RARE OPPORTUNITY TO REFORM LOUISIANA INSURANCE MARKET

The current Louisiana property insurance market crisis presents a rare opportunity for the Louisiana Legislature to fundamentally reform the Louisiana insurance market.

When people get desperate they are willing to think about things differently and make changes they have long resisted. A historical example is the creation of LWCC as the Worker’s Compensation market of last resort in 1991, which turned the disastrous WC market of the 1980’s into the most competitive line of insurance in Louisiana today.

Jeff Albright February 2023

The Louisiana Legislature has a long history of trying to regulate the insurance industry into submission. That strategy has failed miserably. Insurers find the Louisiana tort, legislative and regulatory environments hostile, and as a result many insurers will not write insurance in our state. Rather than “protecting consumers,” overregulation has left Louisiana policyholders with a crisis of both availability and affordability of insurance.

The current property insurance crisis has caused some legislators to ask what can be done to bring insurance companies back to Louisiana.

IIABL has been working with the insurance industry to develop important legislation to fundamentally improve the Louisiana insurance market environment. Legislators have taken note of our work. The Louisiana Conservative Caucus issued a press release stating in part:

“Florida has already enacted and benefited from some of the policy changes suggested by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of Louisiana (IIABL). To increase competition in the insurance market and deliver meaningful rate changes, we need policy reforms instead of handouts. The following is what IIABL recommends to permanently address this problem:

1) Reduce the unnecessary or redundant bureaucracy and excessive regulatory burdens that prevent insurers from effectively managing their business in Louisiana.

2) Reform our bad faith statute and provide a dear standard of how insurers pay property claims. This can be done to protect both citizens and the insurance companies by having a reasonable process for resolving disputes on the value of claims.

3) Add more flexibility to our insurance rating laws.”

Some legislators are considering radical changes to our insurance laws.

But these kinds of changes will not come easy.

Will you do your part?

Back in the 90’s road maps were the essential tool used to travel to a destination when driving a vehicle. Nowadays, many electronic devices and apps are used to get you to your destination. Same is true in sales. While the art of the process remains the same, technology has improved the process.

Does your sales process look the same across your agency? While we know insurance sales is about relationship management there are key steps to take in today’s technology world to uniform your sales process. After all I’ve never played a team sport without some sort of game plan or playbook. Some playbooks were thicker than others but nevertheless we had a plan. Here are 4 key steps to take to sell in today’s marketplace.

Website

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Your company, your team and finally YOU are instantly making an impression when consumers visit your website. What kind of impression do you want it to be? Do you come across as an organized, intelligent, positive and professional agency? Does the first impression you give reflect the values and vision of the agency?

Social Selling

You should aim to do 1 post per day, every day. Doing 1 thing daily is powerful, as it allows you to stay in front of your network DAILY. This generates interest and keeps you “top of mind”. You will also build momentum over time. Doing 1 post a day will also create a habit, so help yourself by blocking out an identical time every day in your calendar. If you want to get more clients and make more money, there is no “magic pill”. You must execute power activities every single day. Power activities are behaviors that “ move the needle” of your business, not maintenance tasks (checking email, client communication, support, scrolling through social media, or cleaning your desk). These are moves that build your network and generate interest, meetings, and clients. Executing power activities is a marathon, not a sprint...therefore it is vital to make time every day to accomplish them. Align your Google or Outlook Calendar. Set up