Affinity Program : Am I A Good Fit?

Associations are constantly looking for additional services for their members that enhance the value of belonging to the group, and help create non-dues revenue for the association. However, even though virtually all your members buy some form of insurance, most affinity group insurance programs fail. What are some of the elements you need to have in place to make a program successful?

  • Your membership is large enough that with a normal participation rate of 10-30% of your members an insurance program would generate meaningful premium for the insurance companies. $3-5 million in premium becomes “significant” to an insurance company. In some industries, participation of your members in the program can exceed 50%.
  • You have a dedicated staff who can work with the broker(s) to stick to the business plan and hold all parties accountable. Furthermore, you have the resources to do your part in supporting the marketing of the program (providing member lists and contact info; communicating with the members about the program; highlighting new products and program enhancements; coordinating a focus group of members; encouraging the broker and carrier(s) to take research to the next level)
  • The broker has a formal business plan for your program and can give you periodic reports and show that they are executing the plan with positive results. There are a lot of nice people in the insurance business and, unfortunately, too many times it becomes about the relationship and not the execution.
  • Plan for enhancements and additions every few months that keep your program vital and exciting (at least as exciting as insurance can be!).
  • Go the extra mile of analyzing your members needs through focus groups, research on the loss trends and needs of the members, and asking members for information about their current insurance programs.
  • The extra effort pays off when you launch your program.
  • Pick a broker/partner that can truly distribute to and serve your members. TechAssure provides a unique footprint around the globe that makes us distinctly capable of serving (shameless plug!)