Farmer's Market Blog

• An Insurance Agency vs. a Direct Writer

  06/21/2011 | Read Article
  Understanding the difference between a direct writer and an insurance agency can be confusing, here it is explained:
  
  Direct Writer:
  A direct writer is an insurer who works directly for a single insurance carrier, such as Allstate, Statefarm, or GEICO. The insurer only delivers access to its own company's coverage, resulting in a fixed cost for the client. The client also does not have any choices and a lot of times the carrier only provides a single type of insurance, such as car insurance. Not only that, customers interact with the insurer directly and must make decisions on their own, which sometimes can be difficult without proper guidance.
  
  An insurance agency offers a multitude of advantages:
  
  1) Choice: When finding policies, an agency has an advantage because it has offers from a variety of carriers. A plethora of carriers means that it is gauranteed the client will get a competitive price. An agent will examine all the possibilities and help make the best financial decision for a client.
  
  2) A resource: If a client wants to make a coverage change or file a claim with a direct writer, he or she has to contact the specific carrier. As much as we all know being put on hold and listening to elevator music for an hour is fun, contacting an insurance agent is much simpler. The client will mostly work with the same agent repeatedly instead of speaking to a different customer service employee everytime. Through this interaction, the agent will learn more about the client and build an ongoing relationship, thus becoming more suited to give advice and make coverage decisions.
  
  3) An insurance agent wants to defend the client: If there are any issues with misproper coverage or a late fee, an agency has a longstanding relationship with all its carriers and is willing to fight to make sure the situation is sorted out fairly.
  
  4) Client-based relationships: An agency stresses strong, trusting relationships with its clients. It is about face-to-face interaction and learning about a customer's lifestyle needs. A direct writer does not take the time to learn its clients, making them less-suited to understand what coverage is really needed.
  
  An agency will guide and advise its client towards the most ideal and cost-effective insurance for his or her lifestyle needs. It saves valuable time for the client, where instead he or she would have to find the perfect carrier and make difficult financial decisions alone.

  

• The Role of Social Media in an Insurance Agency

  06/01/2011 | Read Article
  Facebook, Twitter, and blogs are becoming integral to life for people and businesses, but they have a special use for insurance brokerages. Here is why:
  
  This fast communication helps maintain relationships with clients. The Farmer-Leavitt Facebook page has 64 monthly users and shares photos, events, thoughts, and news. Through it, anyone can see what Farmer-Leavitt is planning everyday.
  
  Sharing information quickly keeps the agency knowledgeable. Farmer-Leavitt follows all its carriers on Facebook and Twitter, providing the brokerage with relevant news in the insurance world through status updates and tweets.
  
  Consumer feedback is crucial to any business. Through a blog and a Twitter account Farmer-Leavitt and its clientele can communicate back and forth. The agency follows over 200 people on Twitter, which helps talk with customers and pinpoint problems they have with their coverage. Join the conversation at @Farmerleavitt.

  

• Welcome!

  05/31/2011 | Read Article
  Welcome to the Farmer's Market Blog. Its purpose is simple: The Farmer-Leavitt Insurance Agency wants to give its customers an online experience unique to the insurance world. It will be using this blog to keep clients current with insurance news, tips, opinions, philanthropic work, events, and photos. To see the latest posts visit the Farmer-Leavitt website. Keeping up with social media also means people can engage with the agency's Facebook page. Don't forget to "Like" it! Anyone can also tweet to @Farmerleavitt. Stay tuned to get the latest news. Farmer-Leavitt looks forward to enganging you at your local "Farmer's Market".