover a system to where you only mail ten niche letter a week and have a close ratio of 10-20%
* Facebook Marketing: Don't think of Facebook as a teenager or spare time hobby to see what other people are doing. Businesses use Facebook to promote their agency, build lists and produce ads.
All these items are part of the Internet Insurance Marketing Strategies that will teach you the new way on How To Sell Insurance.
By Kevin Rich Kennedy
Today it's more about marketing your agency, rather than selling. So many agents are focused on sending out 100's of mailings or making hundreds of calls a week, just to get a handful of leads. If you are like them, you are focused on the numbers game, and not on a targeted niche customer. Now, there is a niche for mailings and phone calls, because people don't have computers or email, but this is very small niche. I like leads and customers that actually find me and want to buy my products.
So what is out there and what can you do?
To be successful, you need to rethink your sales strategies. Remember you need to work smarter and not harder. So many agents, in fact most all the insurance, still use the phone books, radio, telemarketing and paid internet leads for their marketing campaigns. All of these campaigns are dwindling as far as results, except for paid internet leads. I have found that only a very few agents actually succeed with paid internet leads. The one way they succeed is by being completely persistent for days and weeks. For me, I hated calling the irritated lead day after day for 3-4 weeks. I found a great Autoresponder system that does this for me, but does not irritate the customer. In addition it actually works better than the phone calls.
The other top internet insurance marketing strategies include:
* A small website with SEO, so people will see your agency all over the internet. This needs to be your agency website, with opt-ins and quote forms. the site needs to be optimized and linked with the goal to be number one on the search engines like Google.
* Social Media Marketing: Use the tools like LinkedIn, Facebook, twitter, and local networking sites.
* Video & Article Marketing: This type of marketing gets your messages out and go viral. It's a way to get visibility of your agency to a lot of people online.
* Direct Mail - OptIn Marketing: Discover a system to where you only mail ten niche letter a week and have a close ratio of 10-20%
* Facebook Marketing: Don't think of Facebook as a teenager or spare time hobby to see what other people are doing. Businesses use Facebook to promote their agency, build lists and produce ads.
All these items are part of the Internet Insurance Marketing Strategies that will teach you the new way on How To Sell Insurance.
By Kevin Rich Kennedy
Insurance Sales Using The Internet
Learn all about the most successful insurance sales strategies.
This Is The Situation:
You are either a new agent or a veteran agent that is struggling to get leads and build up your clientele, because everyone has told you that you need to do door-to-door, telemarketing, cold calling, phone book ads, t.v and radio ads, network groups, auto dealerships, mortgage companies, and so on. The reason you may be having trouble growing your agency is because all these strategies don't work anymore, because, the prospects use the internet and social media today. Today's insurance agents need to change their sales hats into marketing experts. Insurance agents need to understand that today's buyers buy much different that the way they did even 5 years ago. Agents need to get into the Internet Marketing arena. There are a couple of ways to do this. You can hire people to do it for you, which costs about $500 to $2,000/month, You can learn about it and do it yourself, which takes time, or a see what other agents have done and just duplicate and implement into your agency.
There are a handful of internet marketing strategies you can implement into your agency for insurance sales.
1. Does Your Agency Have A Website? Either Way it need to be 100% SEO Optimized
2. Do You Have An Internet Lead System? This can be with paid for or self generated internet leads. Either way, the only way to make this type of strategy successful is an email / autoresponder system.
3. Do you have a Facebook Business Page that makes people Opt-In to get your information?
4. Most Importantly, are you on the 1st page of the search engines, like Google? Even if you are, do you know how to stay there, with more agents getting involved with Internet Marketing?
If you don't know anything about these items above, or haven't implemented any of these strategies into your agency, I suggest to start learning a little bit more about Insurance Sales and how to market on the internet. Insurance selling using the internet is all about setting up a system that has 4-5 marketing campaigns that all work together to drive leads to you and build prospect lists month after month. The main goal is to have an automated system, market your agency all over the internet where people are actually searching, and build an opt-in system, so you can market for free every month.
The way to be successful in insurance sales today, is to get your agency on the internet and stay on top, so everyone will see what you have to offer.
