Four reasons why 'modern' agencies were better prepared for COVID-19
'Modern' agencies are advancing past 'old school' operations in the COVID-19 era.
It’s not too late. If you feel like you’re agency is falling behind, you just might be right.
Change was zipping along before, but COVID-19 has put that change on turbo.
Again, it’s not too late.
But, if you slip into the standard pre-pandemic mindset of most agencies, it will be. That mindset caused a big ‘knowing-doing’ gap in agency performance. In other words, they knew the world was changing but didn’t do much about it. Because, after all, Tuesday felt like Monday. Wednesday felt like Tuesday, and the weeks slip by as they turn into months and years. And tens of thousands of agencies found themselves flat-footed.
The pandemic, of course, was hard to predict.
But the tools to succeed were sitting there in front of the industry — waiting to be picked up.
Some did, and they are charging ahead.
They didn’t pick up those tools because they were preparing for a pandemic. They picked up those tools because they made them better. Much better. You can pick them up, too. (If not now, when?)
Here are four reasons that ‘modern’ insurance agencies were better prepared for COVID-19. And, they are the four reasons why they’re shooting ahead while so many others are busy pulling their head from the sand.
1. Modern agencies are more adaptable.
Remember, it’s adaptability — not strength or speed — that Darwin noted as the key to survival.
Where I live, deep in the desert, adaptability stares you in the face. For a world with almost no water, life thrives. Why? Small or no leaves restrict the transpiration of water. Stickers make it hard for other species to extract that water. And, massive proliferation increases the odds of species survival. (Think bunnies; we have lots.)
This industry has rewarded practitioners with a ‘lifestyle’ business — a hidden gem in the industrial landscape that supported a stable living without much risk.
It’s been like that for some generations.
Those days are over. Turbulence has caused more of a ‘startup’ landscape with waves of unpredictability.
That ‘startup’ mentality is a hallmark to the modern agency. They already mastered the heart of change.
The coronavirus landscape is a tough place to play. But for modern agencies, it’s their home court.
2. Modern agencies embraced technology.
They were early adopters. They bought technologies, mastered them, made some mistakes, threw some out, and bought some more.
They knew that, as software would “eat the world,” it would surely “eat insurance’ — and it is. Tools make work easier. Sometimes by ten-times or more.
The difference between a handsaw and a power-saw is one of magnitude. You wouldn’t hire a contractor to build your house with hand tools.
The modern insurance consumer doesn’t want you showing up with yesterday’s toolbox, either.
Technology allows you to move faster. Today, speed isn’t just a faster way to execute strategy — speed is strategy.
This leads to the following two reasons.
3. Modern agencies were already remote.
Or, at least, ‘remote-ready.’
Remote work was not an idea that arose because “COVID-19 made me do it.”
Remote work is at least a 10-year-old trend. It started to eat the edges of brick and mortar a long time ago. Millennials and Gen Xers demanded it, and tools made it possible.
Some industries adopted it, and a minority of agencies did, too.
4. Modern agencies were able to communicate with their clients in the midst of crisis.
When customers were anxious and uncertain, modern agencies could be there for them to deliver some confidence — some assurance.
This isn’t a new idea, either. Some agencies were doing this in Superstorm Sandy eight years ago. (And, that’s more than 10 years after many industries adopted modern communication tools.)
It’s often said that “this is a relationship business.” Indeed, it is. But if you haven’t invested in the tools to bring those relationships to life, you haven’t really invested in the idea, either.
There’s one more reason slightly hidden from view.
Yes, modern agencies are faster. They have the right tools; they have the culture to support the use of those tools and support the speed of change.
But how did that happen? They had a LEADER that made it happen.
So, no, it’s not too late. But, soon it will be. And it really starts with one thing —the fifth reason. Someone decides to LEAD the agency into the modern age of insurance.
Who will that be in your agency?
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