NYT: Insurance Via Internet Is Squeezing Agents

[nylife11023]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/19/t...ernet-is-squeezing-agents.html?ref=technology

There are always threads here about the 'end of the line' for insurance agents.

From the success of the exchanges (even with glitches) we know "sales" via web works in health.

Looks like auto and home are next, and term life won't be far behind... IF you buy into the above New York Times piece.

 

[WinoBlues]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/19/t...ernet-is-squeezing-agents.html?ref=technology

There are always threads here about the 'end of the line' for insurance agents.

From the success of the exchanges (even with glitches) we know "sales" via web works in health.

Looks like auto and home are next, and term life won't be far behind... IF you buy into the above New York Times piece.

Term is here. There guys doing it in big numbers. We change or get left behind.

 

[Rearden]

End of the road for agents?

Hardly; more like an opportunity for adaptation.

I compare it to the mass introduction of Wal-mart back in the 80s and 90s.

There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth of family-owned grocers going out of business, simply because they couldn't compete with the likes of the big box stores.

However, 20+ years later, there is ample evidence Wal-mart is not a monopoly, and other players, accurately reading the marketplace, have claimed a niche and carved out market-share.

Publix, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, etc., all come to mind as great examples.

It's the same with the insurance business. Thankfully, the purchase of life insurance will not entirely go electronic and faceless; there will always be those who prefer buying from a person as opposed to an internet site.

It's the job of the face-to-face agent to differentiate himself (brokering/service) from the competition in order to win more market-share, because as time goes by, it is becoming more and more vital to do so to stay in business.

 

[Cash]

What gets looked over is that it costs a lot of money to sell a policy online. The Fed gov had unlimited resources to set up that website and it still sucks. Who is going to do that with life insurance? I have laid my eyes on some numbers from big life carriers that sell online and the short of it is that it costs more to sell direct than it does to pay commision. Also, leads are getting more expensive.

Just because everyone in the future, and already, will not be selling face to face does not mean that business will disappear.

Journalists no nothing about business and are always looking to hype the internet to the doom of everyone else. The funny thing is that journalists have been the ones who really have been hurt by the internet.

 

[sonnymooks]

Yawn, Insurance agents aren't that different then real estate agents in many respects, and in case anyone hasn't noticed, technology and the internet didn't put real estate agents out of business, it made them more money as they adapted and changed. Even on top of that, you do NOT need a real estate agent for any real estate transaction, and yet, they still are here and doing fine.

 

[DHK]

Rule of Acquisition #45: Expand (your services)... or die.

(Sorry, the borg thread made me think of it.)

If all you are doing is offering quotes... then yes, websites on the internet can do that without even talking to an agent.

If you are doing MORE than that for your clients... no problem.