Insuretech? Good or Bad?
Every morning I get in my car and I listen to many insurance podcasts. The overwhelming theme in many of these podcasts is the topic of Insuretech and what it will do to not only the agency channel of distribution, but also the insurance industry as a whole. Many of the individuals interviewed are not afraid of the impact of insuretech, but do believe that if agents and brokers do not embrace the future processes and innovations that clients now demand, their business will fall by the wayside and rapidly be left behind (along with valuable new premium dollars). Today, I had my first experience in the traditional model of acquiring insurance and will contrast this with an insuretech company I recently listened to on a recent podcast.
In acquiring workers compensation for a client, I quickly realized that there was only one company that would provide my client's coverage. I called the carrier (Company A), and they informed me they were not taking any new brokers at this time. I had to contact a broker (Company B), become appointed with Company, then I can quote Company A's business. Seemed simple enough. Oh wait, it gets better. If you'd like to skip to the end of the article you can. Below is just highlighting how behind the times some of the insurance industry is.
I call Company B and ask them to appoint me so I can begin to sell insurance for Company A. "B" tells me first I need to go to Company "C" fill out their online application, and then Company C will tell Company B that I've been approved or declined. After completing the paperwork for Company C and getting an approval, I contact Company B to ask if they got the approval. They say they didn't and I need to contact Company D who is in charge of getting the information from Company C for Company B to on-board me onto Company B's systems. I contact Company D (via email cuz no one actually wants to talk to a human being), and after about 20 emails, Company D finally gets my information into Company B's systems. YAY! I'm done right? Nope! I still haven't even got to quote yet!
I call Company B to get the process of how to submit business to Company A. Company B tells me that I fill out a paper application completely and I'll know what info to omit and what to include (yea right!). That paperwork gets sent to Company B. Company B then reviews the paperwork for accuracy (?) and they send the paperwork to Company A. A's Underwriter reviews the information I inputted on the forms and then any questions the underwriter has will be given to Company B to give to me. I then respond to the questions via Company B, Company B tells Company A, and then Company A finally issues a QUOTE! Extra note: I was told by Company B that a smooth app typically takes one and a half weeks!
Contrast this with a insuretech company called Coverwallet. I have never used them, I do not have any vested interest in their company, but I listened to their business model on a recent podcast and it sounded really cool. Using AI and large data sources, they are able to cut down the time applying for insurance from hours, or even days, to minutes. Imagine that, plugging in the info only once to a central data point, the company then replicates the data onto all the various forms that the different companies use. Then you get firm quotes back within a few minutes!
After the day I had today, please sign me up for that!
What are your guy's thoughts on Insuretech? Please comment below and let me know!