Happy Wednesday! In this week's Big I Buzz we are discussing how insurance agencies can harness successful email marketing campaigns, how GM is changing the way they make money and what you need to know if you receive a website accessibility demand letter.

Guide to Successful Email Marketing Campaigns for Insurance Agencies

The first action that agencies can take when planning an email marketing campaign is to determine what the emails is going to accomplish, whether that's generating leads, increase awareness of the agency's services or driving better understanding of their partners. 

When planning an email campaign, ask these questions: 

• Who You're Emailing

• Why You're Emailing Them

• What You're Communicating

• When You're Going to Send Out the Emails

After outlining this info, you can start writing the content within your email. A tactic that tends to resonate with customers is personalizing emails, including the customer's name (spelled correctly), or by mentioning something relevant to the individual and keeping the tone conversation by avoiding jargon. Anytime an agency sends out emails, it's important to be reviewing the analytics of the email. It's important after sending an email to be checking the bounce rate (the rate at which emails get bounced back due to a bad email address), the open rate (how many people actually open the email) and the click-through-rate (the success of the email's Call to Action that prompts receivers to interact with the email leading them to valuable content or  your website.  Read more about how to be successful with email marketing campaigns here. 

GM Sees Insurance As Part of Growing Its Business Beyond Cars, Trucks

GM is looking for new enterprises to expand their sources of revenue. Beyond vehicle sales, GM is looking into incubating ventures from commercial delivery services to vehicle insurance. These new ventures could add tens of billions to their future revenue, according to GM's Chief Executive Mary Barra.

According to Insurance Journal, "Insurance, a new arena for GM, is led by outside hire Andrew Rose, who previously worked for auto insurance powers Progressive and Britain's Admiral Group. Rose says GM dealers could offer policies to owners when they buy or lease a vechile. OnStar could offer discounts to better drivers, as well as quicker claims service after an accident, and eventually, could offer home insurance as part of the package." Read more about how GM is looking to expand here. 

Website Accessibility Demand Letters

Since at least last year, insurance agencies in Florida, California and parts of Massachusetts have been targeted with demand letters from plaintiffs' attorneys alleging that their agency websites are not accessible to sight-impaired consumers, therefore violating federal law accessibility requirements. Several law firms had been sending these letters to businesses in various industries for years, but now there's been an increase in independent agencies receiving them. The law firms reaching out are seeking quick settlements in exchange for a conditional release, and so far, have not been actively filing lawsuits against agents. 

In September, IIABA sent a letter to a D.C. law firm, The Portell Law Group, demanding that they stop harassing agents with their letters.

The IIAW has put together a Quick Guide to ADA Compliance to help you in checking that your site is ADA compliant. If you receive one of these letters, please reach out to the IIAW so we can connect you with our legal counsel. 

For more news, check out the Action news section of our weekly e-newsletter, Big I Buzz. If you aren’t subscribed, click here to add your email to our emailing list. Don’t forget you can stay up-to-date on other industry news as its happening on our Online Community. You can join the Online Community (exclusive to IIAW members)  here. We hope that everyone has a great rest of their week.