Idea: automatic switching insurance plans.

[Yanster]

Hi all, three years ago I founded a company in the Netherlands where users automatically switched energy suppliers every year. Every year the algorithm scanned the market for the best deals and compared these to your current plan. If there is a possible saving the system would automatically switch the user and notify them about the switch.

I was wondering if a system like this could be useful for insurance agents as well. Every year the system would scan the market for the best deals (via specific quoting engine) and compare these with the current plan. If a saving is possible, the system would send an automated message to the customer informing them about this. If the current plan is the best option the system would send an automated message to the customer they are still on the best plan.

I think this could improve retention + repeat enrollments for agents. What do you think?

 

[NewbieNewbie]

No. Too many variables at play in most lines. Might work for auto, that is about it, but they kind of already have the plug and play for quoting that.

 

[InsurancePimp_]

Sometimes with health insurance one company might be better lower out of pocket but might not take your doctor or worst yet, cover your meds. If you can account for all those variables, it would be nice . Also if someone is in the middle of a procedure, changing plans can be a hassle

 

[Yanster]

No. Too many variables at play in most lines. Might work for auto, that is about it, but they kind of already have the plug and play for quoting that.

Thanks for the input. What about medicare? From what I see on the medicare.gov comparison tool this does not look much more complicated than auto. What do you think?

 

[Yanster]

Sometimes with health insurance one company might be better lower out of pocket but might not take your doctor or worst yet, cover your meds. If you can account for all those variables, it would be nice . Also if someone is in the middle of a procedure, changing plans can be a hassle

Thanks for the comment, really helpful. Exactly, the idea is to account for all those variables. It could also scan for yearly changes in your current plan. For example if someone's medicine is dropped from the current plan. The system would then recommend a different plan and the savings can be huge.

 

[NewbieNewbie]

You are going to have a tough time still with meds, drug tiers, and doctors. Med sups you could do this with but not advantage. There are too many variables.

 

[Allen Trent]

Most independent agents are allegiant to a small number of carriers as they don't want to lose contingency bonuses by falling under certain premium levels or having a book looking like it is shrinking, etc. Getting a cheaper rate as a new client of 1 carrier that causes current policy with longevity discounts & accident/ticket waiver to be lost can end up being worse than never leaving in some instances

Even a bigger issue is that cheaper doesn't mean better. Quality of customer service, communication from carrier to agent & client, claims handling is most important bto client & company. How would a program account for this in automatic switching. Property policies have many more coverage nuances & definitions that make it even more difficult to compare solely on price.

Lastly, Regulations likely would require more interaction from consumer than switching them automatically.