Direct Insurance Marketing Dateline: 11/10/97 As an owner of an independent insurance agency, I tend to focus on the issues and topics of interest to that segment of the insurance industry. This week I thought we'd take a quick look at another segment of the market, the direct marketer. The focus of this week's feature will be direct marketing giant . No doubt you've heard of Warren Buffet. He's the mega-investor behind the Berkshire Hathaway investment company. But were you aware that Mr. Buffet has assembled an insurance powerhouse within Berkshire Hathaway? Berkshire is the majority shareholder in the National Indemnity Insurance Group, and also wholly owns . Background is a direct marketer and underwriter of auto and motorcycle insurance. They also market homeowners, condos, and renters policies through Insurance Counselors, Inc., which is a owned insurance agency. is famous for marketing to government employees, but all of their products are available to the general public. is the second largest direct marketer of auto insurance in the United States. Phone Sales began, and continues, to mainly sell their products direct to consumer through a 1-800 number. The consumer calls and talks to a representative who does a quick survey and gives a rate. An application is mailed to the consumer for a signature and return before a policy is issued. policyholder service is done by phone and is available 24 hours a day. contends that eliminating the "middle man" (agent), results in lower costs to the consumer. Net Sales now has a web page in addition to their 800#. The web page has a survey form the consumer can fill out online and submit for a quote. The survey takes 5-10 minutes depending on the amount of information supplied and speed of connection. A reply is emailed, and the quote and an application are mailed. The survey covers the basics: drivers, vehicles, occupations, usage, driving and claims history. It was easy to fill out, and is submitted using secure server (ssl) technology to ensure privacy (providing the user's browser supports ssl). Policyholders can also request policy serves from the home page. Here they can request to add, change, or remove a vehicle once they have verified their identity through policy number and/or social security number. Claims are handled by phone. There is claim information and FAQ's available online, but no online reporting options. Bottom Line The process seems fine for a knowledgeable consumer who knows what they want, and is aware of what they are purchasing. However, I have some problems with the whole concept. There is no counseling going on here. is acting as an order taker. If the insured requests 50/100/50 limits, that's what they get. Never mind if they have a net worth in the millions and really should be carrying higher limits. Or perhaps the insured has no primary health coverage, and should consider carrying higher medical payments limits. Maybe the insured has a company vehicle, or one of a dozen other situations in which they should consider carrying extended non-owned auto coverage. You get my point, there is no in-depth exploration of the insured's situation here. While it may be argued that an agent may not necessarily ask about these situations, a good one will. These are the types of needs only an in-depth knowledge of the insured's individual situation can ascertain, and I question whether it is being done through a short online survey or phone questionnaire Direct Marketer's home page. (www..com) National Indemnity Another Berkshire Hathaway insurance company. (www.nationalindemnity.com) Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffet empire's home page. (www.berkshirehathaway.com) Have any comments you'd like to share about this subject? Send me some feedback on it.
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Search Engines: Excite,Infoseek,Alta-Vista,Lycos,Hotbot