to the previous comment I would say that from studies done and my 13 years of experience as an agent those who do know the “tricky language” are in the minority at approximately 10% so take the other 90% and you do the rest of the math. People do not understand nor do they have it explained to them and I am continually educating those who have never had a real person sit down with them and go over what their getting for what their paying and allow them choices to tailor their coverage to their needs and situation. Many of these people have been left uncovered because all they were ever told by the online companies is “you have full coverage” and didn’t know that didn’t mean rental car, zero deductible glass, med pay ect. . It just doesn’t happen or ever will on a consistent basis without “real people” intervention. Go ahead and keep trying though and take your chances.
It’s my understanding that statistics indicate that it’s the insureds who switch often that have the highest number of claims. The longer an insured is with a single company the better the claim experience. That may just be the experiennce of my company, but I don’t think so.
nothing will ever replace the real people concept of providing insurance to the public no matter how much the call center and vending machine type insurance companies try. Wether that appeals to the insureds out there more or not only speaks to the recognition of the value of an agent based company. If the public continually becomes more and more short sighted thinking somehow they are benefeiting themself in the short term will end up costing them self more in the long run than if they stayed with one company and exhibited some loyalty and patience instead of being an immediate gratification type of society. If the only thing that determines who people have their insurance with is price then they will become serial switchers and as mentioned by the previous persons comments those type of people have more claims and cause a huge unprofitablity in the industry. Don’t ever think that computerized, automated, call center type service and phone systems will ever replace dealing with a real person and having an established realtionship , understanding and genuine interest and knowledge of each person’s needs and best interests. Nuff Said!!!
I aggree with both comments. An agent can be a valuable resource to a customer by explaining things like risk, liability, and coverages. In addition, the agent can tell the insured what to expect when a claim is submitted.
Some people who frequently “jump” carriers or are bottom feeders for low premiums and don’t understand the basic tenants of insurance are often “dis-satisfied” when they have a claim because they are clueless. The other component in “satisfaction” is the competency of the claims representive in creating and meeting expectations.
We all agree about, and the study illustrates, the value of an agent and why satisfaction is greater with policies purchaed with the help of an agency than directly purchased policies. Those who shop directly mainly for low advertised prices and don’t do their homework are bound to be disappointed sometime, especially if they think all policies are the same. Unfortunately, the business has become commodicized and companies seeking direct customers have trained them to think of buying insurance as the same as buying any other commodity, although people probably put more care in buying a TV than their insurance, which potentially has a greater affect on their well-being.
I think that the prior posts have made the assumption that consumers aren’t intelligent enough to shop and compare coverages of internet based direct sales companies.
I personally purchase my auto coverage from an online company and have been very pleased with both customer service and claims handling (my husband was rear ended). I reviewed several web based carriers as well as getting a quote from a local agent. I compared coveages and prices and found that my best choice was the internet based comapny.
I believe that you are being short sighted if you don’t give your customers enough credit. Most people can read and compare. I know the language can be a bit tricky. I bet you have many customers that are quite capable of meeting the challenge…don’t sell them short.
The internet purchased policies I replace are written at lower limits of liability for people who have something to lose financially not to mention an underinsured claim reduction should the need arise. Thing of an online purchase as getting you medical needs met over the internet by DR DR.com. My favorite advertising slogan on our local airways is”minimum limits for minimum prices”. The add shows afamily of four with 2 small children in a new auto. I for one think ther is a very large deficiency of national advertising to promote the counsel and purchase of insurance from a local professional. On a side note, my CSR”s are licensed but they are not comfortable in selling insurance. For this need we have sales people.
In my company’s call center, both our sales agents and service counselors are licensed and trained to coverage counsel. With that said, most consumers find it easier to lie to a computer than to lie to a real person. Before the whole gas crisis started, we had 50% of our internet customers claim that they drive less than 3000 miles a year when the national average is more like 12000-14000. Only 25% of our call center customers made that same claim.
If all of your CSRs are licensed insurance agents, is customer satisfaction greater with purchases through your call center agents, local agents, or online?
If big companies like GEICO (#3) didn’t do a good job providing excellent service while offering great rates, they wouldn’t be #3. Not having a local agent everywhere isn’t necessarily a bad thing. They are obviously a great company and can’t be #1 because they still can’t compete with the State Farm and Allstate’s who insure folks that have been with them for 30 or so years.
