For agency owners, producers and CSRs
The renewal-increase call: a 5-step script that keeps clients from shopping.
A client opens their renewal, sees a big jump, and does one of two things. They call you, or they call someone else.
The second one usually happens when the client hears about the increase from the carrier's paperwork before they hear it from you. By the time they reach your office, they've already asked someone else for a quote, and you're defending a number instead of explaining it.
You can't control the rate. You can control who explains it first and how. Here is a five-step approach that works for owners, producers and CSRs alike.
Step 1
Find the increases before the client does.
Pull every renewal 45–60 days out and sort by dollar change, not percent. A 30% increase on a $600 policy is a different conversation from a 12% increase on a $4,800 homeowners policy. Start with the biggest dollar changes and your longest-tenured households.
If your renewal list lives in a spreadsheet someone updates "when they get to it," this step is where clients start slipping away.
Step 2
Know why before you dial.
Before the call, write down two or three plain reasons from the actual file:
- What changed on the risk: a new driver, a claim, roof age, an added vehicle, a coverage change.
- What changed outside the risk: a carrier rate filing, replacement-cost updates, a state-wide trend.
- What didn't change: their coverage, their deductible, their service.
"Rates went up everywhere" is true and useless. "Your dwelling coverage was updated to reflect what it would cost to rebuild today, and that accounts for most of the change" is a reason a client can repeat to their spouse.
Step 3
Lead with the number, then the reason, then the options.
Clients hate a slow build-up. Open with something like:
"Hi Maria, it's Dan at [your agency]. Your home renewal comes up December 15th. It's going up about $640 for the year, and I wanted you to hear it from me first, with the reasons and some options."
Then give the reasons from step 2. Then the options, which usually means one of these:
- Adjust the deductible, and show the dollar trade-off.
- Review coverages they may not need, or confirm the ones they do.
- Re-market with your other carriers if it makes sense.
- Bundle or re-bundle if they have policies elsewhere.
Step 4
Put it in writing the same day.
Follow every call with a short email or text: the new premium, the two or three reasons, the options you discussed, and what happens next. It answers the "what did they say?" question at home, it documents the conversation in the client file, and it gives the client something to reply to instead of something to shop with.
Step 5
Track it to a decision.
Every increase call should end in one of three outcomes: renew as-is, renew with changes, or re-market. Log the outcome and a follow-up date. The clients who say "let me think about it" and never hear from you again are the ones you lose in January.
Print it for your CSRs
The 5-line script.
- "Your [policy] renews on [date]. It's going up about $[X] for the year."
- "I wanted you to hear it from me first. Here's why: [reason 1], [reason 2]."
- "Here's what didn't change: [coverage / deductible / service]."
- "A few options: [A], [B], [C]. Which would you like me to look at?"
- "I'll send this in writing today and check back with you by [date]."
The real problem
It's usually the system, not the script.
Most agencies already know they should call ahead on big increases. It breaks down because the renewal list, the client file, the email thread and the quoting tools all live in different places, and nobody has time to stitch them together for 40 renewals a week.
That's the problem we built OneagencyOS to solve: one agency management system where renewals, client records, quoting, documents, e-signatures and client communication live together, so the renewal, the client file and the conversation are in one place.
See your renewal workflow in one place.
Tell us about your agency and we will walk you through it.