NU Online News Service, Dec. 8, 11:53 p.m. EST

A long-discussed technology program, aimed at attacking the competitive edge direct writers hold over independent agents in personal lines, is becoming a reality with the launch of the Consumer Agent Portal.

During an online press conference yesterday, representatives of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America discussed plans to launch CAP, an online program geared toward drawing consumers to independent agents and away from the direct writers.

Robert Rusbuldt, president and chief executive officer of the IIABA, calls the program an “incredibly exciting venture,” conceding that, as of now, direct writers own “the lion's share of the personal-lines market.”

The strategy to get that business back is to “do business the way customers want to do business,” says Rusbuldt. This includes raising the online profile of independent agents.

The program, explains Scott Deetz, CEO of Project CAP, is a national-marketing strategy to promote independent agents online.

CAP will not deliver search prospects to agents, but rather individuals who have determined through their online research that they want to make their insurance purchase with an independent agent.

CAP will be co-branded with Trusted Choice and only members of Trusted Choice, the IIABA's agent-branding initiative, will be able to utilize CAP.

CAP will also offer digital marketing tools, courses, systems and services to increase an agency's online marketing presence.

Thomas Minkler, vice chairman of the IIABA and president of the Clark-Mortenson Agency in Keene, N.H., says the reality is that to compete, independent agents need a more substantial online presence. This is especially true since 75 percent of consumers begin their search for personal lines insurance online.

“We need to find a better way to show up on search engines,” he says.

CAP, he explains, will take 22,000 agencies and give them the opportunity to “speak as one interconnected voice” online.

Special Reports /

Agents Launch CAP to Compete with Direct Writers

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