Most insurance customers don’t even know enough to realize they don’t have a clue about insurance, let alone all the exemptions & policy language varieties from company to company.
So, they buy whatever is cheapest, thinking that what they are buying is the same regardless of which company they buy from…. and then they have a claim and are dissatisfied because they got what they paid for. And suddenly all insurance companies are bad and out to screw them.
I would agree with their award Mr. Joe. Eerie? I went to my local agent, who was very professional and explained the coverages on my auto and home and the advantages that ERIE provides. Guaranteed replacement cost on the dwelling? Phenomenal…so unlike you, I am not “Weary of Erie” and actually I am “Cheery that I am with ERIE”
A vast majority of the call center reps who are licensed are in their 20’s and have never previously done insurance and have a very high turn over. So the real question of licensing becomes just because they can pass a test yet have no applicable experience to use with that text book knowledge really does very little good. I have spoken to many call center reps from other companies and it is very evident that they really don’t have half a clue. I have called Geico to inform them when I know a customer of mine has lied to them and not disclosed a driver in the household that has a bad record because I have seen them reward the customer with a very low premium and are obviously unaware of all the facts . I have been stunned by the lack of common sense exhibited by these call center reps who refuse this information and sound like programmed robots that can only speak in canned terminology by saying “i’m sorry I cannot discuss this customers information with you”?? Duh, I wasn’t asking for information I was trying to give you very helpful information that the customer didn’t when they lied to you. These type of “licensed” reps have extremely high turn over and no clue about how to apply their text book knowledge in the real world of insurance and underwriting policies correctly. Why is Berkshire Hathaway in so much deep doo doo these days. Hmmmmmm .
You are right on target shawn. I remember passing a licencing test for life & health and another for P & C right out of college and not really knowing anything about the business at all. Licensing is no big guarantee of expertise. If you are going to treat buying insurance like buying books on line you are asking not to be covered properly. Insurance is not just another commodity.
Just because an agent chooses to work for GEICO or Progressive or any call center for that matter (I believe Allstate has one too) doesn’t mean that they are not knowledgeable about insurance. I know of several agents with risk management degrees from reputable colleges that they actually attended (not online) that work for GEICO and Progressive. You are using lame excuses. GEICO does provide whatever coverage one needs and the agent makes sure it is adequate coverage. They can only trust what the customer tells them. A customer walking through your door can lie to you just as easily as they can on the phone to an agent. The real problem is that those two companies are stealing business from you.
You ought not make it so obvious that you work for Geico and have a risk management degree (attended not online).
Yes, agents can be lied to, but it is much harder when someone is looking you in the face and you can see the car they just drove into the parking lot (one of the reasons I don’t do phone quotes).
Do you ever talk to the same customer twice (on purpose)? Can they call you at home if they need something? Do you forget about your clients’ NEEDS when you go home at night?
Agents know their clients, worry for and about them and see them at the store.
Actually no I don’t work for GEICO and no I don’t have a risk management degree. But I do know people at GEICO and at Progressive and they are good at what they do.
You may be one of the few, but a lot of agents are not there when you need them (mine was always at the golf course) and instead I was to deal with the “assistant” who didn’t know what was going on.
Customer satisfaction rates are great for agencies and they are great for GEICO too (From what I’ve been told).
Instead of wasting time bad mouthing you should spend time assisting your clients. AFter all, I know my friends at GEICO and Progressive probably don’t read this mess anyway — they’re too busy working.
Thanks for proving the unprofessional and uinformed status of the call center reps of Geico and Progressive. How many of these reps work at each call center? And you say that you know “a couple” who actually know what their talking about and have college degrees!! That’s exactly the point that out of the 50 or 100 call center reps that there may be answering the phone the percentages of getting someone who actually knows anything about insurance is remote. You should also give heed to what the person who wrote about agents knowing best. They were right on in how agents are the “real person” point of contact day and night for their customer base. They live locally and have business cards with their cell phone numbers to be reached on anytime anyday. Say what ever you want but you have to admit that customers are always going to be more satisfied with a real person and local agent to deal with. And deal with this also. Geico’s customer satisfaction ratings don’t come from an outside third party nonbiased source that they are always raving about in their constant barrage of ridiculous cavemen and talking lizard commercials. That stat comes from them . I don’t think that counts for much. Their commercials reflect the IQ of their employees and most time their customers. That fact came directly to me from someone who works for Geico. Get real and get real people involved and dont’ defend a bad system of doing business. You can’t fix it.
