What circumstances might convince small-business owners to take a leap of faith and give up their agent or broker to buy insurance coverage directly from a carrier, and what concerns might discourage them from doing so even if they're open to the idea?
Those were two of the key questions we here at the Deloitte Center for Financial Services were looking to answer with our latest small-business research project. In my last blog on Nov. 19, I noted that Deloitte had completed a second study of this key market segment, interviewing 150 buyers from a wide variety of industries and company sizes, pre-screened to include only those who were at least somewhat likely (57%) or very likely (43%) to consider buying direct.
What we learned in our research is that while there is an opportunity for would-be direct sellers to connect with prospects online — especially younger owners of smaller businesses — disintermediating agents won't necessarily be easy, given the nature of the product, the buyer, and the intangible benefits of working with an expert.
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