SANTA ROSA, Calif.-Consumers can now buy insurance for almost every imaginable product or scenario. But one person believes property and casualty lines continue to be the best growth opportunities for credit unions in 2012.
"People overall are looking to stretch their dollar, and value is even more important in these economic times," said Bobbi Beehler, executive director of RCU Services Group, a CUSO of Redwood Credit Union here. "Auto and home coverage are our most important policies right now. Auto is a best-seller, since nearly every adult has a vehicle, but not all adults are homeowners."
Redwood CU and its CUSO also offer less traditional insurance products, such as pet insurance and wedding insurance, and Beehler said that demand for those products has remained steady, despite being less widely used.
"We don't have a lot of members requesting them, but providing those coverages allows us to live up to our mission of serving our members. ... We're focusing our efforts on products that best fit the members' needs: renters, home, auto. Those are a natural fit with our products like home and auto loans."
Those basic products also provide the most revenue to the credit union, Beehler reminded.
The CUSO's products are from companies that include Travelers, SafeCo and CIG, and Beehler said it has also had success working with San Antonio-based SWBC, which has a dedicated team to serve Redwood members. While branches are the most common source of referrals, RCU doesn't have any in-branch agents. Rather, several employees carry insurance licenses, "so we have people in-house who can handle those calls," said Beehler. Those requests are then routed to the service agency, and a dedicated agent then returns the member's call. Quotes are also available by phone via an 800-number and online.
Beehler was not able to provide specific statistics as to how many of the CU's 210,000 members use its insurance services, but she said that part of the reason she was hired 15 months ago was to help increase those numbers.
Non-Members Can Buy Products
Insurance has not been a huge driver of membership growth for Redwood Credit Union, but Beehler noted that "because we do it through a CUSO, they don't need to be members ... so we do get people that look at it as an added value. They might come to us for insurance and then expand to other products with the credit union that way."
Beehler suggested that because insurance is a relatively new offering at many credit unions, member awareness continues to be the biggest hurdle. Redwood CU is planning several different initiatives throughout 2012 to build brand awareness, including an improved web presence, improving online quoting ability and e-mail marketing.
For CUs looking to boost their own insurance business, she suggested partnering with a service agency. "For us, using that dedicated team for our credit union really helps us serve our members, and insures that we're delivering consistent products and services to our members. It also helps off-set the cost of in-house agents and allows the credit union to be able to launch their agency quickly, without significant capital outlays and staffing."
