Middlemen 2.0 and Worry+Peace’s Buyer’s Story

I’m delighted by the continued and sustained response to our newly announced status as a BIBA Partner. When I demo the platform, I don’t oversell our Standard, paid plan. Why? Well - there’s a mission to this, and it’s important folks buy into that as well as take a license for the software.

I don’t expect insurance buyers (that could be you, good connection) who don’t geek out over insurance, like me, to necessarily care much - yet! - but you don’t realise how much of your insurance premium is going to what can only be described as “Middlemen 2.0”.

Those blessed with age might already know where I’m going - recalling a [devilishly effective] marketing campaign whereby a giant insurer, in a stroke, began the disruption of disintermediation in the UK. 

Their aim? To prise buyers from the behind the shield of their brokers!

Their cover? The sad truth that some brokers had not nurtured their responsibility in a way that made them bulletproof to this tactic. Their war cry? “Cut out the Middle Man!”. Their premise? These persons between didn’t add nearly enough value! They charged too much… you didn’t need them! You’re smart - you can understand insurance and are more than capable of negotiating with a brick wall of small print… 

There's nothing fundamentally flawed with buying direct - there is something flawed with believing it somehow has created an optimal condition for buyers.

My hint of sarcasm betrays my respect for advisory professionalism - not just in insurance - but it also fails to respect the reality that this “sell” was incredibly effective. And to this day, intermediated insurers are tempted to disintermediate. Even insurtechs like Lemonade in the USA have tried this! Despite the glaring irony that to do this they effectively created their own captive broker = yes, true. 

Ever is the insurer’s hand hovering over the red button to deliver the blow all intermediaries fear the world over!

I’m at pains to inform you that there will always be a middle… You’ve just got new intermediaries now!

Consider the Buyer's Story: You have the beginning-need, middle-choice and end-purchase. It’s physics that cannot be broken. Despite cutting out the middle, the insurers still had to meet buyers. They’ve taken on the bulky marketing expense themselves! And used a new basket of conduits and intermediaries to meet buyers.

Comparison Sites; Big Search; Social Media. These are the primary neo-intermediaries and their commodity is data-at-scale. Are they worth it? Hmm. I'd argue they are vulnerable to disintermediation themselves...

Search and Social both operate opaque digital auctions - they effectively tell you what the prevailing bid is! Can you imagine the Moral Hazard of none being able to truly "see" a prevailing price in an auction? Imagine Sotheby's keeping bidders in isolation and dropping by to tell them room five have their bid beat! Expect inflation and the house to wins.

And PCWs? Plainly, they're the most aggressive intermediary ever invented. Their MO is to snatch a buyer away from a provider - annually! For the sake of it? No… For the highly lucrative Non-Proportional sales fee they charge. People's Heroes? When push comes to shove - their list of industry allies is short, I can assure you. Because it's evident they aren't so much buyer-first as their brands might suggest.

It's all the very definition of unforeseen consequences. 

Worry+Peace created a simple, lower common denominator. Technology grown from within the market. It will be offering fair intermediation - I consider our role as one of Arbitrator.

How do we do this? By removing conflicts of interest. Powering a choice of choices! In order for insurance to have an amazing social story - someone needs to not take a sales cut. Instead, make the connection - this is a kind of dual intermediation, in essence.

We don’t charge sale, quote or lead-related commission or fixed fees. We DO offer a Visibility Model for a fair revenue stream - powered by a peer-to-peer, transparent auction. This means we do NOT price-set the connection and we have no conflict interest. The free market equilibrium decides.

If Providers want to support this mission - be they the respectable, modern intermediaries or the insurers keen to support their modern intermediary strategy; and also the direct brands (we have plans to help buyers here, too!) - they should view our Standard Plan as, not just an investment, but also a small price to pay for the chance to do things right by buyers. 

This is a chance to bring balance to the Buyer’s Story. The beginning being their WORRY, the middle being their choice (that’s where we + value), the end being their PEACE of mind. 

Worry+Peace. 

I believe it's the very definition of a customer-centric, noble mission.