insurance:

Adapting to Technology

The relationship that consumers have with insurance companies has fundamentally and irrevocably changed. Carriers, whether at the forefront of the movement or reacting to it, are each challenged by the paradigm shift toward online business models.

As online business models bypass the agent, consumers are less reliant on personal insurance agents for advice. And, as the demographics of the American population change, such as an increasing number of youth who are more likely to use the Internet, this trend will continue. There is no turning back. Insurance companies need to adapt to the age of technology where consumers are more reliant on the Internet and less on human interaction.

However, this does not mean that insurance agents will become extinct. It does mean that their role is changing. Carriers and their agents need to become increasingly tech savvy, directing and guiding customers to and through online tools and interfaces on the front end.

In the back office, agents need the speed and efficiency of online prospecting, competitively quoting, policy/endorsement issuing and more. Technological advances must encompass all of an insurance carrier’s business areas: from marketing and sales to customer relations management; from billing and payments to claims and overall service. The features people expect from technology are going to become progressively more crucial to the success of an insurance carrier. It is not only about the capability to perform certain tasks online, but also about nuances such as navigability, appearance and ease of doing business. These make-or-break distinctions are driven by public opinion, necessitating rigorous research and development.

All of this said, the human touch and personal relationships are still very relevant to a large portion of the population. Many consumers and businesses like to personally know whom they are doing business with and prefer the confidence that is associated with the traditional agent model. To succeed, carriers will need to seamlessly merge the need for human connection with the need for technological efficiencies.