Cross-selling Opportunities for Agents Growing

In the last issue of Connecting…, "Building Brand Equity: Leveraging the Power of Zurich North America with Our Small Business Agents" talked about the strength of the Zurich brand. In this issue, we continue with this theme by looking at the many cross-selling opportunities available for Small Business agents. From loans to term life insurance, agents can expand their earning potential without much additional effort. Account Executives and Field Vice Presidents can help to strengthen the Zurich relationship with agents by educating them on our cross-sell products.

The Business Finance Center, Zurich Life Connections and the Health Insurance Center are all options for the Small Business agent to add to their repertoire of available products. Each of these provide agents with additional customer service opportunities, additional income, an easy referral process and increased customer retention.

"Our cross-selling products add substantial value to our franchise," said Bob Coppersmith, Vice President of Marketing for Small Business. "These products further bind the small business customer to their independent agent and to the Zurich brand. We're providing a unique benefit both to our direct customers and to their customers."

Business Finance Center

The Business Finance Center, now available across the country, provides a service for Zurich Small Business agents to refer their customers for commercial financing. This online tool offers financing from $5,000 to $500 million for business loans, commercial real estate loans and equipment leasing. Business owners interested in acquiring financing can log in to the Business Finance Center and enter their information in a secure environment that may be viewed by a market of over 200 lenders. In addition, they may also invite lenders that they already have a relationship with to view their information.

Agents can add the white-labeled Business Finance Center link to their web site or complete a referral form (if they do not have a web site) to start earning commissions. Since it is "white-labeled," agents can call the service their own Finance Center. By referring their small business customers to the online finance center, agents can earn 15 percent of the total fees generated from their referred customers' activity with the Business Finance Center.

During the pilot in California, Arizona and Florida, there were more than 47 applications in the system for a total of nearly $13 million in loans and leases, and more than 1,100 hits to the Business Finance Center site through zurichna.com.

Zurich Life Connections

The Zurich Life Connections term life insurance program is a remarkable income opportunity for Small Business agents with Life licenses. Agents can earn 55 or 70 percent commission based on the type of referral, and the incentive plans available to both agents and field teams make this a very attractive cross-selling opportunity.

Field office teams are eligible to participate in a $5,000 pool each month through the rest of the 2002 when they exceed their Zurich Life appointment, submission and premium goals in a given month. Agents have a two-part incentive - they are eligible for weekly and semi-annual awards. A $250 gift certificate is awarded to the agent sending in the greatest number of submissions for the week. In addition, every six months a trip for two is awarded to the top-producing agency in each of the seven Small Business zones.

Thanks to these incentive programs, the customer referral Term Life Insurance program has already exceeded the $1 million year-to-date production mark in Aug., and September alone produced more than $200,000.

To help sell even more Zurich Life policies, Zurich Life Connections has developed a customized direct mail program for Small Business agents to generate qualified life insurance leads and promote their agency. With very little effort on the part of the agent, Term Life solicitation letters will be sent on the agent's behalf to the agency's entire customer base. More details on this will be released soon.

Health Insurance Center

In November, the Health Insurance Center will be launched as a pilot in seven states. Agents will be able to refer customers to an online self-service center where the small business owner can make choices on individual and group health insurance coverage and carriers. If the program is successful as a pilot, it should be rolled out in the first quarter of 2003.

Foremost

Small Business agents have access to Foremost's specialty lines of products, including coverage for mobile homes, specialty dwellings and motor homes, through Foremost STAR or Foremost Express STAR. As a member of Zurich Financial Services Group, Small Business agents are invited to become appointed with Foremost as well. Both appointed and non-appointed agents can earn commission for referrals or written policies.

Links to all of these cross-selling opportunities are available on the web site (http://zurichna.com/zis) under "Cross-Selling Opportunities." If you would like more information on the Business Finance Center, Zurich Life Connections or the Health Insurance Center, please call Bob Coppersmith, (410) 338-1574. For more information on Foremost, please contact Roger Murphy, (410) 554-3933.