I think we have lost sight of the topic a bit. The article relates only to *BUYER* satisfaction, not overall customer satisfaction. I don’t think anyone’s really arguing that it’s better to buy online or from a call center when servicing of the policy is involved. Of course a local agent who knows your name and situation is better than dealing with “Agent #257” in a huge call center.
The question is whether or not a buyer can be satisfied during the policy purchase process by a licensed and experienced agent, even if they work in a call center. My feeling is that most of you think there is no such thing as an experienced call center agent, or that there are very few of them, which means the customer won’t get what they need.
I don’t know that I agree in every situation, but probably in general that’s true. I wonder, though, about independent general agencies that sell for multiple carriers. What do you think about their call centers?
article by our friends in the legal profession how badly some of these companies rated for customer service? Now an article about how great some of the same companies are? What crap.
Also, I interviewed a young lady for a csr position in my office. She worked for a direct writer who only writes in my state, but has a great reputation with their clients. I asked her why she wanted to leave them and work for me. She told me the carrier requires csr’s to average six minute calls, and those csr’s who were on the phone TOO LONG with their clients were given undesirable shifts (weekends, nights, holidays). She told me she liked insurance, and liked to help people, but felt she was unable to do so satisfactorily under those conditions.
Lastly, I believe Geico has been running at an expense ratio loss for 3 or 4 years due to very expensive advertising. They lose clients after they experience claims with Geico. Geico has done this before a few times, and they’ll do it again in ten or so years. Its called the Geico cycle, whereby the following occur:
1) they advertise like crazy that they are cheaper, even if they are not.
2) advertising entices a record number of shoppers (see the above article – record shoppers)
3) lapse can goes up due to bad claims handling.
4) like cooking spaghetti, some sticks, especially those who have not had claims.
5) regular companies use the next ten years to pick Geico clean, because of poor service and rates that ARE NOT LOW.
Sorry to ramble – been without computer for ten days.
Shawn,
I have been a licensed agent for over 30 years. I have found call centers can work better sometimes and agencies work better sometimes. Neither is perfect nor is the local agent always informed of all statutory changes in their state due to membership in a weak association looking to make money off of CE only. I own agencies and work at call centers. I have build call centers and they can work well when everyone cares and tries to retain the business. Whoever said Buffet is not doing so well is just as uninformed as half the posters here.
Do not lump everyone in the same basket as you will be surprised if you visit my call center…
Shawn,
I have been a licensed agent for over 30 years. I have found call centers can work better sometimes and agencies work better sometimes. Neither is perfect nor is the local agent always informed of all statutory changes in their state due to membership in a weak association looking to make money off of CE only. I own agencies and work at call centers. I have build call centers and they can work well when everyone cares and tries to retain the business. Whoever said Buffet is not doing so well is just as uninformed as half the posters here.
Do not lump everyone in the same basket as you will be surprised if you visit my call center…
I am an insurance professional. I started as a call center representative in 1989 with a direct marketing company. A lot has changed since then. The call center is good for processing policy changes and sometimes for billing questions. That’s it. If a client wants to be sure they are working with someone who knows what they are doing & can make good recommendations based on their needs – see a brick & mortar agent. Call center agents cannot take the time to do a thorough review. When I left the call center setting in 2001, the average call was 3 minutes. If I spoke to less than 10 people per hour, management had a problem. I now work for an independent agent. If you just want a price, check the internet. If you want professional service – go to an agent’s office, meet the agent, get a review.
I have been fascinated for some time with people who think they can buy insurance at call centers and on line like they would buy a book. This is a complicated product that requires a professional to make proper recommendations for proper coverage. If you don’t you may not have proper coverage for the exposure.
When standard terms are “Full Coverage” and “Comprehensive Coverage” it is easy to see how many consumers can get confused as to what is really covered and not. If the true meanings of thoes terms are not defined, how can an informed decision be made?
I think there are good uses of a call center. My agency subsribes to the call centers of our carriers. Clients can call them after hours and put in a claim or check that their payment was received. Passed that there is not enough knowledge of the individual clients needs to help make informed decisions.
I find it is hard for clients to lie to you when you call them by name and ask how the wife and kids are. How many call center direct writers can do that?
I think the type of insurance coverage you are shopping for is a main consideration in choosing a online direct insurer vs. the brick and mortar agent. Personal auto coverage is pretty straight forward coverage and if you have been purchasing coverage for many years you know what kind of coverage and limits you need.
