03 Nov What Makes a Successful Broker?

If you’re an insurance broker – you’re all about understanding your customer’s pain and finding the right remedy. When that client is a large company with multiple exposures at risk, you become a critical consultant to their organization. You need to seek out the right coverage and claims management for their exposure – and the quality of service that makes the customer happy at a price they like. Bingo. That’s the role of brokers. But you can’t get there alone.

It’s a broker’s life

You work in a very competitive business. We get that. You’re a trusted consultant, asked to deliver on both price and quality in the insurance coverage and claims management you recommend.

Your priority is understanding the exposures your client faces. Only then can you recommend the right type of coverage, the right insurance carrier, and the best practices for claims management – especially for self-insured clients or those with a high deductible.

As a third-party administrator or TPA, Fleet Response’s priority is helping brokers like you understand what we do and the value we bring to your clients.

How can a good TPA help you succeed?

Brokers need to be on constant lookout for new ways to help your clients improve processes, control costs, and keep up with cutting edge technology. You need to know what resources are out there and which TPAs are a good fit for your client.

Fleet Response is one of many TPAs to choose from. But the differences are dramatic.

6 benefits brokers get with Fleet Response

• Customized programs: Fleet Response creates programs tailor-made for a client’s needs, whether it is high frequency claims, third-party damages or other specific issues.
• Data + information: Access to data helps your client make strategic decisions. This is a critical differentiator with Fleet Response’s VISIBILITY platform. For example, if an electrical contractor is self-insured and paying for their first-party auto exposure and third-party property damage, they may want to know why accidents are happening so they can address the problem and fix it. Fleet Response provides data that helps isolate the issues, such as” accident reason” and “frequency and severity.” The data is used to identify the top regions or locations where most of the damages are occurring, along with other key information.
• Training: Once Fleet Response identifies locations or issues causing damages and loss, such as high frequency accidents occurring when employee drivers are backing up, then training is provided to target that specific problem.
• Efficiency: Fleet Response is known in the industry for prompt communication and highly efficient claim management processes. That makes an enormous difference in speed of resolving claims, in the cost of claims, and the impressions left on clients and their customers.
• Pricing: By creating customized programs that target specific issues, Fleet Response can reduce the cost of claims. For example, high frequency/low dollar claims don’t have the complexity or costs that come with general liability or worker’s compensation claims, but they impact many companies with much greater frequency and can damage brand identity and reputation. Bringing costs down here is of great value to a business.
• Communication and data sharing with other TPAs: When a claim requires data related to other damages, such as general liability or worker’s comp, Fleet Response shares that data and information with other TPAs involved in the claim, giving them access to the data via the VISIBILITY portal or pushing that data to the client’s risk management software to extract as needed. Fleet Response is extremely proficient in setting up these systems and keeping them updated at low expense to the client. This adds value to the customer and reflects well on the broker who selected Fleet Response for claims management.

Customized programs for “high volume, low dollar” claims

As a broker, your goal is to find the coverage and claims management that offer the most value to your customer. That happens when the program fits them to a tee.

The companies you serve are all different, with different needs and levels of exposure. For large corporate customers with exposure to auto claims, the most bothersome situation is having a lot of claims for relatively small amounts of money. The dollar figures on these claims may be low, but the risk can still be high, in terms of brand reputation and customer perception.

Fleet Response has carved out a niche in customizing claims management processes, including the “high volume, low dollar” area and earned a reputation for excellence. Customized programs like this meet your individual customer’s needs and make you the hero.

“Compared to other TPAs who are also handle general liability and workmen’s comp claims, we are able to better serve customers that may have a unique exposure,” explains Jeff Fender, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing for Fleet Response. “We are able to do it better, faster and for less cost – while providing the greatest access to data and highest level of customer service.”

One example is a large, national tire and wheel retailer, operating more than 1,000 stores in 35 states. Working with their insurance broker, Fleet Response created a custom program to help manage their claims. The broker knows this company well. And they know that in most cases, when a customer comes in for tires and leaves with a ding in their car, the damages are often a low-dollar amount.

But the broker also knows that the client places an extremely high value on pleasing the customer. Just like their tire-buying experience, they want customers to receive the highest level of service when dealing with a damage claim on their auto. They don’t want to work with a TPA who may delay calling their customer for three or four days after the claim was started. That creates a negative view of the client – and those experiences can have lasting damage.

“If Fleet Response reaches out to the customer within 24 hours and assures the customer that they will be taken care of and informed throughout the process, it changes everything,” says Fender. “In the end, if we treat that customer right, they will tell a different story, saying ‘Yeah, it was unfortunate that it happened, but they sure took good care of me.’ The claim process ends with a good impression of the client. That’s what we can do in a customized program focused on cost reduction while maintaining the highest level of customer service in the industry. And that’s how we help the broker achieve their goals to find the right vendor for their customer.”

Nailing subrogation opportunities

Large companies often foot the bill for the costs of repair, loss of use and loss of revenue due to vehicle damage and downtime. Fleet Response has developed great expertise in pursuing the third party responsible for damages and recovering the costs. “Brokers are astounded by our ability to successfully subrogate claims and recover the cost of damages caused by a third party,” remarks Fender.

One example is a national food distributor with a large fleet of trucks. When a third-party causes damage to a truck carrying food, Fleet Response has been able to not only recover the cost to repair vehicle damage, but also recover the value of the damaged cargo that is no longer sellable.

Fixed property damage is another area where subrogation is a frequent issue. In one instance, a client had an expensive light pole damaged by a driver. Fleet Response was able to find out who the driver was and subrogate the cost against the at-fault insurance carrier, so the broker’s client recovered the replacement cost of the pole.

Another client kept having their stationary speed cameras hit by drivers – at a replacement cost of about $20,000 each. Fleet Response created a program to maximize subrogation return by locating the drivers and successfully recovering costs from the drivers’ insurance companies. That process includes communication from the time of loss to successful subrogation.

Not only are dollars recovered in subrogation, but data is delivered via the VISIBLITY platform – documenting every step along the way. This is critical information for clients in making daily decisions on settlements, while brokers can use the data to identify overall trends, expenses and other “big picture” views.

Good brokers introduce good resources

In a highly competitive field, it’s hard to differentiate your value to clients.  But one key factor makes for a leader: the broker who finds the best TPAs for their clients.

“Learn about what we do at Fleet Response. If you think we may be a good fit for one of your clients – introduce us,” observes Fender. “I’m confident we can customize a program that may be the cornerstone to building lasting relationships and creating continual improvement for your clients.”

To discuss your client’s unique claims management and to schedule a demo of Fleet Response VISIBILITY. Contact Jeff Fender, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Fleet Response, contact@fleetresponse.com.