In 2010, Hiscox became the first insurer to offer many professional small businesses the ability to get their business insurance quotes online, buy there and get their policy immediately. Today, three years later, Hiscox is the leader in this space and still the only insurer in the US doing it in a big way. Is it just me or does it feel that business insurance is still stuck in the 1990s? 

Many of you have probably read the thought-provoking report from Deloitte: Voice of the small-business insurance consumer. I have a great deal of respect for the Deloitte team. They've got some great people there, and it's a good report, but there's one aspect I wanted to expand on. 

It's not about 'are buyers ready to take the direct sales route?'  The agent vs. direct argument is a red herring. It's a more fundamental question than that. Modern consumers want what they want, when they want it, and their small business insurance purchases are no different. 

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