Most agents know they should, in theory, be conducting regular stewardship meetings with their clients. And some do hold them quite successfully.
But when time gets tight and priorities stack up, stewardship meetings often fall to the side. However, done correctly, a stewardship meeting can be even more valuable than your renewal meeting. We’ll explain how in this blog.
What is a Stewardship Meeting?
A stewardship meeting is a scheduled, often casual, meeting between an agent and their client. Typically held around mid-year (six months before renewal), these meetings are not focused on policy renewal or premium adjustments. Instead, they serve as a platform for a holistic review of your client’s business, particularly concerning safety, compliance, injury management, and any other evolving needs.
The primary goal of a stewardship meeting is to ensure that the client feels supported throughout the year—not just during the policy placement process. This ongoing engagement helps agents stay connected with their clients, allowing them to provide timely advice, introduce new services, and address any emerging issues before they become significant problems.
The ultimate goal is that clients will value you and your offerings enough that won’t be swayed by pesky competitive agents or tricky renewals.
Why Are Stewardship Meetings Important?
- Continuous Client Support: Stewardship meetings reinforce the message that your agency is there for the client year-round. This is critical for building long-term relationships. By checking in on how the client is doing, reviewing recent incidents or injuries, and discussing safety and compliance issues, agents demonstrate their commitment to the client’s overall well-being—not just their insurance needs.
- Proactive Risk Management: One of the key aspects of a stewardship meeting is to review and discuss any workplace injuries or safety incidents that have occurred. By examining why these incidents happened and how they were handled, agents can help clients identify trends, assess risk management practices, and take steps to prevent future incidents. If there haven’t been any injuries, it’s an opportunity to discuss what’s working well and whether there are any upcoming business changes that might affect safety.
- Expanding Service Offerings: A stewardship meeting is a perfect time to introduce new products or services that could benefit the client, such as risk management services, compliance tools or workplace safety training. This approach not only adds value but also helps deepen the client relationship.
- Reviewing Data and Trends: Bringing recent data to the meeting—such as injury reports, safety incidents, or compliance issues—can provide a concrete basis for discussion. Comparing data from different times of the year can help identify trends and areas for improvement. This analysis helps clients see the bigger picture and reinforces the agent’s role in helping them manage risk effectively.
How to Conduct an Effective Stewardship Meeting
- Keep It Casual, Yet Structured: While stewardship meetings are intended to be low-key and conversational, it’s important to have a clear agenda. Start by checking in on how the client is doing overall, both in terms of their business and their relationship with your agency. This sets a positive tone and encourages open dialogue.
- Discuss Injuries and Incidents: Review any injuries or safety incidents that have occurred since the last meeting. Discuss why they happened, how they were handled, and what can be done to prevent similar incidents in the future. If no injuries have occurred, explore why that is—are there effective safety measures in place, or is there something else contributing to this success? This discussion not only helps improve safety but also positions the agent as an integral part of the client’s risk management strategy.
- Review Compliance: Use this time to review upcoming compliance deadlines, educate on any new compliance or regulatory changes, and help support them with any compliance questions or needs they have.
- Introduce New Services: In addition to reviewing what’s happening today, use this meeting to add even more value to your relationship, such as a new product, service or resource. This will add additional goodwill to your relationship and give the client months before renewal to adopt (and benefit from) anything new you bring to the table.
- Remind Them How You’ve Helped: Throughout the meeting, be sure to weave in reminders and examples of how your agency has helped their company, whether with guidance, value-add tools, incident management, or anything else. You want the client to leave the meeting feeling that you are a valuable partner to them, not just an agent selling insurance.
Stewardship meetings are a powerful tool for commercial insurance agents to maintain and strengthen client relationships. By focusing on safety, compliance, and continuous support, these meetings help agents provide value beyond policy placement, positioning themselves as indispensable partners in the client’s business.