We surveyed more than two million insurance consumers in the U.S. to find out what they value most in their agent. And here’s what we learned.

It’s easy to get discouraged when you see a competitor advertise lower prices. And it’s difficult to watch clients leave for what may seem like a better deal, especially when you’re not the one setting policy rates.

But don’t get too caught up worrying about price. We have intel on why competing on price is the wrong strategy for your agency anyway. Instead, we’ll tell you what you should be focusing on.

It’s rarely about the money

Over the last two years, we’ve analyzed feedback from more than two million (yep, million!) insurance customers in the U.S. We wanted to find out what clients value the most when considering their relationship with their insurance agent.

Here’s what we learned: 42% of customers said communication was the most important factor in whether they would or wouldn’t recommend their agent to family, friends or business partners.

Good communication is the number one factor that increases an agent’s Net Promoter Score (NPS), and poor communication is the top reason for lowering that score.

Tied for second most important are:

• Attitude (how positive, helpful and friendly their agent is) and
• Price, at 22%—about half that of communication

And for the 22% of clients who mention price, most of the time the root cause is, you guessed it, poor communication from the agency.

After all, it makes sense to pay a bit more for insurance if you have an agency you hear from regularly, and one that is actively looking out for you. But if an agency doesn’t get back to their clients or show they are working for them behind the scenes, their rates start to feel expensive.

What do we mean by “communication”?

Two things:

1. How responsive you are when your clients interact with you.

• Do you get back to your clients quickly when they have a claim?
• Do you text with clients who aren’t into email or phone calls?
• Do you send a thank you card or email when they refer friends and family?
• Are you available when clients reach out randomly with a question?

2. How proactive you are about building relationships with your clients outside of renewals or claims.

• Do you contact your clients regularly throughout the year to make sure they know you’re looking out for them?
• Do you share valuable, meaningful content from time to time—the kind that’s designed just for them and isn’t a blast-all newsletter?
• Do you send your clients birthday, loyalty, thank you or holiday cards to show you truly appreciate their business?
• Do you pick up the phone and call a client who left a bad review or gave you a low score on a survey to see how you can make things right?

If you do all of the above, and you do it well, you’ll create meaningful relationships in which price will almost always take a second seat, or better yet—third or fourth.

A client is unlikely to leave an agent they trust, one who’s always there for them, who appreciates them and remembers to reach out not just when a policy is up for renewal.

People simply aren't in a hurry to leave positive relationships.

So next time you see the old, “Save money on some kind of insurance by ditching your agent!”—smile because you know what’s up and go back to building meaningful, long-lasting relationships with your clients.