A renewal call script for brokers
Four things a renewal call has to accomplish, with wording underneath each one. Adapt it, cut it, ignore it where you know the client better than a page does.
It is written to be adapted rather than read. A renewal call that sounds scripted damages the relationship the renewal depends on, and the client can always tell.
The four beats
1. Open without making it about the renewal
Goal: Get them talking before the subject is money.
“Hi [name], it's [you] at [brokerage]. Your [policy type] comes up for renewal on [date], so I wanted to get ahead of it. Is now an alright time for five minutes?”
Ask permission for the time. A renewal call that arrives mid-school-run and refuses to acknowledge it starts badly.
2. Ask what has changed
Goal: The whole call. Everything else is administration.
“Before we look at the renewal, has anything changed this year? New vehicle, a move, renovations, someone else driving, anything with the business?”
Open question, then stop talking. This is where you find the coverage gap, the new exposure and the reason they were about to shop it.
3. Say what is happening to the price, plainly
Goal: Own the number before they find it themselves.
“Your premium is going from [X] to [Y]. [One sentence on why, if you know it.] I want to walk you through what that is and what the options are.”
If the premium is up, say so first and without decoration. Burying an increase in paragraph four is how a client decides you were hoping they would not notice.
4. Agree the next step and who does it
Goal: Never end on "I will be in touch".
“So I'll [specific action] by [day], and you'll [their action]. If you don't hear from me by then, call me.”
Name the day. "Soon" is how a renewal ends up in the overdue list with everyone assuming the other side was thinking about it.
The four things they say back
"It has gone up too much."
Agree if it is true. "It has, and I do not blame you for asking." Then say what you can actually do: re-shop it, look at the deductible, check what is still on there that they no longer need. Do not defend the carrier — you are not their carrier.
"I got a cheaper quote online."
Ask what is in it before you respond to the number. Often the comparison is not like for like, and finding that out beats arguing. If it genuinely is cheaper and equivalent, say so. Being the broker who admits that is worth more over ten years than one renewal.
"I need to think about it."
Fine, and put a date on it. "Of course. Can I call you Thursday?" A think with no date is a decline with better manners.
"Just renew it."
Take the yes, then ask one question: has anything changed. That is the single most valuable sentence in the call and the easiest one to skip once you have the outcome you wanted.
Before you record the call
Recording a client call is not a neutral act in Canada, and the rules are not the same everywhere. If you record for training or file-note purposes, tell the client at the start and record that you told them. Check your own obligations under PIPEDA and any provincial requirements, and if your brokerage has a policy, follow it rather than this page. This is an operational prompt, not legal advice.
After the call, write two things down
What changed, in their words, and the next action with a date. Not a summary of the conversation — nobody reads those, including you in eleven months.
The date is what turns a call into a workflow. The renewal checklist has a column for each of them, and CovioIQ stamps the last contact date on an open renewal automatically when you log the call.
Knowing which call to make first
A script helps once you are on the phone. Deciding who to phone is the other half, and that is what a renewal pipeline with risk scoring is for.
Related: renewal emails, which renewals are at risk.