KIA&B July/August 2020 | Seite 26

What best practices would you suggest for agents to grow and protect their books in a post-pandemic world? What are you encouraging your agents to do differently than before? What is working and what’s not? “Independent agents provide so much value to their customers, that is often overlooked. Now is a great time to remind those customers why they made the right choice in putting their trust in them and the agency. Phone calls and e-mails, social media are inexpensive ways to reach people even after the pandemic when we can begin to gather and meet in person.” Tyler Goecker Sales & Agency Relationship Specialist JM Wilson Corporation “Agents should stay even more connected through KAIA so they can follow new business opportunities and stay more connected to all things insurance in KS.” Curtis Weible, Business Development Manager OneBeacon Government Risks 26 “We encourage agents to reach out (from a distance) to their existing, potential, and former customers and stay in touch to maintain a personal connection that will likely be needed post-pandemic. The world will likely move even further away from personal contact and personal touch, providing us all with opportunities that others might ignore.” Mike Perkins, Managing Executive Kansas Mutual Insurance Company “Agents need to be aware and make sure they fully understand coverages and endorsements in place on each policy. Covid-19 made agents and carriers even more attentive to how a policy would respond to different claim scenarios that we may not have experience before. Be sure the insured also fully understands what coverages are in place if such a claim might arise.” Eric Schwarz, Regional Sales Manager West Bend Mutual Insurance Company “I am encouraging those agents I speak with to seek to find normalcy in the interaction with insureds as it may be the only bit of that in their lives through this time.” Justin Lear, CEO Farmers Mutual Insurance Company