Wanted: more consumer pressure

The battle “rages” in the insurance industry between the two primary methods of insurance companies conveying their products to consumers.  The first is to outsource product sales and service through agents, and the second is to skip the middleman and relate the insurance company directly with the consumer.

There are pros and cons to each, and experiences good and bad of each, and I’m sure insurance companies perpetually debate which is best.  But I think a day is coming where the consumer will demand a third method, and I can’t wait.

Frankly, I don’t think the industry as a whole does very well with either method, or else the whole insurance experience wouldn’t feel so soul-sucking.  The reason it’s hard to find consumers who value their insurance portfolio like they value their 401(k) is because our industry doesn’t give them reason to feel that way. We’ve done an extremely poor job of thinking like and talking like someone who values what we produce.

But I feel we’re closer to a time when the same old conversations and same old interactions will be abandoned for real value and real impact.  I’m working on it as a small voice in the wilderness, but I think I’ll find a tribe soon enough.

Photo: Rachael McGraw, Seattle Aquarium