Topics Covered

The general topic is insurance industry technology and agency automation. Here’s what you can expect me to report and comment on more specifically.

Industry news, studies, and surveys
Association news and issues
User group news and issues
Insurance Web sites, generally
Agency Web sites, specifically
General Internet news and trends
Web site design and content
Using Web sites for marketing
Insurance consumer issues
Organizational culture
Staff training and technology utilization

Some comments to get you thinking

For nearly 20 years, I’ve observed and written about many different insurance industry issues. I’ve also formulated some opinions. Here are a few of them.

Industry studies and surveys

Every year dozens of surveys are taken by various groups in the insurance industry. If you take the time to locate, read, and study them, you can usually learn something useful that can be applied to your situation and decision-making.

While I enjoy reading them, industry surveys sometimes disappoint. Some survey samplings are small, which tend to produce conclusions that may not accurately represent the opinions of the much larger, non-surveyed group. Many quickly dismiss surveys — “Ugh, another survey” — and fail to participate in them. Also, too many in the industry press simply regurgitate press releases without thoughtful analysis and commentary. Witness the well-publicized 2002 AUGIE survey but lack of press commentary about the results (see my commentary that appeared in Sounding Line).

When it comes to industry studies and surveys, I’m not shy about giving you my analysis, commentary, and opinion. While you’ll have to make up your own mind, you’ll at least know what I think.

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Association news and issues

Most of the large, national industry associations, especially the membership-supported ones, are great self-promoters and generators of press releases. This is not to suggest that these organizations are not worthwhile or are remiss in fulfilling their stated goals.

Rather, I acknowledge that many association press releases do a respectable job at reporting the facts. But I’m quick to point out that most fall short in explaining the significance and relevance of the news they report. As a result, readers are often left wondering, “What does this mean for me?”

I guess association marketing communications people believe that explanations of significance and relevance are the fair game for commentators. That’s fine with me — that’s what I’ll do here and in Sounding Line.

Note that I singled out the large, national industry associations. I do, however, view the smaller state and regional associations differently. Though affiliated with national groups, state and regional associations tend to be more functionally aligned with user groups, and seem more interested in service than self-promotion.

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User group news and issues

I have a soft spot for user groups. I like the grass-roots nature of them. User groups tend to serve the nitty-gritty needs and interests of agency personnel more than any other group.

The people who attend user group meetings somehow seem more real. Perhaps that’s because they are the industry’s direct, front-line link to the insurance consumer. Because of their direct customer involvement, many agency personnel are the beginning and the end of the insurance process. I support user group programs that facilitate that process by providing help, ideas, and support to their members.

Agents have many competing interests, but I observe that many of the smaller user groups and state associations are generally under-supported. That’s a shame. Most of these groups have commendable and informative Web sites that attest to the group’s worthwhile nature. Agents who aren’t involved with their user group are missing out.

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Agency Web sites

I could write a book about agency Web sites. Perhaps I will some day. Agency Web sites represent significant potential, but most agency Web sites — and I’ve looked at over 3,500 of them — are ill conceived, underdeveloped, poorly executed, and severely neglected. To be blunt, many agency Web sites should have never been built in the first place.

There are reasons why many agency Web sites have failed. I wrote about that in Sounding Line (see the reprint article). To make matters worse, certain industry groups urged agents to jump on the Web site bandwagon, but offered little help and know-how for creating an effective Web presence.

If agency Web sites are to be useful and relevant, agents will have to seriously re-think their existing Web presence. An effective agency Web site is not a once-and-done project. Like other automation resources, a Web site is a business tool that needs to be thought out, properly developed, and routinely evaluated and updated.

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Insurance consumer issues

I’m an insurance consumer. So are you. I’m continually amazed by how much rhetoric is directed toward pleasing the customer, yet so few simple customer oriented strategies get implemented.

For example, consumers are sick and tired of automated phone attendants, but that is the norm for most business. It’s as if customer preferences are overlooked and ignored. Clearly, consumers vastly outnumber businesses. How is it, then, that the voices of so many millions go unheard?

Even some industry studies point out the disconnect between agents and their customers when it concerns Web sites. Customers expect their agents to have Web sites and want online access to their account information, but many agents seem reluctant to provide it. Why? Oh well, consumers vote with their wallets and pocketbooks, don’t they?

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Organizational culture

Not every business fails because it runs out of money. Many fail because they lack “spark,” an intangible ingredient that permeates the entire enterprise, its people, its attitudes, its behavior, and its presence. An organization’s culture even touches those outside who come into contact with the organization.

Organizational culture creates an atmosphere or environment that can be sensed, felt, and perceived. It can be either positive or negative. It affects employee morale and translates into how people go about their work. Organizational culture also influences customer perceptions and decision making about doing business with the organization.

So why is organizational culture important? Simply, what you do about it can make the difference between success and failure. Successful businesses cultivate a positive culture; unsuccessful businesses usually neglect it.

Why am I interested in this topic? Because what an organization does about its culture is usually a predictor of customer satisfaction, which ultimately affects the bottom line. See, there’s that customer again. Can’t do business without ’em.

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Staff training and technology utilization

At an industry event several years ago, a number of agents were estimating how much of their management systems’ features were being utilized. One agent guessed 60 percent, another 40 percent, and so on.

These agents were only guessing. Had certain training requirements and internal controls been implemented, they could have known with greater accuracy. Agents spend thousands and thousands on technology, but often have no idea about how it’s utilized or to what extent.

Many managers simply assume their employees know how to use computers and the software that runs on it. You might be surprised to learn that some users still — no kidding — hit the return key when they get to the right-hand edge of the screen.

Staff training and technology utilization are essential elements for getting your money’s worth from the technology tools you buy.

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