Selling life insurance is like medicine!
According to Poli Mali News, what you are reading below is an interview with Mehrdad Shahbazi, the director of Yazd Regional Marketing and Coordination Office, who has recently been added to Baran Insurance and defines his most important mission in improving the welfare of his fellow citizens with the help of life insurance capacities.
1. As the first question, let us ask you to introduce yourself and ask how you got to know the insurance industry.
I am Mehrdad Shahbazi Menshadi, a university lecturer and a PhD student in management. I have an experience of more than 16 years of continuous activity in the insurance industry as a lecturer, trainer and salesperson at the headquarters, branch and representative levels. My familiarity with the insurance industry dates back to the time when one of my friends invited me to cooperate in building a sales network. With the formation of this team, we were able to sell more than 90,000 life insurance policies during the period of cooperation, and this sweet experience made me last in the life insurance industry.
2. If you want to define life insurance in the simplest terms, what would you say?
Life insurance is a tool to protect people’s capital and assets against various threats and risks. Usually, people protect their mobile phones with a guard and glass, or for example, they get a surge protector for their refrigerator, or they put an alarm for their car. These solutions protect people’s capital when threats occur. Now, if they think that the most important asset and capital in most of our lives is the family; But what are they doing to protect them, what will be the answer?
Life insurance protects people’s lives against life crises. If an experienced and expert team designs an insurance policy that fits the individual’s conditions, this insurance policy can definitely prevent the collapse of a family’s foundation in financial crises, illness and death.
3. What plans do you have for the newly established office in Yazd?
From the beginning of my career in the insurance industry, I was always thinking that I could be effective in my hometown and take steps towards the development of the comfort and well-being of the citizens of Yazd province. Based on this, I started to realize it with the three goals of entrepreneurship, personal growth and the spread of insurance culture. The newly established office of Baran Insurance in Yazd province will soon pave the way for the entry of young people from the city to the job market as an entrepreneurship center. Also, by using the many years of experience of experts and elites in this field, we will have a comprehensive plan for the individual growth and development of our dear fellow citizens. The third step will be to help spread the culture of life insurance by using new marketing and sales tools, including gamification, WOM and pre-induction.
4. In your opinion, what is the role of the sales network in the development and promotion of life insurance culture?
The sales network is the most important factor in the development and promotion of insurance culture. Unfortunately, today, instead of giving importance to their sales network, various insurance companies are trying to attract customers through the installation of billboards, printing brochures, television advertisements and similar routes. If they spend the same amount for the development and growth of their sales networks, they can see its impact both in the short term and in the long term. Of course, fortunately, there is no need for trial and error today, and one can easily find out their brilliant results by checking the records of companies that paid attention to this issue in the past years. In my opinion, advertising can help the sales network in a complementary role to be successful in building trust and attracting the attention of the audience, but the main role of completing the life insurance purchase cycle is still the responsibility of the sales network.
5. In your opinion, what are the reasons and factors for the low penetration rate of life insurance in the country compared to its global average?
In my opinion, many factors affect the penetration rate of life insurance in the country, both at the macro level and at the micro level. If we look at this issue at the macro level, we reach the many economic fluctuations that we have experienced in recent years. This factor led to a decrease in the value of money, inflation and a decrease in people’s purchasing power, and its destructive effect on various industries can be seen. On the other hand, the appointment of non-insurance managers who don’t have nobles and concrete understanding of insurance problems and issues has also caused more obstacles to the development of the life insurance industry. But if we consider all the problems related to the mentioned factors, we have done a little injustice. If we want to honestly think about finding a solution, we will come to the saying “from us that is upon us”. In my opinion, we as life insurance sellers have had many shortcomings in introducing this valuable product. If this product was introduced to people as it deserves, there is no doubt that people would have formed long queues in front of the doors of insurance agencies to buy it. In my opinion, the missing link of this puzzle is giving importance to the education sector, which has been neglected in insurance companies for years.
6. How effective do you consider the diversity in the supply of different types of life insurance by insurance companies in attracting the attention of the society?
