Judging from the 3,500-some agency Web sites I've looked at, it appears many agencies struggle with content development. True, the expected and rudimentary content elements are usually present, but they tend to be underdeveloped and lacking in engaging and useful information.
There are several reasons why agency Web sites come up short on the content stick. The primary reason seems to be lack of skill and imagination in finding and developing useful information. Depending on who builds your site, insurance content may be included in your arrangement with the site builder. If not, you will have to develop the content yourself or hire someone to do it for you.
Assuming you're willing and able to develop your own content, you will have to research various sources for content-worthy information. If you need consumer insurance information, I suggest you start with the Insurance Information Institute (www.iii.org).
About the Insurance Information Institute
For more than 40 years the nonprofit Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) has been providing information for improving the public's understanding of insurance. It does so through a number of means — direct contact with the media and various organizations, publications, news reports, direct answers to consumer questions, and through the organization's membership. I.I.I. is not a lobbying organization; rather, it focuses on providing insurance information, and is supported by its P&C industry membership.
The I.I.I. Web site
At first glance, the visitor immediately knows that the I.I.I. Web site is about insurance information. That's because the words “insurance info” are the largest and most prominent elements on the home page. The I.I.I. home page is divided into three main sections through the clever arrangement of graphic elements. Information for individuals and the media are the two more prominent sections at the top of the page, while the member section is subordinated beneath the I.I.I. logo toward the bottom of the page. Agents seeking educational content will spend most of their time visiting the individual and media sections.
There's no mistaking what this site is all about. Regardless of what you click on first, you'll be taken to lots of information that will enlarge your understanding of insurance and the many issues related thereto.
Visitors to the home page will see lists of relevant topics that seemingly
urge them to click on something and get pulled into the site. Agents would
do well to study this design technique for immediately engaging site visitors.
Questions such as What is in a basic auto policy?, How do I file a claim?, How much insurance do I need?, and others are obviously geared to consumers and are grouped in the “individual” section. When visitors click on a question, they are taken to a new page and new menu that lists eight different categories of insurance and dozens of new and more specific questions. When clicking on these questions, visitors are then taken to pages of detailed descriptive information, many of which include links to even more information.
Though organized a bit differently, the “media” section of the site is just as valuable and informative. In fact, this section includes detailed research information that many agents are probably unaware of themselves. Some of the “hot topics” and issues include terrorism risk insurance, mold, credit scoring, medical malpractice, dog bite liability, arson, earthquakes, rates and regulations, and more. By the way, agents should also take a look at the downloadable PowerPoint presentations — nearly two dozen — that are available.
Making use of I.I.I. Web site content
If agents choose to use content from the I.I.I. Web site, their basic decision will focus on whether to “lift and adapt” material or simply link to the site itself. My recommendation is the former (lift and adapt) for three primary reasons:
But isn't it illegal to lift and adapt somebody else's material? Normally yes, especially without getting permission and not providing appropriate credit or citation. In the case of the I.I.I. Web site, however, I have not been able to find any information about copyrights and terms of use. Some Web sites, especially sites that disseminate information for public consumption (e.g., U.S. government sites), do not restrict the use of material for the very purpose of enhancing its distribution value.
Having said that, I do not advocate or condone the wholesale copying of I.I.I. Web site content and passing it off as your own. When using I.I.I. material, it should be re-written and edited to fit your agency's Web site style. Select particularly relevant sentences, modify them, add to them, and re-phrase things in your own words. If necessary, include brief passages set off with quotation marks and include the phrase, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Then, if your Web site includes a page of helpful links and resources, include a link to the I.I.I. Web site.
All in all, the I.I.I. Web site is a hard to beat resource for insurance information. Unlike many sites that impose restrictions on the use of site content, the I.I.I. site appears to have removed that barrier. Furthermore, the site is written in plain English, devoid of the technical insurance jargon. You could easily spend an hour or two perusing this site and every minute would be worth it.
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Visitors to the home page will see lists of relevant topics that seemingly urge them to click on something and get pulled into the site.