Everyone knows you can lead consumers to an insurance agent, but you cant make them buy policies. What isnt so well known, though, is what transpires in the interim was the lead a good one, or did the agent even follow up?
The Hartford began using an agent locator system on its Web site (www.thehartford.com) in 1998. It found the solution it wanted from InfoNow, a channel management solutions provider. Dave Guadliana, manager of new program development for The Hartford, says the system performed what The Hartford asked of it. The consumers would input their address, and back would come a listing of agents in their area, he says. It would also show a map of the location. That worked fine, but over a period of time, we felt it would be nice to facilitate the consumers getting in touch with the agents.
The original solution from InfoNow gave information to the consumer on how to contact the agent but did not assist that contact. Nor did it have a report function to let The Hartford know if the agent had made contact with the consumer. The company felt it was important to upgrade this service, Guadliana says, as an example of how The Hartford was helping agents grow their businesses by making it easier to sell The Hartford products.
In late 2000, the contract between The Hartford and InfoNow was up for renewal. The Hartford explained its needs, Guadliana says, and InfoNow agreed to work with the carrier on a solution to close the loop between consumers and agents. A module was developed to add to the existing locator. We had a good relationship with InfoNow, says Guadliana. Its proposal met our needs, both in terms of our budget and our business needs.
As the module was being developed, customized changes were added based on The Hartfords recommendations. We talked about all the items that could be added, and we set up a project plan, Guadliana says. A project manager from The Hartford submitted the business rules to govern how the lead-generation system would operate.
One aspect of the new system was to improve the quality of the leads the Web site was generating for the agents. A set of questions would pop up once the consumer clicked on the locator. The questions included what product the consumer was interested in, the current carrier being used, and the expiration date for the current policy.
There were other tweaks to the system as well. Once the consumer requested an agent, that agent would have 24 business hours to respond to the lead. If the agent failed to do so, the lead would then be passed on to the next agent in line. There was also an e-mail contact sent to both the consumer and the agent.
Details on the lead could be retrieved through The Hartfords extranet for its agents. That data included what type of policy the consumer was looking for. We wanted this to be an easy process to retrieve the lead, Guadliana says. It also met our goal of giving our agents a one-stop business site.
The system allows the carrier to keep track of what the agents are doing with the leads. There is a lead status area that allows the agents to explain if a product was sold based on that lead.
Response from the agents has been overwhelmingly positive, Guadliana reports. They like the fact that it is easy to retrieve the information. Plus, it improves on the quality of the lead, he says. Knowing the expiration date of the current policy is helpful to the agents. For policies with an expiration date more than one month away, agents have the option to activate an e-mail notification system to advise them when a policy is 30 days prior to its final month. Robert Regis Hyle
The Problem: The need to follow up on leads generated by Personal Insurance Agent Locator on Web site.
The Company: The Hartford Financial Services Group
Lines: P&C and life products
2001 revenues: $15.1 billion
Web site: www.thehartford.com
The Software: Personal Insurance Agency Locator by InfoNow
Web site: www.infonow.com
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