Selling Online Services
By John Davenport

After a visit from a Texas Mutual^® loss prevention consultant, a client who had previously stayed loyal to his old insurance carrier—even when we offered better pricing — decided to make the switch to Texas Mutual Insurance Company.

Why? Our online services won him over.

When we upgraded our online safety capabilities last fall, we knew it would make a big difference to our policyholders. In fact, we began receiving kudos from businesses using it almost immediately. Today, we’re seeing a bigger payoff: Our website is winning over customers from other insurance carriers.

“This validates everything we’ve been busy doing to constantly improve our online services,” said Harry Mahler, Texas Mutual^® senior vice president of underwriting and loss prevention. “It’s a big win for us, directly attributable to the teamwork in developing our Internet capabilities. I am confident that this will continue to pay off for us in the marketplace.”

It could pay off for you, too.

While we often tout our Internet Quoting, online endorsements, and other agent-based services for agents, we also need to remind you that more of your clients are going online to “check out” the carrier you recommended. You may find that your knowledge of our online services for policyholders is just as important as your knowledge of making an online submission.

The proof is in the numbers. In 2004, the number of our registered website users increased 35 percent over 2003, and the number of logins shot up 57 percent. We receive 45 percent of our policyholders’ injury reports online, and use of our online interim payroll reports increased 25 percent last year. We expect interim payroll reports to increase even more now that we have opened it up to more policyholders (see “Interim Reporting” in this issue).

Click here to learn more about our online services, or ask your Texas Mutual^® agency representative.