A diamond in the rough

When I research sites or applications or even claims, I try to go in with the perspective of “how do I or other insurance professionals experience this site and how does it respond to me?” This allows me to be completely honest about how the site will really work for agents and others who plan to make use of it.

I sat down to take a look at www.MarketScout.com, and was puzzled by what I saw. After all the good things that I had heard about the site and its functionality, I wasn’t seeing it online.

So, I called them up on the phone. I’m now glad I did.

A few minutes later, I was talking to MarketScout.com’s CEO Richard Kerr, explaining my puzzlement. And after a personal “cyber tour” of the service, a “diamond in the rough” is a truly accurate description-they’ve got a great service buried under some clunky navigation.

Kerr explained that MarketScout is striving to be the place where insurance agents can find the markets, the expertise and the quotes they need to service their customers and do so competitively.

But others have similar products that locate folks and markets, too. When I asked what made MarketScout.com different than the others, he answered by walking me through an interesting online database that illustrates the heart of MarketScout.com. They’ve developed a database of “CyberAgents” that comprise underwriters, brokers and MGAs from a wide range of companies and backgrounds.

Kerr explained that each one is an expert in their particular market-a “best of class” as he calls it. MarketScout.com Cyber Agents go through a rigorous process just to qualify (take a look at the requirement criteria). These CyberAgents are usually the only one chosen for their particular state or area. Kerr says this process allows for MarketScout.com to maintain a competitive edge, as each CyberAgent is an expert, reducing an insurance agent’s need to hit and miss with other market finder products.

You can search either by industry or by coverage. For most of the categories in both search options, they are quite robust, and Kerr says they are adding CyberAgents, as well as new markets, daily and weekly. Information on the CyberAgent’s business, the companies they write for and the extent of their expertise is all included on the MarketScout.com Web pages. These agents are also required by MarketScout.com to keep up these pages—answering e-mails, responding to posts on their message boards and developing newsletter content.

Working out the kinks
As with any new Web site, the site had a few kinks to work out. Some of my initial confusion was a result of non-MarketScout.com e-mail addresses, banner ad placeholders and some stale copy.

I talked to Kerr about this and he said they were revamping the site as we spoke. Part of my experience was due to the fact that they were implementing some of the changes and testing live on the site and not in a separate or test directory away from potential visitors.

If you are testing or developing a site live, what happened to me is exactly what you don’t want to happen. A potentially vocal and possibly unhappy visitor is going to tell people how bad they thought the site was because they experienced an unfinished product.

Moving forward
As for the reason behind the changes, part of what they want to do is to position MarketScout.com as a portal for insurance professionals, getting news and information as well as access to the CyberAgent database. In fact, as I was on the phone with Kerr, new graphics popped up and links changed when I refreshed my browser page.

They also want to make the site more intuitive and more interactive. A good example of this is when you currently click on the link for an application for a quote, it will automatically download a Microsoft Word Document onto your desktop. In the new version, Kerr says the application will be all browser-based, not requiring the agent to leave the site for the desktop.

It’s these little things that make the visit more about business and less about work.

Once you get past the construction, I believe that insurance agents will find MarketScout.com to be a helpful and potentially profitable site to bookmark and to use.

I believe that many agents are looking for the next evolution in MarketScout.com. The industry needs more sites, applications and e-commerce opportunities like it.

Technocracy is a regular column designed to examine and explain new technology and how it applies to the insurance industry. Readers are encouraged to e-mail questions or comments to John Chivvis at ijwest@insurancejournal.com.

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