However if you are purchasing homeowners coverage you should have a local agent who is familiar with the housing and building costs in your area.
I’ve wracked my brain and come up with a pretty good analogy for what we in the insurance industry do. We sell “Life Preservers”… call them Flotation Devices, Bulletproof Vests, Parachutes; I don’t care. But I certainly don’t want to see people buying Flotation Devices, Bulletproof Vests or Parachutes from someone who cannot or will not take the time to make sure the item “works” and “fits”, to carry the analogy through to its conclusion.
Comments were made by AZ ins man who has developed call centers he is proud of and feels they service customers well. He said I should not be too sure of myself when call center reps are capable “sometimes” of assisting customers like an agent can. I think you made the point Az Ins man. Sometimes translates into about 5% of the time. See the other comments since my last posting. You even have evidence from those who work in call centers from years that they are mostly only good for checking payment status ( sometimes) and doing changes. If your call centers are in your estimation better than average then you would be the exception and not the rule so what we are talking about is overall you get 95% unprofessional and uninformed people trying to pretend to be licensed insurance reps when they cannot and will not ever replace an agent. Like has been mentioned already it is amazing to me that purchasing insurance online and over the phone has been reduced to such a practice as this and advertised as some kind of greate service?? Do we do that with legal services, dentist’s , doctors , accountants ect. . If insurance is not just as professional of a field as any of those why should we be encouraging customers that they can figure this out for themself online or with some call center rep who is 95% incompetent!! Thanks for making my point Az ins man.
This issue is nothing new. It’s the old school of sales… Stack it high & sell it cheap or offer quality value added product & good service. The economy & job situation is not good for many now so cost is a main factor. What I can share about Ins. cost is that rates in all companies go in cycles. In times of good rates they gain lots of business, claims go up, and in time the cost increases.
I see much less loyalty in the business these days as there is so much competition & options. I combat that by treating my clients like royalty and let them know constantly how much I appreciate their business. The primary reason I enjoy good retention by my insureds is that they know I care about them! You don’t get that off the internet…
to the previous comment I would say that from studies done and my 13 years of experience as an agent those who do know the “tricky language” are in the minority at approximately 10% so take the other 90% and you do the rest of the math. People do not understand nor do they have it explained to them and I am continually educating those who have never had a real person sit down with them and go over what their getting for what their paying and allow them choices to tailor their coverage to their needs and situation. Many of these people have been left uncovered because all they were ever told by the online companies is “you have full coverage” and didn’t know that didn’t mean rental car, zero deductible glass, med pay ect. . It just doesn’t happen or ever will on a consistent basis without “real people” intervention. Go ahead and keep trying though and take your chances.
It’s my understanding that statistics indicate that it’s the insureds who switch often that have the highest number of claims. The longer an insured is with a single company the better the claim experience. That may just be the experiennce of my company, but I don’t think so.
nothing will ever replace the real people concept of providing insurance to the public no matter how much the call center and vending machine type insurance companies try. Wether that appeals to the insureds out there more or not only speaks to the recognition of the value of an agent based company. If the public continually becomes more and more short sighted thinking somehow they are benefeiting themself in the short term will end up costing them self more in the long run than if they stayed with one company and exhibited some loyalty and patience instead of being an immediate gratification type of society. If the only thing that determines who people have their insurance with is price then they will become serial switchers and as mentioned by the previous persons comments those type of people have more claims and cause a huge unprofitablity in the industry. Don’t ever think that computerized, automated, call center type service and phone systems will ever replace dealing with a real person and having an established realtionship , understanding and genuine interest and knowledge of each person’s needs and best interests. Nuff Said!!!
I aggree with both comments. An agent can be a valuable resource to a customer by explaining things like risk, liability, and coverages. In addition, the agent can tell the insured what to expect when a claim is submitted.
Some people who frequently “jump” carriers or are bottom feeders for low premiums and don’t understand the basic tenants of insurance are often “dis-satisfied” when they have a claim because they are clueless. The other component in “satisfaction” is the competency of the claims representive in creating and meeting expectations.
Erie ?
Did you ever get that eerie feeling ?
