The COVID-19 pandemic pushed many people to realize that life and death can be incredibly unpredictable, and insurance is a crucial way to protect yourself from the unknown.

Yet, just because more people perceive the value of coverage doesn’t mean that they will seek that protection through you.

For Watie Kartono, the shift in recent years toward people living and communicating digitally has created an opportunity for referrals shared via social platforms along with traditional, in-person word-of-mouth. The distinguishing factor for the six-year MDRT member from Jakarta, Indonesia, has been a level of care that extends beyond what clients expect.

“This happens without asking for referrals,” said Kartono, who works with 184 clients with the help of one administrative staff member and two other employees who handle claims, benefit changes and other tasks that can be delegated. “By working wholeheartedly and providing more service, clients have been moved to introduce me to their close and distant family members.”

Document rescue abroad

A fellow advisor who Kartono never knew before asked her to help her with the claim for a client who was unable to obtain an important receipt from a doctor’s office located in another country. When Kartono was traveling to that country, she volunteered to retrieve the document and had that advisor authorize her so she could pick up the receipt and deliver it to the insurance company. The client was so grateful for Kartono’s help — and the successful filing of the claim — that she shared her experience and Kartono’s contact information on a WhatsApp group. This led a friend of the client to contact Kartono about insurance. “Even though she wasn’t my client, I still helped her with all my heart,” Kartono said, adding that referrals also expand the number of people who can support the charitable activities she participates in like fundraising for the MDRT Gives Day and the ReachOut Foundation, which provides maternal and child health resources in rural areas. “It turns out that she is a center of influence among her friends, so her opinion is always used as a reference for others.”

Even though she wasn’t my client, I still helped her with all my heart.

Patient advocate

While working in the Eastern Island of Sumba, Indonesia, Kartono learned that a client would be seeking medical treatment in Singapore. Despite the client saying it wasn’t necessary, Kartono said that she would go with him to the appointment. When the doctor indicated that the client needed a colonoscopy and endoscopy, Kartono ensured that the client’s health insurance covered the procedures. She also supported the client’s wife and two children during the procedure and accompanied them to meet the doctor. The client wound up asking Kartono to advise other family members who were also receiving medical care, including one with stage 4 liver cancer. Kartono helped calculate the amount of protection this person had and would need, as she would be receiving chemotherapy for the rest of her life. Kartono found more affordable coverage in countries outside Singapore and — per a request from the client’s husband — provided new coverage for the patient’s children and grandchildren with both groups going on to purchase their own policies as well. While in Singapore, Kartono also contacted her other clients in the country to offer help to anyone who needed it while she was there.

Terminal comfort

While a client was battling an incurable disease, Kartono contacted his family daily by phone and WhatsApp, talking and supporting and even praying with the family. After the client died, Kartono traveled to his city to be with the family in person. “My client’s wife feels that I have provided a service that goes beyond the responsibilities of a financial services advisor because I helped her through a period of grief,” Kartono said. Not long after, friends of the client’s family contacted Kartono to discuss insurance.

Kartono recognizes a need to improve her own ability to interact and create social media content that generates engagement and education. She has studied photography and video editing to post content that will drive interaction from clients and prospects. She also enrolled in public speaking training to master her intonation, breathing and speed while performing in this channel and in person.

Currently, Kartono focuses on posting stories to WhatsApp and Instagram and has learned the value of daily posts at times that drive the most engagement. Rather than attempting to simultaneously master every social platform, she is working to become an expert on Instagram — including an effort to understand the type of prospects who use social media to find insurance — and then move toward studying the others.

Even a simple Instagram post identifying the small daily cost of a large policy has led several prospects to contact her and eventually become clients.

“We were forced to carry out our daily lives online because of the pandemic,” she said. “There is an opportunity that arises from this: Communication becomes more effective and efficient, and evidence of claims has been widely shared on social media, so people have more confidence in insurance.”

Surpassing expectations