Vertafore Insurance Podcast

Ask Rick: Answering questions from across the industry

This week, we're adding a new episode format to the podcast: Ask Rick. Rick gets all kinds of questions from people across the insurance industry. In this episode, Rick answers some questions that people across the industry can relate to, and we invite listeners to submit their questions to podcast@vertafore.com to be answered by Rick in a future Ask Rick episode. 

 

Just press record, with Kelly Lennon

In this episode we welcome Kelly Lennon, Vice President and Risk Advisor for Technology at USI Property and Casualty. Kelly is an insurance professional who also has a background in sales and marketing, and she is talking to us about the power of video for reaching end-insureds. 

Kelly uses video to engage with the industry and her clients, and she's giving listeners tips and tricks on how to effectively incorporate amateur video into daily processes. She's also here to remind us that it's ok to try new things (and then try them again if they don't work). 

Video can be a great way to differentiate yourself in the market, and this episode will give you a place to start if you haven't already. If you're already using video in your sales and marketing efforts, she offers some great tips and tricks to make it even better. 

• (6:30) Using video to cut through the clutter
• (9:30) Growing business online using video
• (11:00) Repurposing video for the biggest impact
• (14:30) Embedding video as an active engagement strategy
• (16:30) Getting started

InsuRant: No excuses, play like a champion

No matter your role in an insurance organization, you've got goals, projects, and dreams. It can be easy to fall behind and veer off course in your pursuit of a win no matter who you are or what the end goal is. In this episode, we're talking about a no-excuses approach to reaching your goals with a little inspiration from a silly but great movie, Wedding Crashers, and this applied to everything in your life—insurance-related or not. 

InsuRant: The word of the year is "retention"

A happy, loyal client is worth their weight in gold. We all know keeping an existing client is easier than finding a new one, but it's time to stop paying lip service to retention and start digging into the whys and hows of a great strategy to keep clients in your book of business.

In this episode, Rick outlines the top three reasons why retention is so important and provides a 3-step playbook for how to implement a winning retention strategy.

Sharpening the agent's superpowers, with Tyler Asher

Tyler Asher believes that independent agents can turn their competitive advantage into superpowers in the market, and he’s here to tell us how. As President of Independent Agent Distribution at Liberty Mutual and Safeco Insurance, Tyler is a treasure trove of information and he’s hitting us with some high-impact knowledge in this episode.  

Rick and Tyler discuss:

• Digital transformation and online presence (5:30)
• Turbocharging sales (13:30)
• The talent problem (and solution) (21:00)

InsuRant: Six ways to slay your sales in 2021

It’s a new year with new goals and a fresh start—making it the perfect time to talk about taking your sales to the next level. Whether you are a natural seller or not, this episode is for you. In this episode I outline six proven strategies for slaying your sales goals in 2021.  

Tech must-haves for 2021, with James Thom

We put a bow on 2020 and welcome the new year with James Thom, Chief Product Officer at Vertafore. James' industry knowledge runs wide and deep, and he's offering great, unvarnished advice for success in 2021. 

Last year brought numerous challenges and opportunities to adapt and pivot, and with that came a surge in tech-enabled solutions throughout the industry. This year is about capitalizing on that surge of technology and making the best of it long-term. 

Rick and James talk about: 

• Big takeaway from 2020 (3:50)
• Themes and trends for agencies in 2021 (10:30)
• The 3 most important tech solutions for any agency (20:00)

InsuRant: A year in review

Wow! It's hard to believe that we're already at the end of 2020. Time has simultaneously flown by and gone by slowly, but we made it through. In this week's rant, Rick recaps the year for us here at the #VIPodcast. He takes you through 2020 month by month chatting about all we got up to. Tune in to reflect on the year with us! 

We're all in this together, with Elizabeth Schenk

As we wrap up the year and look forward to 2021, Rick is excited to welcome Elizabeth Schenk, CEO of Agency Network Exchange (ANE), to the podcast! Elizabeth has a deep understanding of the independent agency and of the insurance industry and has some great advice we can all learn from. 

What is the most common thing she hears from the agencies in ANE about the state of the industry this year? People's concerns are all different, but one common theme: wanting support to navigate through challenging times. It's hard to be a lone wold, but you don't need to be when there are so many networks across the industry there to help you out. 

In this episode Rick and Elizabeth talk about:

• The state of the industry from a network perspective (7:30)
• What exactly is an agency network? (14:30)
• What to look for in an agency network (22:00)

InsuRant: Rick's six buckets of thankful for 2020

2020 has been a hard year all around, but Rick reminds us in this week's episode that we all still have a ton to be thankful for. Tune in to hear Rick's 6 buckets full of thanks for those that have made an impact on his year.