Policy Renewals: The Broker Revenue You Already Own
By Recenvy Team ·
A renewal process for South African insurance brokers: early diary, client contact windows, retention tracking and the records FAIS expects when a product is replaced.
New business is expensive. Renewals are already yours. Yet in most brokerages the renewal process is a diary entry, a busy fortnight and a quiet apology to the clients who lapsed.
Start 60 days out, not 7
A renewal handled a week before expiry is a rushed transaction. A renewal started 60 days out is a review conversation, and review conversations are where cross-sell happens. Build three checkpoints:
- Day 60 — internal review: claims history, sum insured adequacy, premium movement, market alternatives
- Day 30 — client contact: confirm changes in circumstances, present options and the reasons
- Day 7 — confirmation and documentation of the client''s decision
Renewal is a suitability check, not a rollover
Circumstances change. Vehicles are sold, homes are renovated, businesses grow, and sums insured quietly become wrong. The two most damaging renewal outcomes are both silent: a client under-insured at claim stage, and a client paying for cover they no longer need. Both are avoided by asking.
Record the advice, especially on replacement
Where a renewal involves moving a client to a different product or insurer, FAIS expects the comparison and the reasons to be recorded. Premium alone is not a justification. Note excesses, exclusions, limits and the client''s stated priorities, and store it against the client record, not in a mailbox.
Track the numbers that predict next year
| Metric | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Retention rate by book and by adviser | Shows where relationships are weak, not just where premiums are |
| Renewals actioned before day 30 | The single best leading indicator of retention |
| Premium movement at renewal | Distinguishes market increases from book drift |
| Lapse reasons, grouped | Price, service and life-event lapses need different responses |
| Products per client | Multi-product clients lapse far less often |
Automate the diary, not the conversation
Automation belongs in the reminders, the task creation and the document generation. The conversation stays human, because the value a broker adds is judgement about cover, not the sending of a notice.
Give the client somewhere to look
A client portal showing current policies, documents, invoices and renewal dates answers the routine questions and reduces the "just checking" calls that consume renewal season capacity.
The operational setup
Recenvy holds the client record with policies, renewal dates, documents and full interaction history, generates renewal tasks and reminders automatically ahead of expiry, records advice and disclosures against the client, supports digital signature on renewal documents, and reports retention by adviser. The renewal book stops depending on who remembers what.
More articles
- About Recenvy: Business Software Built in South Africa — Who we are and what we build: Recenvy is a South African business operating system for stakeholders, enquiries, sales, billing, projects and client portals.
- CRM Software in South Africa: What Local Teams Actually Need — A practical guide to choosing CRM software in South Africa — rand invoicing, VAT, POPIA, local support and why most teams need more than a deal tracker.
- Why Recenvy: One System for Enquiries, Sales, Delivery and Billing — What Recenvy is, who it is built for, and why South African teams use one platform for stakeholders, helpdesk, quotes, VAT invoicing, projects and a client portal.