It happens when you get your renewal
We all agree about, and the study illustrates, the value of an agent and why satisfaction is greater with policies purchaed with the help of an agency than directly purchased policies. Those who shop directly mainly for low advertised prices and don’t do their homework are bound to be disappointed sometime, especially if they think all policies are the same. Unfortunately, the business has become commodicized and companies seeking direct customers have trained them to think of buying insurance as the same as buying any other commodity, although people probably put more care in buying a TV than their insurance, which potentially has a greater affect on their well-being.
Time will tell.
I think that the prior posts have made the assumption that consumers aren’t intelligent enough to shop and compare coverages of internet based direct sales companies.
I personally purchase my auto coverage from an online company and have been very pleased with both customer service and claims handling (my husband was rear ended). I reviewed several web based carriers as well as getting a quote from a local agent. I compared coveages and prices and found that my best choice was the internet based comapny.
I believe that you are being short sighted if you don’t give your customers enough credit. Most people can read and compare. I know the language can be a bit tricky. I bet you have many customers that are quite capable of meeting the challenge…don’t sell them short.
What about online only companies that use licensed agents in their call center?
The internet purchased policies I replace are written at lower limits of liability for people who have something to lose financially not to mention an underinsured claim reduction should the need arise. Thing of an online purchase as getting you medical needs met over the internet by DR DR.com. My favorite advertising slogan on our local airways is”minimum limits for minimum prices”. The add shows afamily of four with 2 small children in a new auto. I for one think ther is a very large deficiency of national advertising to promote the counsel and purchase of insurance from a local professional. On a side note, my CSR”s are licensed but they are not comfortable in selling insurance. For this need we have sales people.
In my company’s call center, both our sales agents and service counselors are licensed and trained to coverage counsel. With that said, most consumers find it easier to lie to a computer than to lie to a real person. Before the whole gas crisis started, we had 50% of our internet customers claim that they drive less than 3000 miles a year when the national average is more like 12000-14000. Only 25% of our call center customers made that same claim.
If all of your CSRs are licensed insurance agents, is customer satisfaction greater with purchases through your call center agents, local agents, or online?
If big companies like GEICO (#3) didn’t do a good job providing excellent service while offering great rates, they wouldn’t be #3. Not having a local agent everywhere isn’t necessarily a bad thing. They are obviously a great company and can’t be #1 because they still can’t compete with the State Farm and Allstate’s who insure folks that have been with them for 30 or so years.
Most insurance customers don’t even know enough to realize they don’t have a clue about insurance, let alone all the exemptions & policy language varieties from company to company.
So, they buy whatever is cheapest, thinking that what they are buying is the same regardless of which company they buy from…. and then they have a claim and are dissatisfied because they got what they paid for. And suddenly all insurance companies are bad and out to screw them.
I would agree with their award Mr. Joe. Eerie? I went to my local agent, who was very professional and explained the coverages on my auto and home and the advantages that ERIE provides. Guaranteed replacement cost on the dwelling? Phenomenal…so unlike you, I am not “Weary of Erie” and actually I am “Cheery that I am with ERIE”
A vast majority of the call center reps who are licensed are in their 20’s and have never previously done insurance and have a very high turn over. So the real question of licensing becomes just because they can pass a test yet have no applicable experience to use with that text book knowledge really does very little good. I have spoken to many call center reps from other companies and it is very evident that they really don’t have half a clue. I have called Geico to inform them when I know a customer of mine has lied to them and not disclosed a driver in the household that has a bad record because I have seen them reward the customer with a very low premium and are obviously unaware of all the facts . I have been stunned by the lack of common sense exhibited by these call center reps who refuse this information and sound like programmed robots that can only speak in canned terminology by saying “i’m sorry I cannot discuss this customers information with you”?? Duh, I wasn’t asking for information I was trying to give you very helpful information that the customer didn’t when they lied to you. These type of “licensed” reps have extremely high turn over and no clue about how to apply their text book knowledge in the real world of insurance and underwriting policies correctly. Why is Berkshire Hathaway in so much deep doo doo these days. Hmmmmmm .
You are right on target shawn. I remember passing a licencing test for life & health and another for P & C right out of college and not really knowing anything about the business at all. Licensing is no big guarantee of expertise. If you are going to treat buying insurance like buying books on line you are asking not to be covered properly. Insurance is not just another commodity.
