While Clients Want Service From Agents,Many Seek Self-ServiceOpportunities

Why in the world would independent insurance agents askcustomers to do their own work related to an insurance policy?After all, agents are paid for service, right?

Dont be too sure. Paradoxically, many successful agents areletting customers handle more basic services on their policy. Thoseagents are freed up for more productive activity.

A survey commissioned by the Alexandria, Va.-based IndependentInsurance Agents of America provides strong evidence that clientswant to use the Internet as a way to interact with agents.

When asked about the importance of online access to accountinformation in their purchase decision, 59 percent of personallines consumers and 47 percent of small-business consumers said itwas “very important” or “extremely important.”

However, when agents were asked the same question, only 6percent thought it would be important to their clients. Clearlythere is a wide gap in perceptions.

Why is client self-service for insurance coming into vogue now?It certainly isnt a brand-new concept.

When I started driving, we werent pumping our own gas. A guycame out and checked our oil and cleaned our windshield and pumpedour gas. Now we not only pump our own gas, but we handle thecashiers job at the credit card machine right there at thepump.

Banks and stock brokerages are on board, too, with onlinebanking and electronic trading from home. With ATMs, you not onlyservice your account yourself, but you actually pay to get your ownmoney!

Considering the trends, insurance companies and agents shouldconsider offering self-service options. Here is what one agencyoffers online:

Review or make changes to personal or company information.

Review current insurance coverages.

Replace, edit, remove or add a driver, vehicle or piece ofequipment on the policy.

Request a motor vehicle report.

Request an insurance certificate.

Change or add a certificate holder, additional named insured orloss payee.

Request an insurance form.

Report an accident or claim.

Ask a question.

Get an insurance quote.

Ask about employee benefits options.

Ask about financial services.

Participate on a bulletin board.

Consumer online access can help agents get rid of the incredibleamount of processing activity they have.

For example, a large percentage–perhaps as much as 60 percent–ofphone calls to an agency are billing related. If customers canaccess their billing histories, many of those calls could beeliminated, freeing up staff hours for more productive work.

Now the agency is spending more time in consultative selling,paying attention to their customers future needs and portfolios,improving claims service, and really working at clientrelationships. The agency can spend time targeting clients withappropriate products rather than just being an order taker andprocessor.

So it really becomes a win-win situation. Customers have theconvenience of access to their insurance records and the ability tomake changes to their insurance policies and to request ID cards,certificates and so forth–on their time instead of the agents.

Agents never should have evolved into order-takers–thatsartificially staying in touch with clients. The agency that engagesprimarily in transaction processing will lose its value, andprobably will be replaced by a Web site someday.

Agents need to do more in the future. The agency that reallybuilds on customer relationships doesnt have to fear the Web. TheInternet is its tool, not its competitor.

An easy place for any agency to start providing self-serviceoptions for its clients is in certificates of insurance.Certificates are a non-revenue-generating activity for agents and aconstant source of irritation for clients who cant get them whenthey need them.

This type of self-service gives agents and brokers a competitiveadvantage by providing 24/7 service without additional staff. It ispopular with contractors who are out in the field and truckers whoare out on the road during daytime business hours. These groups andothers can access certificates of insurance themselves when theyare doing their paperwork–after hours.

Issuing certificates online is not just convenient for bothparties, it also eliminates the need for the customer to follow upwith the agent to check on delivery. The certificate is in aclient's hands immediately on their own printer, if they choosethat method of delivery.

Some agents are concerned about security issues if they exposecustomer data online. But those issues are addressed with anapplication service provider, which means there is no software toload on your (or your clients) computer–the data is storedelsewhere. All that is required is an Internet connection.

The ASP model is compelling because agents dont want to managethe technical infrastructure required to provide customers with24/7 access. Theyd have to deal with security, disaster recovery,firewalls and Web servers with all kinds of infrastructure if theagency itself is going to provide account information online.

In the ASP model, somebody else is hosting the information, sothat when customers dial in they are not going into the agencysfull customer database–rather, they are going to another place toget the information. This offers a higher level of protection forcritical, secure client data.

In an ASP, the agency should always maintain control of thepolicy and coverage information. Agency staff determines whatinformation the client can complete. For example, clients nevershould be able to change policy dates or coverage on acertificate.

Insurance companies and agencies should take seriously theircustomers desire to have access to their policy data. Carriers,too, should be taking this to heart, making sure their customerscan get billing history and claims status data online.

Remember, though, that carriers can provide information only fortheir own policies. Who is going to be able to provide the insuredwith a consolidated view of their insurance portfolio? It should bethe agency. So we as an industry need to put into place servicesand processes that make that a reality.

What are some things you dont want to give up as anindependent agent? Consultative selling, true relationshipbuilding, risk management, choice of companies and the bestcoverage at a decent price. But for the other stuff, many of yourclients want to use the Internet to do business with you. Are youready?

Rick Morgan is executive vice president of San Diego-basedConfirmNet Corp., an insurance industry business-to-businessapplication service provider linking insurance providers with theircustomers.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Property &Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, October 29, 2001.Copyright 2001 by The National Underwriter Company in the serialpublication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as anindependent work may be held by the author.

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