Many agencies have or could acquire the ability to provide online customer self-service, but choose not to. Research suggests that insureds want self-service. If that's true, agents should satisfy customers and provide it. The technology is there, but agents don't budge. Why not? Here are their top ten excuses, why they don't make sense, and an alternative way of looking at things.
10. We've never done it that way. This phrase can be heard whenever a change is suggested. Ten years ago it was commonplace when the idea of FAXing binders and certificates was first proposed. Things that were unthinkable two years ago are now commonplace, such as email and imaging. Even though the insurance industry does not generally allow clients to dial in and get information, banks and other financial institutions have been doing it for quite some time.
9. My clients want their hands held. Many agencies believe this to be true, even when their clients tell them otherwise. Clients want convenience. They want things done quickly, easily, and correctly. In client surveys conducted by BMG, the attitude of agency personnel taking a client call is important, but reaching someone and getting action quickly rates much higher. The ability to get something done quickly can be a source of competitive advantage. Self-service allows the client to control and complete their desired actions quickly.
8. If the clients do all the work, what do I do? Here's a novel idea: how about reviewing a file for missing coverage and endorsements? How about cross selling the client on needed group life and health insurance. If clients are able to generate their own certificates, your staff will be able to do other kinds of work that the client can't do. You will raise the level of your staff from clerical to professional, give them more interesting work, and they'll have the time and energy to do it. You and your sales people might even be able to make more calls, get new clients, and write more business.
7. They don't know insurance like I do. No, they don't, which is why you want to become their trusted adviser - a much more valuable position than a file clerk. Clients need you for your expertise in a confusing business, not for the ability to push paper.
6. They could put a virus in my network. Do you have employees who bring diskettes from home? Are you receiving e-mail now? Attachments? If so, you have a greater chance of unleashing a virus than you would from a client who has access to your system. On most systems, clients are restricted to viewing only their own account information and generating certificates for their own insurance. Clients are issued logon names and a passwords, which insures that they see only what the agency allows them to see. They are not entering your network.
5. They could get secret stuff. The way most systems are set up allow clients only to see data regarding themselves. The only way that a client could access the wrong information would be if the agency allowed it. A more practical concern is the need to have management system files up-to-date and accurate. For many agencies this is a scary thought because many have not completed their databases, preferring to work from the paper policy. Focusing on clients and allowing them to see what you have in their accounts means that you must have everything there. And, in fact, this is the way you get the most benefit from your system.
4. I'm an insurance agent, not a computer geek. Luckily the vendors are. It isn't necessary to understand how something works to use it. You don't need to be a technical guru to put the program in effect. The vendor will help you set it up and maintain it.
3. They won't know what to do. I'll have to teach them. No one taught me how to access my bank account on the Internet. Why is it assumed that generating a certificate, for example, is such a complex matter? In many cases, generating a certificate over the Internet is easier for the client than calling the agency to request one and then waiting to receive it. If you wanted to, instructions could be included with the invoice you send.
2. Who owns the renewals? The discussion of renewals is still ongoing and is not a part of this article. The short answer for this dilemma is that the discussion doesn't change because you allow your client to see his own file. You give up no control over the account. You've simply found a better way - one that gets the work done quickly and easily with less frustration on the client's part.
1. What if...? The big question; what if my system goes down; what if my client can't do it; what if there is an E&O exposure; what if...? Everyone has some fear about new technology before it becomes commonplace. But the number one reason agencies are not using the capability that allows client access is that they are afraid.
Banks and other financial institutions, which require strict security, provide online self-service to their customers. Ironically, many of these same banks own insurance agencies, but will not allow the agencies to provide online self-service. Perhaps that's because agencies are not nearly as sophisticated in automation as most banks. Many simple don't have detail in their database for their large commercial acounts.
For now, consumers put up with what agencies offer - inconvenient hours and the inability to do self-service. But that's going to change and the agencies that give their customers what they want are going to grow at the expense of less responsive agencies. So it finally comes down this: are you going to provide the fastest, quickest way to satisfy your clients? Think carefully about that, because so will the agencies down the street.
You're a consumer, which agency would you go to?
© Copyright 2001 by Sound Internet Strategy. All rights reserved