Just because an agent chooses to work for GEICO or Progressive or any call center for that matter (I believe Allstate has one too) doesn’t mean that they are not knowledgeable about insurance. I know of several agents with risk management degrees from reputable colleges that they actually attended (not online) that work for GEICO and Progressive. You are using lame excuses. GEICO does provide whatever coverage one needs and the agent makes sure it is adequate coverage. They can only trust what the customer tells them. A customer walking through your door can lie to you just as easily as they can on the phone to an agent. The real problem is that those two companies are stealing business from you.
Hey, “What,”
You ought not make it so obvious that you work for Geico and have a risk management degree (attended not online).
Yes, agents can be lied to, but it is much harder when someone is looking you in the face and you can see the car they just drove into the parking lot (one of the reasons I don’t do phone quotes).
Do you ever talk to the same customer twice (on purpose)? Can they call you at home if they need something? Do you forget about your clients’ NEEDS when you go home at night?
Agents know their clients, worry for and about them and see them at the store.
Actually no I don’t work for GEICO and no I don’t have a risk management degree. But I do know people at GEICO and at Progressive and they are good at what they do.
You may be one of the few, but a lot of agents are not there when you need them (mine was always at the golf course) and instead I was to deal with the “assistant” who didn’t know what was going on.
Customer satisfaction rates are great for agencies and they are great for GEICO too (From what I’ve been told).
Instead of wasting time bad mouthing you should spend time assisting your clients. AFter all, I know my friends at GEICO and Progressive probably don’t read this mess anyway — they’re too busy working.
Thanks for proving the unprofessional and uinformed status of the call center reps of Geico and Progressive. How many of these reps work at each call center? And you say that you know “a couple” who actually know what their talking about and have college degrees!! That’s exactly the point that out of the 50 or 100 call center reps that there may be answering the phone the percentages of getting someone who actually knows anything about insurance is remote. You should also give heed to what the person who wrote about agents knowing best. They were right on in how agents are the “real person” point of contact day and night for their customer base. They live locally and have business cards with their cell phone numbers to be reached on anytime anyday. Say what ever you want but you have to admit that customers are always going to be more satisfied with a real person and local agent to deal with. And deal with this also. Geico’s customer satisfaction ratings don’t come from an outside third party nonbiased source that they are always raving about in their constant barrage of ridiculous cavemen and talking lizard commercials. That stat comes from them . I don’t think that counts for much. Their commercials reflect the IQ of their employees and most time their customers. That fact came directly to me from someone who works for Geico. Get real and get real people involved and dont’ defend a bad system of doing business. You can’t fix it.
I think we have lost sight of the topic a bit. The article relates only to *BUYER* satisfaction, not overall customer satisfaction. I don’t think anyone’s really arguing that it’s better to buy online or from a call center when servicing of the policy is involved. Of course a local agent who knows your name and situation is better than dealing with “Agent #257” in a huge call center.
The question is whether or not a buyer can be satisfied during the policy purchase process by a licensed and experienced agent, even if they work in a call center. My feeling is that most of you think there is no such thing as an experienced call center agent, or that there are very few of them, which means the customer won’t get what they need.
I don’t know that I agree in every situation, but probably in general that’s true. I wonder, though, about independent general agencies that sell for multiple carriers. What do you think about their call centers?
article by our friends in the legal profession how badly some of these companies rated for customer service? Now an article about how great some of the same companies are? What crap.
Also, I interviewed a young lady for a csr position in my office. She worked for a direct writer who only writes in my state, but has a great reputation with their clients. I asked her why she wanted to leave them and work for me. She told me the carrier requires csr’s to average six minute calls, and those csr’s who were on the phone TOO LONG with their clients were given undesirable shifts (weekends, nights, holidays). She told me she liked insurance, and liked to help people, but felt she was unable to do so satisfactorily under those conditions.
Lastly, I believe Geico has been running at an expense ratio loss for 3 or 4 years due to very expensive advertising. They lose clients after they experience claims with Geico. Geico has done this before a few times, and they’ll do it again in ten or so years. Its called the Geico cycle, whereby the following occur:
1) they advertise like crazy that they are cheaper, even if they are not.
2) advertising entices a record number of shoppers (see the above article – record shoppers)
3) lapse can goes up due to bad claims handling.
4) like cooking spaghetti, some sticks, especially those who have not had claims.
5) regular companies use the next ten years to pick Geico clean, because of poor service and rates that ARE NOT LOW.
Sorry to ramble – been without computer for ten days.
