Go blind from all of the individual cells. How to compare renewal quotes for a client faster.

Why does a renewal comparison take so long?

A renewal comparison takes so long because the two numbers you need live in two different documents from two different years. A typical renewal has 2 or 3 plans. First someone has to go find the carrier’s quote from last year. Then they type this year’s rates and next year’s rates into a spreadsheet, plan by plan and coverage type by coverage type. Then they work out the increase by hand.

It’s just a lot of cells, and every one of them is a chance to get a number wrong.

What do most agencies try first?

Most agencies try an Excel spreadsheet and an account manager who’s careful. That’s what we did. Our account manager hand typed the comparison and did the math of the increase themselves.

The spreadsheet breaks when the account manager is in a hurry, and in renewal season they’re always in a hurry. If you try to get it done fast, that’s where you miss a rate, do the wrong math, and go blind from all of the individual cells in the Excel spreadsheet. A wrong number on a renewal is worse than a late one. The client makes a decision on it.

Wanna fix it?

A slow, error prone renewal comparison gets fixed with a tool that reads the renewal PDF, finds the same plan from last year, lines the two up, and does the premium math, with a person who checks the result before the client sees it.

1. Keep last year’s quotes where a machine can find them. If last year’s quote lives in someone’s inbox, the comparison starts with a search.
2. Map where each carrier puts its rates. Every carrier’s renewal looks a little different. A custom agent learns where the rates and plan designs are on each one.
3. Match plan to plan. This year’s plan sits right next to the exact same plan for next year.
4. Let the tool do the math. Monthly premium by coverage type, then the percent change. Nobody types an increase by hand.
5. Read it before it goes out. A person checks that the plans matched correctly and the story makes sense.

What should a renewal comparison look like for the client?

A good renewal comparison shows the client one plan at a time, this year next to next year, with the change on the right. Start with the client’s plan for this year and all of its rates by coverage type listed below it. Right next to it, put the exact same plan for next year with its monthly premiums by coverage type below it. Then, to the right, show the percent change.

That layout answers the client’s first question before they ask it: how much is this going up? Repeat it for each of the 2 or 3 plans. Keep plan designs visible, because a lower premium with a higher deductible isn’t the same plan.

What does it look like once it’s running?

Once it’s running, a renewal comparison starts with a drag and drop. I drag the current quote and the new renewal PDF into my proposal generator. It lines up the plans side by side and automatically does the premium math of what the increase or decrease looks like, with the percent change for each plan weighted by headcount.

What’s left for a person is the conversation: which plan the client should move to, and whether it’s time to take the renewal to other carriers.

Can you do this yourself?

Yes, with a good quote comparison template. Build one spreadsheet with a fixed layout: plan name, rates by coverage type, this year in one column, next year in the next, percent change on the right. Lock the formulas so nobody retypes the math. That alone cuts out the wrong math.

Where the template stops is the typing. Someone still has to copy every rate off two PDFs, and that’s where rates get missed. One or two renewals a month, use the template and check it twice. A renewal season’s worth, have the machine read the PDFs.

Quick answers

How do I compare renewal quotes faster?

Stop retyping them. Have a tool read the renewal PDF and line it up against last year’s quote.

How many plans are in a typical renewal?

In my experience, 2 or 3.

What goes in a quote comparison template?

This year’s plan and rates by coverage type, next year’s same plan and monthly premiums by coverage type, and the percent change.

Where do comparison errors come from?

Speed. Missed rates, wrong math, and too many cells.

Should the comparison show plan designs too?

Yes. A cheaper plan with a bigger deductible is a different plan.