By Kevin Rich Kennedy
This Is The Situation:
You are either a new agent or a veteran agent that is struggling to get leads and build up your clientele, because everyone has told you that you need to do door-to-door, telemarketing, cold calling, phone book ads, t.v and radio ads, network groups, auto dealerships, mortgage companies, and so on. The reason you may be having trouble growing your agency is because all these strategies don't work anymore, because, the prospects use the internet and social media today. Today's insurance agents need to change their sales hats into marketing experts. Insurance agents need to understand that today's buyers buy much different that the way they did even 5 years ago. Agents need to get into the Internet Marketing arena. There are a couple of ways to do this. You can hire people to do it for you, which costs about $500 to $2,000/month, You can learn about it and do it yourself, which takes time, or a see what other agents have done and just duplicate and implement into your agency.
There are a handful of internet marketing strategies you can implement into your agency for insurance sales.
1. Does Your Agency Have A Website? Either Way it need to be 100% SEO Optimized
2. Do You Have An Internet Lead System? This can be with paid for or self generated internet leads. Either way, the only way to make this type of strategy successful is an email / autoresponder system.
3. Do you have a Facebook Business Page that makes people Opt-In to get your information?
4. Most Importantly, are you on the 1st page of the search engines, like Google? Even if you are, do you know how to stay there, with more agents getting involved with Internet Marketing?
If you don't know anything about these items above, or haven't implemented any of these strategies into your agency, I suggest to start learning a little bit more about Insurance Sales and how to market on the internet. Insurance selling using the internet is all about setting up a system that has 4-5 marketing campaigns that all work together to drive leads to you and build prospect lists month after month. The main goal is to have an automated system, market your agency all over the internet where people are actually searching, and build an opt-in system, so you can market for free every month.
The way to be successful in insurance sales today, is to get your agency on the internet and stay on top, so everyone will see what you have to offer.
By Kevin Rich Kennedy
How To Get Insurance For Your Self Storage Items
Many customers of self storage think that the providers themselves automatically insure their items. But this is not the case all the time. You might think that storage facilities will include insurance in the rental and other fees you pay but not all providers do this.
An insurance coverage for your self storage is important for protecting your personal items. It will help you in the event the storage facility encounters fires, explosion, vandalism, riot, earthquake, vehicle impact, theft, floods, storms and other natural disasters that will damage your belongings. In terms of theft, only break-ins are normally covered. It should be your responsibility then to consider the insurance aspect as one of the security features you need to consider when choosing a self storage provider you will be using for the months or years ahead.
Today, only a few self storage facilities provide full and comprehensive insurance included in the rental fees you pay every month. If this is the case, you will normally be charged a higher fee to cover the cost of insurance. Some providers may offer the basic insurance coverage included in the self storage package you pick but this may not be enough to cover the cost of your items.
If you have expensive items and other belongings with great sentimental value to store in a rental unit, it will be worth getting additional insurance coverage to protect your personal possessions. You need to get a policy before you even move your items into the rental unit.
Calling your home insurer is the initial step you need to take. Find out if your personal items can be covered by your home contents policy. A household policy usually covers items in a house and some stored items removed from your house for purposes of repair and servicing. Normally items put in self storage are not covered.
In case you want to save money and don't want to get a separate insurance policy, you can pay an additional premium to your existing home insurance coverage. On the other hand if you want to get an insurance coverage, you may have to show your policy first to your chosen self storage provider before you can rent a unit.
New customers of self storage can also take advantage of the provider's policies. In this case, you will have to provide a list of items and their values in order for the provider to choose the best policy suited for your needs. They may also recommend to you insurance policies ideal for self storage items which can be a more affordable option. Some facilities offer assistance to their renters although there are also others who may insist their own policies to customers before they can rent a unit.
For customers who plan on adding and retrieving items from their self storage unit, it may be worth considering consulting your insurance company. You need to find out first if you can change your policy when needed such as when you want to put additional stuff or want to remove items from your rental unit.
By Kalyan Kumar
An insurance coverage for your self storage is important for protecting your personal items. It will help you in the event the storage facility encounters fires, explosion, vandalism, riot, earthquake, vehicle impact, theft, floods, storms and other natural disasters that will damage your belongings. In terms of theft, only break-ins are normally covered. It should be your responsibility then to consider the insurance aspect as one of the security features you need to consider when choosing a self storage provider you will be using for the months or years ahead.
Today, only a few self storage facilities provide full and comprehensive insurance included in the rental fees you pay every month. If this is the case, you will normally be charged a higher fee to cover the cost of insurance. Some providers may offer the basic insurance coverage included in the self storage package you pick but this may not be enough to cover the cost of your items.
If you have expensive items and other belongings with great sentimental value to store in a rental unit, it will be worth getting additional insurance coverage to protect your personal possessions. You need to get a policy before you even move your items into the rental unit.