Selling life insurance is very similar to medicine. A good doctor examines the patient and diagnoses the type of disease according to the type of pain and disease, and prescribes the appropriate medicine for the patient. A skilled doctor will never give cold medicine to a cancer patient, and he will never give chemotherapy medicine to a cold patient. Exactly in the insurance industry, the seller is facing different needs from his customers, but he has been providing a single prescription for his different patients for years. Variety can be attractive and effective as long as it meets the different needs of customers, but variety in the sense of copying and adding a few simple options can never be effective and useful. Therefore, when we talk about innovation, this innovation must be real to be presented to society according to the needs of insurers.
7. In the future in the country’s insurance industry, what kind of life insurance do you consider to be effective and efficient?
In my opinion, the three factors of maintaining and developing the value of money, time and specialized services can be effective as three important options on the design and production of premium products in the coming years. In order to maintain and develop the value of customers’ money, it seems that creative and innovative products that can be combined with other financial instruments such as stocks, gold, real estate, etc., in a shorter period of time and with higher returns, are more acceptable to the public. We are currently witnessing the arrival of gold, cars, housing, etc. in the stock market. Perhaps it is possible to design similar products and introduce them to the life insurance market, which, while preserving the value of customers’ money, provide them with special insurance services. The second factor is time. Perhaps the unavailability of the future and the lack of patience among customers will lead them to more efficient products. For this reason, products can be more profitable in the future market, which can be achieved in a shorter time. The third factor is insurance services that can be produced, designed, updated and marketed in a specialized and special way by identifying customer needs.
8. As a member of the Baran insurance sales network as a specialized life insurance company, how do you inform your fellow citizens of the necessity of buying life insurance?
Culture is created by raising awareness. If the time machine takes us back twenty years, we will be surprised to see that we had no interest in wearing seat belts in the car. Today, most people, knowing the benefits of seat belts, make sure to fasten their seat belts before driving. Today, 20 years ago, it is the story of the seat belt, but not in the automobile industry, but in the life insurance industry. Life insurances act as a safety belt that people will never move without once they are aware of its true benefits and value. Our main plan is to inform people, properly educate, introduce and distribute through building marketing and sales organizations.
9. In your opinion, in what areas should life insurances be improved?
In my opinion, no one and nothing is perfect except God Almighty. According to the history of years of presence in various industries of the country, in my opinion, life insurance is the most valuable product that a person can buy for himself and his family. But this does not mean that this product is complete and flawless. In my opinion, visible defects in life insurance are often not inherent and are usually related to external issues and problems. For example, someone may say that the depreciation of money is one of the defects of life insurance, but in my opinion, this defect is not inherent and is related to external factors. From the point of view of some people, investing in life insurance may not be justified compared to investing in real estate, stock market, gold, etc. But this analysis is an unfair comparison. As a life insurance seller, I am in favor of people investing in real estate, the stock market, gold, etc., but on the condition that people have enough investment knowledge. But basically, the mission of life insurance is not investment. Life insurances are not supposed to make people rich, but they will undoubtedly prevent them from becoming penniless. Life insurance teaches you how to save with small amounts so that you can participate in large investments from this wonderful piggy bank at the right time. Life insurance helps a bereaved family to meet their living needs. This is the mission of life insurance. By focusing on their mission, life insurance can support their clients both during life and death.
However, there is always room for improvement. By combining with other attractive financial tools, innovation and creativity, diversification of specialized products according to customer needs, shortening the profit periods of insurance policies and broadening their protection umbrella, life insurances can overcome the current shortcomings to a large extent.
0-1. In your opinion, what is the competitive advantage of rain insurance in the life insurance industry?
Rain insurance has opened a new chapter in life insurance. In my opinion, this insurance company has indescribable seriousness in developing its market in the country’s life insurance industry. In addition, Baran Insurance has a great advantage and that is the presence of experienced managers of the insurance industry in this company. Also, the indescribable empathy that has been created between the employees of the headquarters and the sales network can help to realize the organizational goals of Baran Insurance. Of course, along with all these features, the design and production of innovative and creative products by the professional actuary team will help this company gain a significant share of the life insurance market in the coming years.