Progressive- Comparative Rater Changes

[RickyG]

Just received this email at our Nevada agency. We have a division that does 40-50 auto quotes a day, so this effectively doubles their data input time causing lots of grumbling in the office. Curious what the motivation for this would be, my only thought is to add an extra layer of difficulty placing business in these states that they no longer want to deal with:

Update on comparative rater quotes

New protocols in place

Today, we’re announcing that we’ll no longer return rates for your agent code within any comparative rater for all personal auto quotes generated in the following states: AR, MD, MS, NV, and SC. If you attempt a quote in your comparative rater, you will receive the following message: “Agent Code <X> is not authorized to complete transactions for RC <0,1,2,3>.”

As a reminder, you may always quote through FAO.

Please continue to do all you can to quote and write quality personal auto business. Accurate quotes lead to accurate rates, and accurate rates lead to mutually profitable business.

If you have any questions about this update, please contact your sales representative.

 

[Al3x Lee]

It could be something to do with regulations. Maybe call the agency marketing rep and see what they have to say? I'd be curious what you find out

 

[RickyG]

The problem is when you call in to the rep then you are on he or shes radar and they "just drop by" every 3-4 weeks. They are pushy and pointless visits that take up and waste lots of time. That said I am not sure what regs could be at issue because we quote numerous others with no issue. I did however ask EZlynx (rater) directly to see if they could give me info.

 

[Al3x Lee]

you are on he or shes radar and they "just drop by" every 3-4 weeks. They are pushy and pointless visits that take up and waste lots of time.

Glad to know it's not just the people in my office that feel that way

 

[Allen Trent]

Does it have anything to do with needing to know if they are non binary? Not sure how that affects rates, but they seem to want to know. But they don't care about all the other genders .

 

[AZDave]

Just received this email at our Nevada agency. We have a division that does 40-50 auto quotes a day, so this effectively doubles their data input time causing lots of grumbling in the office. Curious what the motivation for this would be, my only thought is to add an extra layer of difficulty placing business in these states that they no longer want to deal with:

Update on comparative rater quotes

New protocols in place

Today, we’re announcing that we’ll no longer return rates for your agent code within any comparative rater for all personal auto quotes generated in the following states: AR, MD, MS, NV, and SC. If you attempt a quote in your comparative rater, you will receive the following message: “Agent Code <X> is not authorized to complete transactions for RC <0,1,2,3>.”

As a reminder, you may always quote through FAO.

Please continue to do all you can to quote and write quality personal auto business. Accurate quotes lead to accurate rates, and accurate rates lead to mutually profitable business.

If you have any questions about this update, please contact your sales representative.

Wow. That is very interesting and not right. Was there just too many accuracy issues when bridging over to issue? Or an obvious way to slow the Flo....

Maybe @shawnmwalker give us some insight here.

 

[shawnmwalker]

@AZDave,

It is 100% a tactic in play right now. If a carrier has limited capacity. Turn off the Rater.

 

[shawnmwalker]

This is “the hardest market in a generation” on the personal lines side. Every carrier is losing a lot and therefore doing EVERYTHING possible to not write business, including the nations largest carriers. (Every carrier)

As they do everything to not write business, this subsequently creates a Tsunami of business headed towards those carriers who do not take timely and appropriate actions to keep business from coming their way. And the Tsunami of new business has catastrophic results for those carriers not engaged in “Managing their Capacity”

When I say everything; Expanding the Distribution channel is one of the first significant levers that carriers pull. And most have pulled that lever very aggressively.

Additionally, they have pulled moratorium levers, UW levers (There are 10+ big ones here), Rate levers, Pulled off the comparative rater, cut commissions, Suspended or Terminated huge swaths of their distribution channel, pull out of markets, shut down lines of business, and so many more actions.

 

[shawnmwalker]

One last thing. Make no mistake, this move that Prog has taken will amp up the actions of other carriers. Lets pretend you take an action like this on a Prog level. That is going ot push a lot of business towards....and they dont want it, so they too will have to do something drastic....Q3 and Q4 are going to get bumpy.

 

[marindependent]

It is 100% a tactic in play right now. If a carrier has limited capacity. Turn off the Rater.

...and that basically means that raters are useless in California right now