 |
| Your insurance agent is online and faceless. |
Technology and innovation is changing things around us for better or worst. The one constant in all this is change, the only constant. Nothing that's old school will last and soon shall become a legacy.
The same is true for our insurance agents too i suppose. I have been managing my policies through my insurance agents for all these years. Both life policies as well as health policies. Recently I got in touch with my insurance agent who is a working professional and a part time licensed insurance agent. I was surprised to know that she had discontinued working as a agent. The Insurance provider had added a new clause asking all agents to acquire a minimum number of new policies per year to ensure that their licenses remain renewed. And the renewal will be done yearly.
Now, this might not sound as a unreasonable demand from the Insurance provider. But look at the current climate. Private players in the insurance sector are getting more and more aggressive with innovative policies to lure the customers. To add to this, most policies can now be purchased online without much hassle. There are successful and growing services that allow not only to purchase policies from multiple providers from one location, but also do the price and feature comparison before making a purchase decision. They also identify the right policies that would suit your needs. What ever they might be.
So, now you can purchase a policy where ever you are and at what ever time of your convenience. You can research policies and buy online with just your mobile phone. Pitch that against a agent who keeps calling for appointment or cheque collection and limited options for policy purchase and you have the inevitable solution staring right at you. To make matters worst for themselves, many agents dont even sell the best suited policies to their customers as the commissions on the policies are low.
New technology does not destroy industries or professions. They just weed out the redundant, out dated and the down right ineffective (or become ineffective) methods of doing things. Today online services (like PolicyBazaar, Coverfox, Acko and more) are the new agents. Faceless, on demand, intelligent and customer driven.
