Ernst and Young: Internet Transformative Influence on Insurance Industry. How Your Managing General Agent Can Combat This

The “2012 Global Insurance Outlook” report released recently from Ernst and Young revealed that the Canadian insurance industry is getting increasingly competitive. If you are an insurance advisor this probably does not come as a surprise. This competition stems from various different factors, one of the most important being the internet. With the growth of the web over the last decade, many different insurance companies have taken advantage of the opportunities that exist as far as selling insurance online. Ernst and Young predict that this will become even more common place as those companies still holding on to traditional means of selling adopt the strategies that allow them to sell online.  

But what does this mean for you? If you are an insurance agent that works with a managing general agent, you know that time is money, and so any time lost because of slow turnaround times can be a big deal, especially in the face of this competition coupled with the growing strength of e-commerce insurance.

You work with a managing general agent for a reason – for independence and to have the ability to offer a wide range of products. It can be extremely frustrating when your managing general agent is slow getting back to you or don’t seem to have the answers you need at all. You should expect your managing general agent to be able to provide you with the information that you need to respond to your clients quickly to provide the fastest most efficient service possible.

Rather than dealing with the hassle that can be a consequence of clients having to wait too long for the information that want or need, your managing general agency should be able to guarantee that they will help you find out exactly what you need to know, and within a reasonable amount of time. Instead of expecting a client to have to wait days for an answer, you should be able to rely on your managing general agent to get back to you within a few hours.

What if your managing general agent takes their time getting your applications processed? The longer those applications sit on your desk, the likelier clients are to search for insurance elsewhere.  Your managing general agency should also have a policy in place that makes it easy for you to provide a response to your clients within a reasonable amount of time.

As Ernst and Young points out, individuals’ preferences for buying insurance are changing, which, the report states, is “a profound transformation driven in large part by the internet.”  If you work with a managing general agent who takes too long to respond to your inquiries or process your applications, your customers are likely not going to wait. It only takes a few minutes to go online and get a quote for insurance. Your edge is knowledge and service so it is important to work with a managing general agent who appreciates the importance of time.

For more information about joining a managing general agency that recognizes that time is money, please contact Gary Mandel at Independent Financial Concepts Group today by calling 416-849-1653 or visit www.joinifcg.com.