Distribution: Etiquette

In efforts to get customers to sign on the dotted line, insurance agents have been reportedly using aggressive tactics to a certain degree, a move regarded by some as lacking business etiquette.

During a series of recent interviews, several people told The Jakarta Post that insurance agents used an “entrapment” approach in attempting to gain new clients.

One private employee who requested anonymity said a male agent came to her boarding house to lend her some DVDs, without her request, on a weekday.

“After a brief chat, he offered me some insurance products. I said no afterwards, but he kept on with his sales pitch,” she said.

The next day the same agent returned, saying he wanted to get his DVDs back — a veiled excuse for him to have a second chance at his sales pitch.

“I ignored his explanation. The product was in fact good, but I didn’t like his way trying to sell it,” she said.

Another would-be customer, Indi, 27, had a similar experience with an overenthusiastic agent last year.

“For about two months, he called me almost every day — sometimes even during office hours, to ask if I wanted to be his customer,” Indi said.

“At first, I was interested. But then I became hesitant ... because of his annoying approach,” she said.

Indi said she did not buy the product, partly because her company already provided her with insurance.

Both the first interviewee and Indi said insurance agents needed to learn and practice business etiquette, since their aggressive approaches would taint their companies’ images.

According to data from the General Insurance Association of Indonesia (AAUI), last year Indonesia’s gross insurance premiums (nationwide) stood at a Rp 23.14 trillion (US$2.6 billion), a 5.7 percent increase from 2008.

One insurance agent who asked to remain anonymous said some sellers forced potential customers to take out insurance policies. However, as a professional agent she did not want to make would-be customers uncomfortable by calling them repeatedly, she said.

“I call them three days after I present my products to them. But if I know they are not interested I will stop,” she said.

Insurance sellers were often forceful with customers because of a general lack of knowledge about the importance of insurance, Indonesian Life Insurance Association chief Evelina Pietruschka said.

“Selling insurance is difficult because many people still underestimate its importance,” she said.

Indonesian Insurance Companies Association chairman Hotbonar Sinaga said it was understandable for each insurance seller to be aggressive in approaching potential customers.

“But sellers must follow etiquette regulated by their own company, for the sake of the their firms’ image,” Hotbonar said, adding that each firm must conduct special training in business etiquette.