As a top notch professional moving company, you may feel a little awkward telling customers about third-party moving insurance right after you’ve told them about the care your team takes to protect their belongings. After all, if you’re good at your job, there shouldn’t be any damages, right?
Wrong.
You’d never tell your teenagers that you’re not providing them with car insurance because you know they’re safe drivers. That’s because you know that there are a lot of uncontrollable variables out there – like other drivers and weather and road conditions and thieves, to name a few.
Did you ever stop to think that all these same uncontrollable variables come into play when you’re moving customers’ belongings?
Acknowledging and Managing Everyday Risks
As a professional within the relocation industry, you know there’s significant risk in transporting and storing goods, regardless of who packed them and who’s driving. Loads can be lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed, often due to situations completely beyond your control. These are just everyday risks that come with the territory.
Like any other type of insurance, moving insurance helps manage everyday risks. No matter how experienced and conscientious the moving company and its employees are, accidents will happen.
What surprises many customers a lot more than being offered discretionary moving insurance from their moving company is that the majority of homeowner insurance policies do not protect their belongings during a move. Even fewer renter insurance policies provide any coverage.
Once made aware of that fact and the value that moving insurance provides at such a low cost, many customers will want to add it to their services contract with you. Many who do not sign up right away will respond to well-timed additional offers before moving day.
Our affiliates complete the vast majority of moves successfully with no problems. However, when an accident of some type occurs and items are irreparably damaged, third-party moving insurance compensates the customer for the loss. This shields your motor cargo policy from claims and being taken care of promptly by a professional claims handling team helps keep customer satisfaction high.
Educate your customers and give them the opportunity to manage their risk. While customers of all types appreciate the opportunity to be educated and make an informed decision, this conversation will be particularly valued by clients moving expensive items.
Sales Tips from Moving Company Owners
Licensed in all 50 states, Relocation Insurance Group (RIG) works with over 3,500 experienced moving and storage companies across the US. No one is more of an authority on selling moving insurance to customers than these business owners and managers.
We asked them to share some of their best practices for successfully offering moving insurance to their customers:
- Bring up moving insurance as part of your first discussion of move details. Offer moving insurance as a routine consideration for any move. If you wait to reference moving insurance for the first time until the point the customer is agreeing to the quote and signing contracts, they are more likely to see the offer as an attempt to upsell, rather than as a value-add.
- If the customer has not yet signed up for moving insurance, refer to it again in your service confirmation call (around three days before moving day). A good way to do so is in the context of going through a final checklist of actions to review and consider while there is still time.
- Have a staff person dedicated to administering moving insurance for your company. Everyone on staff should know that you offer moving insurance, and one or two people should be trained enough to cover for the expert when he or she is away. But you should have one expert who knows everything there is to know, can answer any question, and can resolve any issues promptly. In addition, you can always refer customers to our service team at MovingInsurance.com and they’ll gladly handle the insurance questions as an extension of your team.
Educated customers who feel protected are satisfied customers who give better online reviews and those all-important referrals.
Why Relocation Insurance Group?
RIG was the first company to offer moving and storage insurance online, and we’ve stayed on top of the industry since 2003. We provide coverage for nearly any professional move within the US and Canada, plus international locations.
Our affiliates get comprehensive moving insurance sales and marketing support, including customer brochures, customized online quote/purchase process, a call center to support the sale, 24/7 online access to your customer’s moving insurance data, and much more.
With more than 150 years of combined experience in the relocation industry, the RIG team is committed to helping you succeed. Contact us today for more information.