It's a fact: We must make the insurance customer experience online and offline more efficient, which often translates to a reduced transaction time. Personal lines is the principal battlefield, but this happens more often in commercial lines as well, especially for small businesses. Even with agents and insurers available to address product questions, resources seem more dedicated to pushing consumers to purchase without conveying a solid understanding of the product and its limitations.

This isn't intentional. But in the quest to ensure that we limit the insurance-buying transaction time to meet consumer demand, we mistakently assume that the customer reads the contract and fully understands its limits.

The flooding arising from Super Storm Sandy made the importance of “what is covered” painfully clear. The increased frequency and severity of wind, floods, extreme cold, hail, and fire is motivating consumers to focus on the fine print of their policies. In light of current weather patterns, we are likely to see more tension and misunderstanding between consumers, agents and insurers.