The benefits of buying business insurance online
Business owners have more insurance options and flexibility than ever, and working with a trusted brand is a low priority.
In the not-so-distant past, a business owner’s only option for purchasing insurance was to physically travel to a local agent’s office to discuss her options. The agent, often associated with one major carrier, would either find coverage based on available policies or send the owner off to another agent in the area if there were no viable coverage options.
With the emergence of online insurance marketplaces, the landscape for purchasing commercial insurance is quickly evolving. Business owners have more options and flexibility than ever — and they’re looking for new ways to meet their insurance needs.
In fact, working with a trusted brand is a low priority for today’s business insurance customer. In a recent survey conducted by Insureon, a small business insurance marketplace, just 14% of small business owners cited a trusted brand as their primary concern when shopping for coverage. More important are factors like price (32%) and ease of access to information and documents (19%) — benefits inherent to an online experience.
Here are more reasons why business owners are going digital to purchase their business insurance and the benefits that will attract their attention.
Speed and convenience
Business owners are busy people — more than half (63%) work more than 50 hours a week. It’s no surprise that characteristics like convenience (36%), the ability to compare quotes (29%) and speed (17%) are the most frequently cited benefits of purchasing business insurance online, according to the Insureon survey.
It’s crucial for insurance providers to offer an online customer experience that is easy to use, organized and intuitive. This includes educational pages about specific policies, transactional pages for purchases, and a customer portal or dashboard where customers can manage their accounts. A professional online experience conveys an environment of trust and expertise in the space.
Information and resources
Finding the right insurance protection can be challenging for business owners; 75% of American businesses are underinsured, and 40% of small businesses have no insurance at all. Fortunately, online insurance shoppers can find all the information they need — and didn’t know they needed — via online resources.
Consider educational blog posts to educate and engage potential customers. A substantive portfolio of resources positions your brand as a trusted resource that will support customers as their businesses evolve.
Business owners are also looking for information that takes a deeper dive into the particulars of their insurance coverage. Try to define coverage nuances for each location and industry, and you’ll cover a lot of ground.
Customer support
The factor most likely to deter online business insurance buyers is communication. Twenty-four percent of small business owners surveyed by Insureon say they worry they won’t be able to speak to an insurance agent. But just because business owners aren’t sitting face-to-face with agents doesn’t mean they won’t receive the same level of customer service — or better.
Insurers are starting to go beyond the traditional call center to explore emerging technologies. Tools like chatbots and instant messaging offer the possibility of on-demand service to augment agent communications. Bots start by answering basic questions to guide the customer in the right direction before the live agent works with the business owner in a more nuanced way. As a result, customers get the information they need, while avoiding the frustration of traditional customer service interactions.
Online shoppers shouldn’t worry that the human element of business insurance will disappear completely. The detailed, risk-inherent nature of many industries requires humans to review policies and reassure customers. The digital side just makes the experience more efficient for all parties — customer, agent and carrier.
While business owners may be accustomed to buying consumer goods online, they haven’t caught up when it comes to insurance. Insureon’s survey found that just 26% of small business owners say they’ve purchased business insurance online. But more than half (52%) say they’d be open to doing so in the future. It’s up to insurers to demonstrate the value of the online experience to win over a new generation of customers.
Jeff Somers is president of Insureon. He can be reached by sending email to insureon@walkersands.com. These opinions are his own.
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