Calling your home insurer is the initial step you need to take. Find out if your personal items can be covered by your home contents policy. A household policy usually covers items in a house and some stored items removed from your house for purposes of repair and servicing. Normally items put in self storage are not covered.
In case you want to save money and don't want to get a separate insurance policy, you can pay an additional premium to your existing home insurance coverage. On the other hand if you want to get an insurance coverage, you may have to show your policy first to your chosen self storage provider before you can rent a unit.
New customers of self storage can also take advantage of the provider's policies. In this case, you will have to provide a list of items and their values in order for the provider to choose the best policy suited for your needs. They may also recommend to you insurance policies ideal for self storage items which can be a more affordable option. Some facilities offer assistance to their renters although there are also others who may insist their own policies to customers before they can rent a unit.
For customers who plan on adding and retrieving items from their self storage unit, it may be worth considering consulting your insurance company. You need to find out first if you can change your policy when needed such as when you want to put additional stuff or want to remove items from your rental unit.
By Kalyan Kumar
Saving Money on Your Home Insurance
Many homeowners looking to save a few bucks on their insurance only look at the obvious things like adding smoke detectors or a security system. They may even enjoy the benefits of having their auto and home insurance provided by the same company, as this usually garners a discount. However, is there more that we could be doing? The short answer is, absolutely yes!
Property insurance companies have a wide array of lesser-known discounts that could save homeowners up to twenty-five percent on their insurance policy. The insurance industry may seem like an evil entity at times, as if they are just there to take your money and pay claims. The fact is that they are more focused on preventing claims than anything else. This can lower everyone's cost, especially the cost incurred by the homeowner.
Here a few of these hidden credits that your agent may offer:
Gated Community
If you live within a gated community, you undoubtedly have peace of mind. However, your insurer will share this feeling of security and may offer a discount for this barrier between you and potential home invaders. Many people don't realize that where they live affects their insurance costs to a large extent. If a person lives in a portion of town that is more susceptible to crime and theft, they will surely pay a higher rate. Conversely, those living in a gated community or near to a firehouse often can receive a credit on their policy.
New Wiring
Want to cause a panic with your agent? Give them a call and tell them that your son's teenage friend just rewired your home last weekend. Watch how quickly your rate goes up. It is fairly simple in the eyes of an insurer; a house with older wiring means a higher risk of fire. Each year in the United States there are over 67,000 house fires, nearly 500 deaths, and over $850 million worth of property damage due to these fires. Depending on how old your home is, you may qualify for an insurance credit if you upgrade your wiring.
Claim-Free
This is a fairly new discount, yet can save the most money. This is the homeowner equivalent to a good-driver rebate for auto insurance. It is fairly simple to understand; a lack of claims leaves more money in the pocket of your insurer, and they may be willing to share a bit of the savings with you by cutting your premium a bit. A person without a claim for ten years can see a discount of up to 20 percent.
By Nick Muller
Property insurance companies have a wide array of lesser-known discounts that could save homeowners up to twenty-five percent on their insurance policy. The insurance industry may seem like an evil entity at times, as if they are just there to take your money and pay claims. The fact is that they are more focused on preventing claims than anything else. This can lower everyone's cost, especially the cost incurred by the homeowner.
Here a few of these hidden credits that your agent may offer:
Gated Community
If you live within a gated community, you undoubtedly have peace of mind. However, your insurer will share this feeling of security and may offer a discount for this barrier between you and potential home invaders. Many people don't realize that where they live affects their insurance costs to a large extent. If a person lives in a portion of town that is more susceptible to crime and theft, they will surely pay a higher rate. Conversely, those living in a gated community or near to a firehouse often can receive a credit on their policy.
New Wiring
Want to cause a panic with your agent? Give them a call and tell them that your son's teenage friend just rewired your home last weekend. Watch how quickly your rate goes up. It is fairly simple in the eyes of an insurer; a house with older wiring means a higher risk of fire. Each year in the United States there are over 67,000 house fires, nearly 500 deaths, and over $850 million worth of property damage due to these fires. Depending on how old your home is, you may qualify for an insurance credit if you upgrade your wiring.
Claim-Free
This is a fairly new discount, yet can save the most money. This is the homeowner equivalent to a good-driver rebate for auto insurance. It is fairly simple to understand; a lack of claims leaves more money in the pocket of your insurer, and they may be willing to share a bit of the savings with you by cutting your premium a bit. A person without a claim for ten years can see a discount of up to 20 percent.
By Nick Muller
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)