Roughly two-thirds of life and annuity producers surveyed by Deloitte (
Deloitte’s “Voice of the Producer: Life and Annuity Producer Survey” examines four producer personas based on producers that value different placement factors:
• Speed merchants: Value speed of underwriting and issuing new policies
• Consummate salesmen: Value high-quality sales support
• Volume sellers: Value the quality and volume of the leads provided by carriers
• Brand aficionados: Value carriers with strong brands
These are only four examples of a wider list of potential producer personas, Deloitte says. Based on the four personas, carriers must develop strategies that deliver competitive support aligned with producer priorities. The personas are based upon account producer demographics, practice characteristics, career stage, attitudes, intermediary relationships and business attributes that characterize them and identify those most likely to be influenced by carrier initiatives to improve placement factor.
“If they want to retain current producers and attract new ones, carriers should develop a strategy that targets them according to their sales priorities and growth potential while offering practical solutions aligned with their market approach and client base,” said Rick Berry, director, Deloitte Consulting LLP and the producer survey leader.
A Closer Look at the Personas
Speed Merchants. This group rates speed of underwriting and policy issue as a top placement factor and value a carrier’s ability to issue a policy quickly as a selling point with clients. Speed Merchants produce large numbers of policies with smaller premiums and therefore value an easy process for new business and rapid turnaround in issuing policies. Carriers must have strong operational capabilities to meet the requirements of Speed Merchants.
Carriers targeting these producers should continue to improve and automate their business processes and invest in IT infrastructure. They should also consider capabilities in predictive analytics to support fast, correct underwriting decisions.
Consummate Sellers. This group values carriers that provide superior sales support in proposals, advanced underwriting and assisted wholesaling. The sales process for Consummate Sellers tends to be more complex since they sell investment-oriented products, like annuities, to older, more affluent clients.
Carriers focused on Consummate Sellers should consider what types of enhanced sales support they offer, including dedicated service representatives for higher-value clients. They should consider upgrading their call centers with better technology, increased staffing, and expanded hours of operation to enhance producer support. Improving call center operations may also require investments in IT systems, business process redesign, and improved training.
Volume Sellers. Being relatively new to insurance, this group is focused on building business and interested in teaming with carriers that can provide high-quality leads.
To identify potential leads, carriers will likely need strong capabilities in predictive analytics and data mining applied to demographic and financial data. They may also need to capture information from call center and online enquiries, perhaps requiring additional staff and investments in IT systems. Indeveloping incentives for Volume Sellers, carriers should consider using lead realization rates.
Brand Aficionados
. These are producers who place high importance on the brand when choosing a carrier.Serving Brand Aficionados effectively requires carriers to have core capabilities in marketing, advertising, and public relations to increase the likelihood that their brand messages are widely and effectively communicated to consumers. When designing incentives for Brand Aficionados, carriers may consider rewarding producers for driving potential customers to marketing and sales events held by the carrier, which will help sustain brand awareness.
To download the full report, click
