How to Become a Valued Insurance CSR

Anyone who has spent any time on the phone talking to an insurance customer service representative (CSR) quickly appreciates the value of a good one. Similarly employers appreciate and sometimes reward insurance employees either monetarily or with promotion after they have exhibited exemplary skills.

Anyone who works in the insurance field and has to handle customer calls and inquiries should take the time to learn the skills it requires to become a valued insurance customer service representative. It’s a win-win-win situation for the employee, employer and customer.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Become familiar with the insurance specialty. Insurance comes in many flavors. There’s life, health, commercial and personal insurance to name a few. Customer service representatives are usually hired to handle one type of insurance and handle it well. Therefore to become valued in the field, the insurance rep must learn the nuances of her particular field of insurance.

2. Defer specialty coverage questions to the appropriate specialist. A customer service representative hired to handle personal automobile insurance should not answer ‘off the cuff’ questions on other types of insurance for which she does not have a working knowledge. Therefore, if a client calls about personal automobile and then requests information on the company’s commercial automobile coverage, the customer service rep should field the question and have the commercial automobile ‘expert’ handle the inquiry.

3. Close coverage gaps and recommend program enhancements. Part of being a valued insurance representative is gaining the client’s trust. Find time to review the insurance program looking for coverage gaps and potential coverage improvements. In addition to recommending enhanced coverage, be sure to let the insured know how much the enhancements will cost and the potential cost of not purchasing the improvements.

4. Leave footprints in the file. Due to the nature of the business, its very important for insurance CSR’s to document every conversation, request, query or contact with an insured and/or insurance company. Leaving such footprints in the file makes it easier for a co-worker or supervisor to pick up the file and handle an unexpected call on the account.

5. Follow up on unfinished tasks. Often times customers forget to return signed applications or provide needed claims information. Following up with the person who dropped the ball not only helps to bring a resolution to an open item, but in the event an unhappy client decides to place blame, the customer service rep can produce evidence of the several follow up attempts made to resolve the open issues.

6. Keep up with the latest insurance developments. While it’s not necessary to purchase a weekly subscription to Business Insurance magazine, but keeping up with the latest trends and newsworthy insurance developments helps and insurance CSR better understand how to help her clients.

7. Employ common business courtesies. This goes for any field of business. Common business courtesies such as returning phone calls, answering emails and responding to letters goes a long way when it comes to servicing customers.

[jenbeth]

on 9/15/2009 Interesting information, thanks!