- Thread starter
- #41
Monopoly!!!
Yeah, I would agree. Let's all file a lawsuit
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Google to Sell Insurance
- Thread starter scooter33
- Start date
Yeah, I would agree. Let's all file a lawsuit
- 1,488
CommScore Report says People like starting the shopping experience online but they also like to finish it I person in an office.
McKinsey repot suggests it is time to worry and start adapting. Are you adapting? How?
McKinsey repot suggests it is time to worry and start adapting. Are you adapting? How?
- 634
They will get all the garbage customers. People like to buy things online that are simple, and have few problems. Seeing how the local income taxe people are thriving. I think the agent will be fine.
- 648
There is not going to be another lizard.
Buffett planned to price low and not make a profit for 7 years, of course he made a profit year 5. No other investor is going to take that risk.
Buffett planned to price low and not make a profit for 7 years, of course he made a profit year 5. No other investor is going to take that risk.
- Thread starter
- #45
Have you purchased your airline tickets online? Buy stocks online? Use Amazon to purchase goods for your home? Of course, I believe insurance is much more important than an airline ticket or something you buy online for your home... Unfortunately a big portion of consumers are drinking the koolaid that carriers have shoved down their throat. Many of them look as insurance as commodity.
- 634
If you can't see how those are different from insurance, then Google will replace you.
- Thread starter
- #47
You should read again what I wrote. It doesn't matter what I think, it matters what the consumers think.
Do I think all personal lines agencies will disappear? No, but if Google, Amazon, etc takes off I do think the small to Med. size independent insurance agencies that just write personal lines are in trouble.
Just do some research and see how many small personal lines agencies are in the UK? Google and other comparative websites sell the market share of auto insurance.
Of course, I know having an agent is beneficial to our clients best interest, etc....but as I said in the previous post, the majority of consumers do not think like us agents. If you think your birthday cards, newsletters and once a year annual reviews will keep all your clients from leaving you, to Google or Amazon, You are in major denial.
The only reason the younger crowd doesnt use agents, is because they dont really understand the need and importance for insurance. Once they get older, and their friends start getting sick, and they start seeing the actual need for it, they will begin to use agents so they make sure they really are covered.
Right now, all they do is buy the cheapest policy they can get online.
- Thread starter
- #49
Looks like you are taking about medical insurance. If so, I would agree, medical insurance is to complex for the normal consumer to fully understand. I think there will always be a need for medical insurance agents.
johnnyhodges
Expert
- 22
In the post I started "End of the insurance agent" this is just what I was trying to say. Change or die. So many examples of computers / web replacing what we once thought only humans could do. Things we thought people would never trust a machine to do are done regularly, namely robotic surgery, 20 or even 10 years ago most of us could not imagine that, let alone let a robot cut into us. As carriers prove over and over they can in some cases get a better result with out us or with a very small role then why not cut us out or minimize the customers need to deal with us.
The other side (which was mentioned in at least 2 proceeding post) is the consumer. The 30 something crowd was raised on the web and that's the first option for them for just about everything. And not just them, busy people in general demand a faster, simpler way to conduct business, whether that be add a car/ driver or make a change otherwise people will increasing choose a web option when there is one; and agencies / carriers that don't offer that will be pushed out.
I would agree that high end preferred business / customers will still want an agent relationship for a while but as the 30 something becomes the 40 something and so on, and they become that preferred customer they won't just switch the practice they are used to all the sudden become agent dependent. It was also mentioned that on would rather have that 250/500 and above customer, but I have more apartment / small house dwelling, 1.5 car, 50/100 customers on the books than anything. Just cause it's more of them that agencies / carriers ignore. I just market to both pools of people cause a day writing 3 standard customers is better than a day coddling 1 preferred, that I'm competing with 5 other agencies to get.
Sad truth is that the P&C part of what we do is leaving fast. Health based on ACA is moving slowly out of our grasp (which was loose anyway unless you write employer groups). I don't mind letting it be known I'm new to insurance (15 months in), but being fresh I can see that this is not something (the current method of operation / sales ) will be viable for long. It has to change due to consumer demand and carrier greed.
The other side (which was mentioned in at least 2 proceeding post) is the consumer. The 30 something crowd was raised on the web and that's the first option for them for just about everything. And not just them, busy people in general demand a faster, simpler way to conduct business, whether that be add a car/ driver or make a change otherwise people will increasing choose a web option when there is one; and agencies / carriers that don't offer that will be pushed out.
I would agree that high end preferred business / customers will still want an agent relationship for a while but as the 30 something becomes the 40 something and so on, and they become that preferred customer they won't just switch the practice they are used to all the sudden become agent dependent. It was also mentioned that on would rather have that 250/500 and above customer, but I have more apartment / small house dwelling, 1.5 car, 50/100 customers on the books than anything. Just cause it's more of them that agencies / carriers ignore. I just market to both pools of people cause a day writing 3 standard customers is better than a day coddling 1 preferred, that I'm competing with 5 other agencies to get.
Sad truth is that the P&C part of what we do is leaving fast. Health based on ACA is moving slowly out of our grasp (which was loose anyway unless you write employer groups). I don't mind letting it be known I'm new to insurance (15 months in), but being fresh I can see that this is not something (the current method of operation / sales ) will be viable for long. It has to change due to consumer demand and carrier greed.
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