Our insurance agency prides itself on providing personal service. We figure that when people call us, they want to talk to someone as soon as possible. So, we avoid voice mail as much as possible, and give callers options to speak with someone who can help them – even if they're not the person they originally called for.
But we try to be tech-friendly, too – for those clients who want to communicate that way. We're proud to offer:
- Real-time chat support. Clients or prospective clients can click on an icon on our home page which opens up a chat window. This is great for those who have relatively simple questions that might take a minute or two to answer: "was my payment received?" or "how much do I owe on my car insurance?", or the ever-popular "can you send me another insurance card so I can register my car?". Clients can work or play on their computer while we research their question. We can even send documents -an insurance card or payment receipt – right in the chat window. It's perfect for multi-taskers. It's also good for those who might be hard of hearing, or who want a written transcript of our answer (one can automatically be emailed after we're done). After business hours, the "chat button" automatically generates an email to us that we can answer later.
- Extensive email capabilities. We can email virtually any form, application or documentation that we can mail, speeding up the turnaround time by hours or days compared with faxes or snail mail.
- Web-based request forms. Our commercial clients can request Certificates of Insurance, and our other clients can easily download forms for discounts, electronic payments or underwriting information.
- This blog, which we hope provides timely information on various risk-management trends, tips and topics. There's even an RSS feed, so you can have updates automatically emailed to you.
- Text messaging to cell phones and PDAs. Let's suppose that your mortgage company pays your homeowners insurance premium. Except, they sold your mortgage last year, or changed addresses, and your insurance policy wasn't updated. When the insurance company doesn't receive your payment by the due date, they send you a cancellation notice. The only problem is you're away on an extended trip, so you don't get the notice. Wouldn't it be helpful to get a reminder that your policy is about to cancel tomorrow? That's one example of when text messaging (SMS) to a cell phone can be handy. We have that capability, if you notify us you'd like to be contacted in that way.
Insurance will always be a people business, no matter what the 800 number and web site insurance sales people say. But, technology can help a good agent provide excellent service. Our goal is to be positioned on the busy intersection of service and technology, providing the best insurance experience we can.