Watching Our Figures

Relocation Insurance Group's  innovative online reporting system has compiled a year-end report of market trends and statistics for our moving insurance program. We are excited to share with you our first annual Relocation Insurance Group Facts and Figures Newsletter. Did you know we insured 11 urns last year? I guess people are dying to get moving insurance. Enough with the bad jokes, lets talk statistics. It may come as surprise (or maybe not) that customers wait until the last minute to purchase coverage; the average is four days prior to the move. The majority of our monthly policies (39%) are purchased at the end of the month between the dates of 22-31, while only 18% are purchased at the beginning of the month, from 1-7. The beginning of the week is our busiest time to purchase moving insurance. The majority of customers  purchase coverage  on Monday and Tuesday. Our customers take the weekends off too, Saturday and Sunday are the slowest times of the week for purchasing policies. Relocation Insurance Group's customers are not early birds, as only 1% purchase coverage between 4am - 6am EST. Most policies are purchased in the afternoon between 12pm - 2pm. On an interesting note, Relocation Insurance Group  insured 7 vinyl records, 6 Victrolas, 4 banjos and 3 doll houses in 2010 and 700% more Christmas china, 80% more tuxedos and 60% more cuckoo clocks than in 2009.

What are the most interesting items you have moved?  How many days in advance  do your customers schedule a move?  Share your thoughts on our blog.

2010 Facts and Figures

If you read our CEO's "Word From" column, you know that Relocation Insurance Group insures just about everything--even urns. Welcome to our first annual Relocation Insurance Group Facts & Figures Newsletter.  The statistical information is based on our Moving Insurance program.

Our Customers

On average, 53% of customers are male and 47% are female. Thirty-three percent have an average household income of $60-100K per year, while 29% have an average income above 100k per year. Did you know 41% of our customers have a college education and an estimated 28% attended graduate school?

Coming and Going

Where are insured moves coming from and going to?  Thirty-six percent of moves we insure originate in New York.Other popular origin states include California, 21%, and Florida, 9%; both Illinois and New Jersey account for 6%.

To which states are our insured customers moving? California is a popular destination, with 22%, and not far behind is our company’s headquarter state of New Jersey. Other customers are seeking the warmth of Florida, 9%, and Texas, 7%.

The origination zip code with the highest declared value and the most insurance certificates purchased is on the Upper West Side of Manhattan near Central Park, with 4% of total certificates purchased. As an origination zip code, Martinsburg, West Virginia, ranks as the lowest in certificates with the lowest declared value, and the least number of certificates sold, with 0.05%.

Our destination with the highest number of insurance certificates sold  and declared value is also the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It appears our customers love the “Big Apple” as much as we do.

Jackson, Wyoming, is the least popular destination of  our insured customers, with only 0.04% of our customers insuring goods to that state. 

What are customers insuring?

The most popular items customers insure are big screen TVs, mirrors, dining room tables, coffee/end tables, and queen-size beds (we thought it would be king, too).

Relocation Insurance Group can insure any type of item with any value. Our customers insure all types of items from the high-end to the low-cost. In 2010, the item we insured with the highest value was a book binding machine. We also insured napkin rings with a declared value of under $5.

Did you know our customers insured 9 surfboards, 26 umbrellas, 5 waffle makers, and 10 violins in 2010?

Art And Football

News The Bet When it came down to the final touchdown, even art galleries got into the friendly rivalry of Super Bowl betting.  The Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh proposed an art wager to The Milwaukee Art Museum. If the Green Bay Packers won the Renoir painting of Bathers With Crab, would it make its way to Wisconsin?  If the Pittsburgh Steelers prevailed over the Packers, would a rare Caillebotte make its way to Pennsylvania?  The 31-25 victory over the Steelers means that the population of Wisconsin and Packers fans will be able to enjoy a new piece of artwork at least for a few months. Home of the Cowboys and Art Dallas Cowboys owners Gene and Jerry Jones, along with their family, started the Dallas Cowboys Art Program, an ongoing initiative to commission contemporary artists to create monumental, site-specific installations for Cowboys Stadium.   “Cowboys Stadium isn’t just a place to go and see a game or a concert; it’s an experience you share with your family and your community,” stated Jerry Jones. “That will include things that a lot of people wouldn’t anticipate seeing at a stadium—like contemporary art. Football is full of the unexpected and the spontaneous—it can make two strangers into friends. Art has the power to do that too, to get people talking, and looking, and interacting. It’s not just about what you see on the field or on the wall, it’s about creating exciting experiences.”    Gene Jones, Jones’s wife, added, “We’re breathing new life into a tradition that extends back to the Greeks and Romans, who integrated the art of their time in stadiums where the best athletes gathered to compete. The Art Program at Cowboys Stadium brings this dialogue between art and sport into the modern day. We’re making it possible for some of the world’s leading contemporary artists to create work on a scale unimaginable anywhere else and we’re connecting new audiences with their work.” The commissions are installed in locations with the highest pedestrian traffic, including four of the principal entries, the two monumental staircases, and two pedestrian ramps that connect the seating decks (22 x 70 feet and 39 x 32 feet), and on huge walls above the main concourse concessions areas (15 x 114 feet). A number of the commissions wrap around stadium walls. Others are located in entryways and will be visible to fans seated in the stadium.  As part of the Art Program at the stadium, the Cowboys are creating an art education program, which includes art tours as well as educational initiatives for all members of the community. About Us Relocation Insurance Group is the parent company of FineArtMovingInsurance.com. We specialize in the unique insurance requirements of high-end relocation of fine art and antiques. We have the extensive experience, compassion, and attention to detail needed to insure irreplaceable items for museums, galleries, auction houses, interior decorators, and private collectors. Our team is dedicated to ensuring that your artwork and antiques are protected against damage from handling and shipping. Click here to find out more about Relocation Insurance Group.

An Angry Customer Tells How Many?

Business owners build businesses based on providing valued and personalized customer service. If you have been in business very long, you know that, despite your best intentions, a bad situation  with a customer can sometimes occur. When that happens, your employees can handle the situation in ways that actually help build customer loyalty. Here's how: 1. Don’t stonewall. Tell your customer exactly what happened and why. If you believe that the less said, the better, you're wrong. Customers have a keen sensitivity for being brushed off or mishandled. They won't respond to whitewashing a situation or stonewalling, but they will respond to explanations and details that are provided as soon as you have them. If you don't yet know what's going to happen, let them know. Tell your customers what you're doing to find out, and then alert them to  what's happening just as quickly as you find out.  Personalize the situation and help keep the lines of communication open. This practice is contrary to what many businesses do, and it gives your business a distinct advantage. 2. Don't assume that details of what is going on are too small or not worthy to share. Sharing details helps customers feel a connection. They feel held by you rather than dropped. Even if you are busy, take the time to share the information with them. 3. Assure your customers that you're working actively on preventing this situation from happening again, either to them or to other customers. Make sure they understand that what happened isn't acceptable to you. This is an opportunity to prove how much you attend to your customers and how often you are willing to change your systems to prevent problems from occurring. 4. Most of all, apologize. Make sure anyone in your business who is involved with that customer apologizes. In situations that cause customers discomfort, you cannot apologize too much.   In today’s world of customer reviews and social media, it is easy for customers to share their experience, both positive and negative.  Don’t forget, great service builds loyalty. Great service, even when there is a bad situation, builds even more customer loyalty.  Share your ideas with how to increase customer satisfaction on our blog.  Also, for more tips on how to improve customer service check out Tell 3000.