Carriers that rank high on the Gomez insurance Web site index probably congratulate themselves on their good luck-the result, of course, of hard work, creativity, and spending thousands of dollars (or more). But what if these high-ranking carriers are doing a very good job playing the wrong game? What if Gomez and other Web ranking services have no idea what they're talking about? What if their evaluation criteria are implicitly based on a misunderstanding of the insurance business? What if “winning” means embracing a bankrupt business strategy?
To the extent that Gomez (www.gomez.com) and others assume that carriers that sell through independent agents should create elaborate direct sales or customer service Web site functionality, I believe they are completely mistaken. Independent-agent carriers that achieve a top ranking (or aspire to one) may be far off the track.
Why not sell direct? It will never work. Consumers won't buy that way. (See the August Sounding Line.) Why not provide online customer service directly? Because it confuses the customer and disintermediates the agent, presumably a key carrier business partner. (See the September Sounding Line.)
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