My insurance agent retired this year and sold his accounts, including me, to another agent. I only learned about this from a mass email he sent out telling us about this after the fact. I’m cool with that. Even though I’ve been his customer for nearly 8 years, I never met him and have only occasionally needed to speak with him to square away some detail. He was pretty old school. I mostly would email his assistant and she’d take care of whatever I needed. Once a year I’d get a generic email blast about “I’m here to help with your insurance needs,” which I would ignore.
Yesterday, I got a new, spiffier email blast from an assistant at my new agent’s office. It said something about purchasing life insurance that would protect my family protecting my family while also being an investment asset. I immediately unsubscribed from all emails.
You see, I cancelled my term life insurance policy that I had for decades a few years ago. After my wife died and my stepson(former stepson?) told me he he never wanted to speak to me again, I realized that for the first time in my adult life, I had absolutely no family members counting on me for support. When I cancelled the policy, I let my former insurance agent know. I’m sure it is documented in his system. He was also aware I was a widower because he had been my agent both when I was married and after my wife died.
Would I buy another life insurance policy today? Doubtful. If I did, it would only be because I could leave a little windfall to my beneficiaries or a charity. The cost would likely not be worth it since I’m officially old now. As for investments opportunities, I think investing in the market is a better bet for me. The pluses and minuses of life insurance are not the point though.
The point is that my new agent could have send me a personalized email message to establish a bond with me. All he had to do was read my file, which I am sure lists details about my home, auto and life insurance history, plus my status changing from married to widowed. Then, he could have drafted a brief personalized email to me.
Instead, he took the easier route and sent out a generic email blast.
Here’s the thing.
Mass emails do not work.
They’re cheap. They’re easy. They’re fast.
That’s why everyone does them. Hell, I did them for decades when I was in sales.
They just don’t work.
In my case, I find them off-putting and occasionally offensive. They are OK for sending me an announcement, a holiday greeting or a new product announcement. But if someone is trying to establish rapport with me, forget it.
And if you’re trying to convince me to spend money with you — it will never work.
I’m opting out.
Email from insurance agent. You have alll my info. It would be easy to send me something personal.
Mass email doesn’t work. It’s cheap. It’s easy. It’s ineffective and often off putting.