Communicating with purpose

In the insurance industry, we tend to get caught up in client meetings, spreadsheets, negotiations, deal facilitation, and performance reporting. While all these tasks are important to our day-to-day operations, we sometimes lose sight of the true purpose of our jobs – it’s all about the people we serve. And to properly serve our clients – and ultimately the end policyholder – it’s critical that we properly communicate.

Communicating with purpose

During the early stages of my career as a broker with Lockton, I had the opportunity to regularly sit down with employees and educate them on their benefit options. Specifically, I would discuss what policies each individual was offered, which policies they were/were not paying for, why each policy is important, and how easy it was to file a claim – if and when they needed it.

During a review session, I had the opportunity to sit down one-on-one with a young woman who was paying for critical illness insurance. She wasn’t too knowledgeable about her policy, so I was happy to explain to her what critical illness insurance is and how it could benefit her in specific future situations. It wasn’t until I finished explaining the benefit to her that she disclosed to me that her “future” situation was happening in the present.  She had recently had a cancer diagnosis, leading to some financial distress. I commiserated with her and told her I could walk her through filing a claim again. And while it was an emotional situation, I was able to communicate with her in a clear, cohesive way, which helped her file her claim easier.

It wasn’t until a few weeks passed that I held another review session with the same employer – giving me the opportunity to see the young woman again. The first thing she did was hug me immediately, greeting me by saying, “That insurance check helped me save my home.”

Communicating and fulfillment

As brokers in this industry, and as salesman, the way we communicate boosts our relationships with our clients and employees. If a customer feels that you are well-informed, have an approachable manner, and are able to explain policies clearly, they are far more likely to return to your service¹. And it can help employees understand the value of their benefits. When others within a company catch wind of the value of the products you’re offering, it can lead to more of their peers’ purchasing policies. Not only does effectively communicating policies drive business for yourself and your clients, but you can find personal fulfillment in your job, and in some cases change someone’s life.

Career change

Proper communication can also impact how we think about their careers. Before coming to Trustmark, I knew that I wanted to make my way back to the carrier side and was already very familiar with the organization based on its industry-leading life insurance and long-term care solutions.

In this industry, most clients know they need to start offering long-term care and know there are only a few products on the market to choose from. And as a broker at the time, I found myself always going to Trustmark because of the way they communicated long-term care legislative updates and product information, ultimately becoming my go-to source for all long-term care communications. So, once the opportunity to rejoin the carrier side of the industry with Trustmark Voluntary Benefits became available, I knew I had to take it. A combination of the way Trustmark communicates its voluntary benefits, enrolls in a logical fashion, and my ongoing belief in what they’re selling made it the perfect fit to exit the broker world – showcasing once again how effective communication has made a massive impact on my life.

Lasting advice

Effective communication drives everything in this industry – but is also an ongoing process. It can affect relationships with our clients, and our career trajectory, and ultimately change someone's life for the better. If you can try to make effective communication your focus, it becomes easier to build meaningful relationships, educate and empower others around you, and too never lose sight of the true reason behind why we all do what we do: helping to protect everyday people at times when they’re most vulnerable.

¹"Why Communiication Skills are Important for Insurance Advisors". AOLCC.