Follow this step by step guide to dramatically improve your commercial lines insurance training program

1. THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO PRACTICAL INSURANCE ONBOARDING 1

2. The Problem
FACING OUR INDUSTRY
PWC REPORT
25%
90%
32
30% HIGHER
$10,000
$20,000
400,000
of the insurance workforce
retired in the last 3 years
of new hires leave the
industry within 2-3 years
The average cost to replace
one CSR is
The number of workers
aged 55 and older is
higher in the insurance industry
than the rest of the economy
to
The new hires that stay switch
agencies an average of 4
times before age
will retire in the
next 2 years
US employers
are woefully
unprepared
“ massive loss
of skilled,
knowledgeable
workers
“ Companies that effectively
recruit, train and develop
staff and leaders will set
themselves up for success
“

3. THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO PRACTICAL INSURANCE ONBOARDING 3
MILLENNIALS
2.5
billion in the
world today
50
Less than
Colleges Offer a Insurance/
Risk Management Major
84%of 2017 grads expect
formal training
75%
In 2025, they’ll make up
of the global workforce
4%
Only
are interested in the
insurance industry
Colleges Don’t
TRAIN ON INSURANCE
THE
BLACK
SWAN
Some 44 million people
in the United States
now owe more than $1.5
trillion in student loans
7 of 10 students take out student loans
An average of $30,000 is owed
20% owe more than $100,000
11% are 90 days or more deliquent
Cost of education has risen 150% in the
past 4 decades, but household income
has only risen 20%

4. THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO PRACTICAL INSURANCE ONBOARDING 4
Entry-level processes are
being outsourced to China,
India and the Phillipines
Training typically takes
18 months to 3 years
New hires now need to go from zero
knowledge to full fledged CSR/
Account managers
Millennials need to be onboarded
and trained in months, not years.
The Outsourcing
CURVEBALL
THE
OPPORTUNITY
Provide a stable career opportunity without massive student debt
for Millennials and Generation Z
Offer a comprehensive onboarding and training program
Re-introduce the concept of apprenticeship

5. THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO PRACTICAL INSURANCE ONBOARDING 5
“An idea not coupled with action will
never get any bigger than the brain
cell it occupied.”
-A RN O L D G L ASOW
“
Resons Why You
WON’T ACT
1
3
5
2
4
6
You are Distracted
You have Failed at
this Before
You Can’t See Past the
Bad to Get the Good
You Don’t Believe You are
Smart Enough
You Don’t Have the Time
Short Term Happiness Prevails

6. THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO PRACTICAL INSURANCE ONBOARDING 6
You immediately
open the pool of job
candidates
You won’t fall behind your
competitors who are
starting to do this
You won’t end up
overpaying your short-
staffed employees
Reduce TurnoverEliminate or
Reduce the Cost of
Recruiters
Benefits to
ACTING NOW
Where to
BEGIN
Process and
Procedure Manual
Customer Experience
Manual
Video Process and
Procedure Manual
Structured
Onboarding Program

7. THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO PRACTICAL INSURANCE ONBOARDING 7
The Process and
PROCEDURE MANUAL
Do you even have one?
When was it last updated?
Is it user friendly?
Does it cover every process and
procedure in your agency?
Is it available in video format?
Require agency
employees to
list off every
process and
procedure in
your office
Store the Master
Processes on
a drive that is
accessible to all
employees
Assign someone
to compile
the list and
eliminate the
duplicates
Repeat this
process each
week until you
have completed
all processes.
Present the list
to your entire
team and
verify that all
processes have
been addressed
Assign (1) process
a week for each
employee to write
out step by step
Meet the following
week to compare notes
and create the “master
process
LIST
STORE
COMPILE
REPEAT
VERIFY
WRITE
Steps to Establish a
PROCESS AND PROCEDURE MANUAL

8. THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO PRACTICAL INSURANCE ONBOARDING 8
Video Process and
PROCEDURE MANUAL
03:34 03:12 02:19 01:47
01:15 01:15 01:04 01:04
01:47
00:32
Purchase a quality
Screen Recording
Software for $50
Team members
rotate through
narrating their actual
process as they do it
Purchase a
quality Microphone
for $50
Store the Videos
on a drive that is
accessible to all
employees
Steps to
ESTABLISH VIDEO
1 2 3 4

9. THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO PRACTICAL INSURANCE ONBOARDING 9
Customer Experience
MANUAL
The first step in exceeding your
customer’s expectations is to know
those expectations.
ROY H . W I L L I A M S
“
PHASE 1
HOT BUTTON
ISSUES
List 10-20 accounts your agency has lost
in the past 18 months and identify which of
them you would like to earn back
Ask your existing customers: What is one
specific action we could take that will
improve your experience with us?
Validate the results through a phone
interview with your lost clients
1
2
3

10. THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO PRACTICAL INSURANCE ONBOARDING 10
Create a process to overcome the
validated issues and ensure staff is held
accountable
Survey your existing customers 60 days
later: Have you seen an improvement in our
customer experience?
Circle back to Step 2 and Repeat
4
5
6
PHASE 2
PHONE
ETIQUETTE
Always answer the phone by the
third ring
ANSWER
SMILE
GREETING
Smile as you answer the phone and
have a positive attitude
Provide a warm greeting, share your
first name and the name of your agency
followed by asking how you can help
them today

11. THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO PRACTICAL INSURANCE ONBOARDING 11
PHASE 2 Tone is hard to illustrate through
writing and equally tough for
the reader to interpret
Never write as you would a text
message even when replying
from a smartphone
Always hit reply when
responding to new items in an
email thread
This shows commitment in
you providing an excellent
experience
Know when email just doesn’t
cut it
WRITE IN A
FRIENDLY
TONE
USE PROPER
GRAMMAR
RESPOND
RESPONSIBLY
OFFER
ASSISTANCE
MAKE THE
CALL
PHONE
ETIQUETTE

12. THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO PRACTICAL INSURANCE ONBOARDING 12
PHASE 2 Let the customer tell their entire
story without interruption
Convey that you deeply
understand how the customer
feels
As long as it’s sincere, you can’t
apologize enough even when
you are not the one responsible
Quickly fix issues or make sure
employees are empowered to
do so. Ask what you can do to
make it right
Find out why the mistake
occurred. Focus on fixing the
process, don’t focus on who is to
blame
HEAR
EMPATHIZE
APOLOGIZE
RESOLVE
DIAGNOSE
FIXING
MISTAKES

13. THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO PRACTICAL INSURANCE ONBOARDING 13
We already
addressed that
Verbal Reminders, e-mails
and team meetings are
great times to reiterate your
services standards
Standards should be
explained during the
onboarding process
Verbal affirmation, gift cards,
and group recognition are all
great ways to reward high
performing employees
CREATE YOUR SERVICE
STANDARDS
REITERATE YOUR
SERVICES STANDARDS
DISSEMINATE YOUR
SERVICE STANDARDS
REWARD ADHERENCE TO
YOUR SERVICES STANDARDS
PHASE 3
ENSURE LASTING
IMPROVEMENT

14. THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO PRACTICAL INSURANCE ONBOARDING 14
Structured Onboarding
PROGRAM
DESIGNED TO TRAIN DAILY TASKS
Utilize Proper Insurance
Terminology
Properly Complete ACORD
Forms
Analyze Loss Runs
Compile Submissions
Compare & Contrast Quotes
Bind Coverage
Process Certificates of
Insurance
Policy Checking
Process Endorsements
Calculate Short Rate
Penalties
Understand Final Audits
Utilize Proper
INSURANCE
TERMINOLOGY
For each line of coverage, create a list
of common terminology used in your
everyday processes.
Create a repository of this information
and create a flash card database
Provide copies of documents which
contain this terminology so that the
user has context

15. THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO PRACTICAL INSURANCE ONBOARDING 15
Properly Complete
ACORD FORMS
Create and Save Blank Copies of the following Forms
Create 5 Sample Scenarios for each Acord for your trainees to complete.
Create a Master Acord Answer Sheet to Check the trainees work against
Acord 125 Commercial
Acord 130 Workers’ Compensation
Acord 126 General Liability
Acord 127, 129 and 137 Business Auto
Acord 131 Excess
Acord 140 Property
Acord 146 Inland Marine
2
3
1

16. THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO PRACTICAL INSURANCE ONBOARDING 16
Analyze
LOSS RUNS
Print Copies of Loss Runs from Each of your carriers for each line
of coverage
Highlight the most relevant areas on each loss run
Quiz your trainee on the loss runs using different formatting
2
3
1

17. THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO PRACTICAL INSURANCE ONBOARDING 17
Compile
Example
SUBMISSIONS
Create a Checklist of required information
on a given submission for each line of
coverage.
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
Acord 130
Supplemental Application
4 Years of Currently Valued Loss Runs
EX-Mod Worksheet (For accounts over $30,000)

18. THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO PRACTICAL INSURANCE ONBOARDING 18
Parting
THOUGHTS
Training isn’t Hard but it does require Preparation
and Planning
To Compete for the best employees you will
need to build your training platform today, not
tomorrow
What if I don’t have the time to build an on-
ramping program for my team?