In a 2014 Economic Times article, the advantages of purchasing insurance through an online direct-writer are laid out for buyers:
In one sentence, purchasing insurance online is convenient, fast and usually cost you lesser [sic]. The insurers know the potential of this distribution channel and therefore have the entire product range-from life to health, motor and travel-available on the net for you. With click of a mouse you can buy any policy from any corner of the world at any point of time.
While numerous other articles have boasted about these chief features of online insurance aggregators and predicted the decline of independent agents, independent agents could easily beat online insurance providers at their own game.
Have you ever tried to get in touch with a real person at one of the big insurance aggregators? Put your phone on speaker and prepare to listen to the Muzak interpretation of Stairway to Heaven for the foreseeable future.
When consumers partner with local independent agents, they can drop by the office and actually discuss concerns and questions face-to-face. Maybe our idea of what convenience means has become a little skewed towards no human contact necessary. However, when it comes to something as important to your well-being as risk protection, a little human contact is necessary. Independent insurance agents make those interactions more convenient, not less.
Like insurance aggregators, independent insurance agents have many different insurance companies at their disposal. Unlike aggregators, agents have relationships with both the client and with the providers because of that whole face-to-face human contact thing we mentioned above.
That means that the agent can look at all of the factors that will influence the rates of a client and get the very best deal based on that client’s unique needs. An online aggregator is limited to the formulaic data that makes one consumer like another. An independent agent can make more nuanced distinctions between clients’ needs and among insurance companies and then get the very best deal based on a suitable match.
If a consumer already knows what she wants, an aggregator might be faster. However, most insurance buyers are unsure of what they really need. That means poring through the data provided by online insurance providers can take more time, not less.
According to research, an overabundance of choices can effectively paralyze us into inaction. With so much similar-but-not-quite-the-same information at our disposal, our brains have a difficult time processing it all, and often, we immediately regret our decisions when we finally do come to a decision.
Independent agencies eliminate the options overload dilemma for clients by expertly assessing the needs of a particular client and then offering only the solutions that best meet those needs. Ultimately, limiting options to the very best saves clients time.
Get in touch with our specialists in marketing for independent insurance agencies, and we’ll help you demonstrate your value to consumers.