Insurance carriers can offer excellent coverage with customer and claims service that is quick and decisive, but without a solid sales force–captive agents, the independent variety, or even the Internet–none of that matters. With this in mind, connecting with agents and arming them with a variety of tools is reaching a level of high importance among carriers.

If carriers want to be successful in selling products, Gartner research vice president Kimberly Harris-Ferrante believes they have to get the information that is needed to the agent. "What has changed a little bit over the years is what that information should be," she says. "It's not just product information. It's also customer information."

Such customer information comprises not only customer profiles but also data initiatives that include analysis, profitability metrics, and segmentation analysis. "The more you know about the customer and the more you can share with the distribution channel, the more the agent can be successful at selling the product," says Harris-Ferrante.