As the refi boom of 2020 and 2021 finally winds down, many mortgage brokers are looking for new opportunities in 2022. One tip: expand the services you offer your customers.
It’s a model that’s tried and true in other sectors: look at airports. While their primary function is to get people on and off planes, they also offer a host of food, beverage, and shopping options that greatly improve passengers’ experience of flying while letting the airports bring in revenue from multiple lines of business.
For mortgage brokers, adding insurance services can help you diversify revenue streams, improve your customers’ experience, and keep you at the top of their mind. Here’s a look at each of those benefits, plus a quick guide for how to add insurance services to your brokerage.
Diversify Revenue
Both 2020 and 2021 were banner years for most mortgage brokers. Favorable interest rates drove a refi boom so big many brokers admit they didn’t have to market at all.
Interest rates are expected to tick up in 2022, and while there will still be plenty of sales opportunities, brokers will also have more time to think strategically about their businesses rather than serve customer after customer.
For many mortgage brokers, bringing an insurance agency in house may be a strategically savvy move. Earning revenue from multiple service offerings (in this case, selling insurance policies in addition to selling mortgages and related products) can make for less dramatic revenue fluctuations when the market shifts.
What’s more, insurance is a natural way to supplement mortgage services: many mortgage brokers are already top referral sources for the insurance providers they partner with. Why not keep that business in house by selling those insurance policies yourself? This doesn’t just give you the chance to diversify your revenue, however; it also makes for a better experience for your customers.
Serve Your Customers Better
Getting a mortgage can be stressful. Even when everything goes smoothly, borrowers have to jump through a lot of hoops and meet tight deadlines – including to provide proof of homeowners insurance – to ensure they get the funding they need for the home they want.
Offering insurance in house can remove some of the stress your customers experience: instead of referring them to the insurance contacts you have or suggesting they search the web for the coverage they need, you can bring in another member of your team to help them find a policy that meets their requirements.
That makes for a much more relaxing experience, which can have a big impact: as many as 77 percent of people who have a positive experience recommend the brand they worked with to a friend.
Adding insurance can have downstream benefits for your brokerage, as well. For one thing, when customers have more lines of business with a single provider, they’re less likely to switch providers. Then, there’s the simple fact that insurance is a product that requires more ongoing engagement with customers than mortgages do. Here’s why that’s a good thing.
Stay Top of Mind
After closing on a loan, many mortgage brokers have little reason to stay in touch with their customers, which can make it hard to enjoy the benefits of retention and selling to repeat customers.
When you sell insurance, though, there are lots of reasons to connect throughout the year: reminding customers about the start of flood season, offering tips for winterizing their homes or cars, introducing helpful new products, and so on.
When you’re in regular contact with your customers, they’re more likely to think of you when they’re ready to refinance or take out a home equity loan or buy a lake house. They’re more likely to forward your friendly email to a neighbor who recently asked for broker recommendations.
What’s more, there’s a good chance you have years’ worth of customer names you could reach out to when you first introduce your insurance services to jump-start your insurance practice – and deliver value in a way your customers never expected.
WE Can Help You Add Insurance to Your Mortgage Brokerage
There are multiple ways you can go about adding insurance offerings to your mortgage brokerage: hire an agent who has the necessary appointments, have one of your existing employees get licensed as a producer, or become a franchisee of a partner like WE.
For most mortgage brokers, that last option is the most efficient: when you become a WE franchisee, you get access to 100+ carrier partners, which can help ensure you offer customers adequate choice when helping them find policies. You also get a turnkey solution with marketing, back-end, and operations support so that you can focus on delivering the best service possible to your customers.
Intrigued? Learn more about how to add a WE franchise to your mortgage brokerage
