Selling Homeowners Insurance? Don’t End the Conversation without Asking these 4 Questions

Homeowners have a variety of coverage needs, and not all of them are immediately linked to their home. If you’re selling homeowners insurance, that’s good news for you: with the right questions, you can steer the conversation in a direction that both addresses their needs and helps you sell additional policies.

Not sure where to start? Ask these four questions any time you’re helping a customer get homeowners insurance.

Question 1: Do You Have Any Pets?

You probably know from your customer’s homeowners application whether they own a dog. If they don’t, ask whether they have other kinds of pets. There’s a good chance they do – 70 percent of American households have at least one.

If your customer is a pet owner, their pet will face unique risks. Make sure to mention how pet insurance can help them cover the costs of unexpected pet injury, illness, accidents, or surgeries.

Pet insurance typically comes in two forms: accident-only or accident and illness (A&I). An overall healthy animal may only need accident coverage, while a pet with disabilities or chronic illnesses could benefit from a more comprehensive policy.

More coverage often means steeper premiums. For a dog, the average cost of an A&I policy is $594 a year, compared with $218 on average per year for accident-only coverage. When pricing premiums, insurers may consider a pet’s…

?      Age: Young animals often have cheaper premiums.

?      Species: If the pet isn’t a dog or a cat, your customer may pay more for coverage.

?      Breed: Certain breeds are more illness prone – and will likely cost more to cover.

?      ZIP code: Insurers will likely factor in the cost of veterinary care in your client’s area.

To deliver the most value to your customer, guide them toward an affordable policy that’s suited to their pet’s needs. After your conversation, make sure to follow up with additional pet insurance resources to help them understand their risk factors.

Question 2: Have You Thought About Your Home’s Flood Risk?

As climate change worsens, flooding has become a growing concern for homeowners.

Floods are becoming larger and more frequent. The widening range of flood-prone areas has put 14.6 million properties at risk – that number may reach 16.2 million by 2050. And with more intense floods, property owners are facing costlier flood damage than ever.

Also worth noting: many current floodplain maps are out of date, meaning homeowners may be at greater risk of flooding than what the “official” sources say.

Although flooding is increasing nationwide, your customer may not be aware that their home could be at risk. Ask your customer if they’ve thought about their home’s flood risk and explain how flood insurance can help them mitigate costs.

Once you wrap up your discussion, follow up with flood risk and premium estimates using Flood Factor and Risk Rating 2.0.

Question 3: What’s Your Primary Mode of Transportation?

About 91 percent of American households have access to a car. If your customer falls into that category, they could be among the 77 percent of auto insurance customers looking for different coverage.

When you’re selling homeowners insurance, make sure to determine your customer’s car ownership status. Then, ask questions to gauge their auto insurance needs. How do they like their carrier? Do they feel they have adequate coverage? And have they recently compared pricing?

That last question is particularly important. Auto insurance customers are the most likely to both shop around for affordable pricing (43 percent) and switch policies (31 percent). Use these facts to your advantage to deliver more value to your customer.

The best way to do that? Take advantage of your broad carrier access to help your customers compare quotes. This way, you’re helping them find coverage that better suits their needs.

Question 4: Do You Have Any Hobbies?

Many homeowners have hobbies that come with risks not covered by their homeowners policy. To deliver the best value to your customer, ask them if their hobbies include…

1. Boating: Boating tops the outdoor recreation industry. If your customer is an outdoor hobbyist, they may have contributed to skyrocketing boat sales over the last two years. Owning a boat comes with new kinds of risks – and your customer could likely benefit from a boat insurance policy.
2. Camping: Does your customer like to camp? Thirty-five percent of campers want to buy an RV, and over half want to upgrade their current one. The pandemic made RVs popular again, with sales rising by 170 percent among first-time buyers. If your customer owns an RV, guide them toward an RV insurance policy to deliver more value and help them mitigate their risks.
3. Crafting: If your customer enjoys crafting and selling their wares on a platform like Etsy, they’re likely taking on a number of risks. No matter how small their business, you can provide information about a small business package to help them cover their goods and activities.

The takeaway: try to get to know your customer at every stage of your relationship. When you have a sense of their day-to-day activities, you can help them manage the risks they face in all areas of their lives.

The Right Questions Can Create Customers For Life

Sometimes, all customers need is a nudge in the right direction to get the most out of your products. Homeowners insurance customers can benefit from policies they might not even know they need. It’s up to you to guide the conversation toward products that can help them manage their various risks.

With this approach, you can help your customers mitigate risk across multiple fronts – and create more customers for life.

The best part: as part of the WE family, you have access to multiple carriers to help your customers find the right policy. Learn more about the power of WE today. [1]