Shawn,
I have been a licensed agent for over 30 years. I have found call centers can work better sometimes and agencies work better sometimes. Neither is perfect nor is the local agent always informed of all statutory changes in their state due to membership in a weak association looking to make money off of CE only. I own agencies and work at call centers. I have build call centers and they can work well when everyone cares and tries to retain the business. Whoever said Buffet is not doing so well is just as uninformed as half the posters here.
Do not lump everyone in the same basket as you will be surprised if you visit my call center…
Shawn,
I have been a licensed agent for over 30 years. I have found call centers can work better sometimes and agencies work better sometimes. Neither is perfect nor is the local agent always informed of all statutory changes in their state due to membership in a weak association looking to make money off of CE only. I own agencies and work at call centers. I have build call centers and they can work well when everyone cares and tries to retain the business. Whoever said Buffet is not doing so well is just as uninformed as half the posters here.
Do not lump everyone in the same basket as you will be surprised if you visit my call center…
I am an insurance professional. I started as a call center representative in 1989 with a direct marketing company. A lot has changed since then. The call center is good for processing policy changes and sometimes for billing questions. That’s it. If a client wants to be sure they are working with someone who knows what they are doing & can make good recommendations based on their needs – see a brick & mortar agent. Call center agents cannot take the time to do a thorough review. When I left the call center setting in 2001, the average call was 3 minutes. If I spoke to less than 10 people per hour, management had a problem. I now work for an independent agent. If you just want a price, check the internet. If you want professional service – go to an agent’s office, meet the agent, get a review.
I have been fascinated for some time with people who think they can buy insurance at call centers and on line like they would buy a book. This is a complicated product that requires a professional to make proper recommendations for proper coverage. If you don’t you may not have proper coverage for the exposure.
When standard terms are “Full Coverage” and “Comprehensive Coverage” it is easy to see how many consumers can get confused as to what is really covered and not. If the true meanings of thoes terms are not defined, how can an informed decision be made?
I think there are good uses of a call center. My agency subsribes to the call centers of our carriers. Clients can call them after hours and put in a claim or check that their payment was received. Passed that there is not enough knowledge of the individual clients needs to help make informed decisions.
I find it is hard for clients to lie to you when you call them by name and ask how the wife and kids are. How many call center direct writers can do that?
I think the type of insurance coverage you are shopping for is a main consideration in choosing a online direct insurer vs. the brick and mortar agent. Personal auto coverage is pretty straight forward coverage and if you have been purchasing coverage for many years you know what kind of coverage and limits you need.
However if you are purchasing homeowners coverage you should have a local agent who is familiar with the housing and building costs in your area.
I’ve wracked my brain and come up with a pretty good analogy for what we in the insurance industry do. We sell “Life Preservers”… call them Flotation Devices, Bulletproof Vests, Parachutes; I don’t care. But I certainly don’t want to see people buying Flotation Devices, Bulletproof Vests or Parachutes from someone who cannot or will not take the time to make sure the item “works” and “fits”, to carry the analogy through to its conclusion.
Comments were made by AZ ins man who has developed call centers he is proud of and feels they service customers well. He said I should not be too sure of myself when call center reps are capable “sometimes” of assisting customers like an agent can. I think you made the point Az Ins man. Sometimes translates into about 5% of the time. See the other comments since my last posting. You even have evidence from those who work in call centers from years that they are mostly only good for checking payment status ( sometimes) and doing changes. If your call centers are in your estimation better than average then you would be the exception and not the rule so what we are talking about is overall you get 95% unprofessional and uninformed people trying to pretend to be licensed insurance reps when they cannot and will not ever replace an agent. Like has been mentioned already it is amazing to me that purchasing insurance online and over the phone has been reduced to such a practice as this and advertised as some kind of greate service?? Do we do that with legal services, dentist’s , doctors , accountants ect. . If insurance is not just as professional of a field as any of those why should we be encouraging customers that they can figure this out for themself online or with some call center rep who is 95% incompetent!! Thanks for making my point Az ins man.
This issue is nothing new. It’s the old school of sales… Stack it high & sell it cheap or offer quality value added product & good service. The economy & job situation is not good for many now so cost is a main factor. What I can share about Ins. cost is that rates in all companies go in cycles. In times of good rates they gain lots of business, claims go up, and in time the cost increases.
I see much less loyalty in the business these days as there is so much competition & options. I combat that by treating my clients like royalty and let them know constantly how much I appreciate their business. The primary reason I enjoy good retention by my insureds is that they know I care about them! You don’t get that off the internet…