Lastmonth, we talked about the impact of employee turnover and theamount of sales effort required to replace those losses. Ourconclusion was that a basic conversion program helps brokers getoff the attrition treadmill and use new account sales to grow theblock rather than stay even.

If an important part of conservation is helping departinginsureds to keep their coverage through a non-payroll remittancemechanism — then the key question is, “How do we improve our(typically) 5 percent conversion rate?” The most important step isto use a carrier’s conversion program as one of your criteria inselecting a carrier in the first place. How good is theirprogram?

How do they research their process and its effectiveness? Unlessyou work with one of very few carriers, you’ll find that mostinsurance companies do very little to encourage conversion. Theyprobably supply the plan administrator with some brochures andforms and hope for the best.

You can bet that, within a few months, the brochures and formshave been “filed” away and little is done by anyone to helpdeparting employees keep the coverage they need and have beenpaying for. In many cases, it’ll be up to you to help the carrierunderstand what needs to be done. And only pressure from you andyour peers will get them to do it.

The heart of any program is proactive contact. Reaching out tothem — by mail, email, or by an outbound call center — is by farthe most effective approach. Here are some of the keys to aneffective program:

Let the employee know, as soon as possible after dropping fromthe list bill, that they have an expiring right. Get the employeeto listen to the presentation, and then offer them a simplesolution.

Focus on the product and the reasons the employee bought it inthe first place. It’s a needs-based resell and can be accomplishedin a paragraph or two. Keep in mind there are different motivationsunderlying consumer interest in retaining the coverage. Some peoplerespond best to emotional appeals involving caring for family,testimonials, etc., while others are more open to analyticalappeals regarding original age-based rates or guaranteed issue.

End the presentation with a simple, quick option forcontinuing the coverage, typically putting the premium payment onan ACH or credit card basis.

The only “don’t” is obvious: Don’t rely on the account’s planadministrator to control how many departing customers you lose.They are busy people and this may not seem like an importantbusiness activity. After all, those employees are leaving.

Carriers who have built these processes into their package havefound them to be rewarding in several respects. First, the carriers— and you — get to retain a very large block of business, therebyboosting the net impact of their new sales efforts (it’s not justreplacing lost business).

Second, most of the business is seasoned, and much of theacquisition cost has already been incurred. Third, the rescuedbusiness performs much better, adding better risks to an otherwisesubpar pool. Also, their package is enhanced, attracting savvybrokers, and, they’re doing the “right” thing.

The best approach isn’t to set up your own process, but to lobbyyour carrier (or TPA) to set up a conversion system as a basic partof their offering package. Do the right thing and demand excellencefrom your carrier partners.