Sales and Marketing in Aviation Insurance Three insurance company owners and a USAIG vice president composed a panel regarding sales and marketing in aviation insurance. The panel provided a general overview of how sales and marketing has changed over the past few decades—especially with the advent of apps and social media, plus tactics to either take or avoid. Matt White, owner of BWI Aviation Insurance and iFlyQuote, discussed what he calls, “the Amazon effect” in which an ever increasing number of consumers are searching for and buying goods and services online. “Everything has changed over the past 10-20 years; the way we shop, get information and make decisions,” White said. “The Covid-19 shutdowns over the past few months have accelerated this trend, and it’s no different for aviation insurance. More people are going to search and find their broker online. The future of aviation insurance marketing is online advertising.” White provided a list of five actions every agent/broker should take to bring in new business: 1. Create and update all free marketing pages including business listings on Google maps, Apple maps, Yelp, Facebook, Linkedin and others 2. Calculate average premium and lifetime value per customer to help set a marketing budget and make marketing decisions 3. Create a Google AdWords account and hire a professional to manage that account for a minimum of six months (White called AdWords “the most important 21st century marketing tool available”) 4. Create an email marketing list and send out a quarterly email newsletter
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5. Add a popup to your website to prompt visitors to sign-up for your email list USAIG senior vice president Vic D’Avanzo discussed licensing requirements, noting that soliciting and selling insurance online can be problematic if the agent or broker is not licensed properly. “Generally you need a license in a state before quoting insurance in that state,” said D’Avanzo. “Sometimes we need to remind people that the state you need a license for is not that state where your office is located, but is the state of the insured’s physical address.” D’Avanzo cited an example where a broker not licensed in the insured’s state helped out a fellow broker and was fined for the act. He noted that most states require the agency itself to be licensed in that state as well as the broker. Tim Bonnell Jr., CAIP, CIC, owner of Aeris Insurance Solutions, discussed state laws that look upon rebating as an unfair trade practice, noting that rebating is prohibited by 48 of the 50 U.S. states (California and Florida allows forms of rebates with caveats). If not specified in the contract, offering rebates of premiums payable on the policy, special favors or advantages in the dividends or other benefits, or any valuable consideration or inducement not specified in the policy may be illegal under state law. “Saying something like, ‘if you do business with us, we’ll cut our commission 10 percent’ or ‘if you do business with us, we’ll take you and three of your friends to the Super Bowl,’ could be construed as rebating,” said Bonnell. “Ultimately you need to know what the rules are in the state you’re working in.”