Wiping The Table Clean, 2005-Style

On product retrenchment, get out of la-la land. The movement of providers in and out of markets and product lines shows that some firms will indeed pull the plug before letting a troublesome product doom the company.

Most times, firms have solid business reasons for pulling out. However, some are guilty of abrupt pullouts, without explanation and “after-care” to existing constituents (field, customers, suppliers, etc.). Some firms create the impression that their employees dont have to answer to anyone but their numbers people, their boards and their shareholders. That is tunnel vision. Poorly planned withdrawals cause a lot of ill-will, upset customers, and cause phone calls to regulators and visits to the attorney.

Suggestion: Use the communications tools at your disposal to let the key parties know what is going on, why (to the extent you can tell it) and what plans are in place to help the affected parties make transitions. You just might find that being proactive in this area is also productive.

Ditto the field. Unexplained and fiery field organization decisions to terminate carrier relationships can be disruptive, too. As with carrier pullouts, marketing organization exits are usually made for bona fide business reasons. But if no plan is in place to guide the exit, the consequences can be far-reaching. A lock, stock, and barrel movement of business from one carrier to one or more other carriers disrupts not only the carrier but also the customers. Sometimes, the rolling business rolls right on over the customers best interests, with trips to the regulators and the attorney a not-uncommon consequence.

Suggestion: Same as above. Let the affected parties know what is happening, why (to the extent you can tell it) and what happens next.

Wake up. In the past year, I have called insurance agencies and companies where the people there are wonderfully alive and involved and knock themselves out to see to it that I get what I need (whether calling as a customer or a reporter). But I also have spoken with financial product folks who would just as soon have the customer, reporter, supplier or whomever evaporate. In this era of post-downsizing and CRM focus, the fact that sleepers are still on the job is amazingand no doubt costly to the firms.

Suggestion: Do what you have to do to renew your interest in your work or move on. And, if you are the boss of such a person, do what you have to do to energize your staff or move on.

Insurance/financial products are so dynamically linked to the lives of peopleinsureds, claimants and various business stakeholdersthey deserve the best handling, marketing, positioning and service possible. In 2005, it would be nice to see some table-clearing in these areas.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Edition, December 30, 2004. Copyright 2004 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.