Insurance Industry Must Revolutionize To Survive

admin — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 21:00:23 +0000

People are not as stupid as they used to be. The hard sell no longer works. People understand the sales process better and they demand value for their money. The Internet age is taking its toll on the dinosaurs who are still in the information age and think that sales is a numbers game. The world is now in the communication age and sales are on auto-pilot.

Thankfully for everyone else in the business of offering consumers investment options, insurance agents are being trained the same way in this post-Internet period as they were in the pre-Internet period. The Internet has changed the game drastically and so too the insurance industry needs to change drastically if it is to survive.

At many insurance companies the recruitment and training process remains obsolete. Trainees are told that for every no they get, a yes draws closer. They are told that they need to develop tough skin and be prepared for any rough treatment that may come their way. The truth that fortunately they don’t seem to know yet is that bad treatment is a symptom of a poor sales strategy.

The insurance agent who applies traditional sales tactics on the most non-traditional sales prospects – which most people with buying power are fast becoming thanks to the Internet – will meet with bitter rejection. A “no” is bad in itself but the type of disdain that will make the prospect never want to buy anything of any kind from the seller again will also sink in.

People know that when they are asked about their families, birthdays and to hand over other “joyful” information, the sales person is just collecting data that would help the seller to sell. In most circles that would be viewed as despicably low. Offering to perform oral sex on the prospect might yield better results.

The new and only way to effectively sell anything in this day and age is to set up a system that allows people to buy preferably automatically. This does not have to be an e-commerce store although that would indeed help. The secret is to make one’s offer easy to find and aim to be at the top of the search results. This does not necessarily have anything to do with search engines. Looking at the bigger picture, what it means is that buyers – potential customers – are now in pull mode. One needs to find out where they are looking and place oneself there attractively but unobtrusively.

By: Aleem Khan

Auto Insurance Student Driver

admin — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 04:43:31 +0000

There are many issues, concerns, and considerations when thinking about automobile insurance for a student. Many of them have to do with discounts and savings, some have to do with options on coverages. Let’s dive in.

If the student is just getting their driver’s license, the parents can expect to see a hike in their insurance premiums. These hikes historically have been greater for boys than girls (though statistically girls are proving to have more accidents, so this trend is reversing). It is not unheard of for premium rates to increase as much as 50 to 100 percent. Yes, you read that correctly.

That leads to one of the primary courses of action one should take (whether you’re adding a student driver to your policy or not), and that is to do some comparison shopping. Not all insurance providers are created equal and one of the greatest differences may not become apparent until you see how they handle drivers in the 16 to 25 age range. It could pay you greatly to take the time and comparison shop.

The insurance industry is all a numbers game. That is they have researched which types of people tend to be better drivers (have less accidents and claims) than others. They have found a correlation between good grades in school and fewer accidents. Therefore, if a student maintains a B average they can qualify for a “good student discount” which may be as much as 5 to 10%.

Driver’s education program have become pretty much standard fare. Discounts do apply. Some states require such courses for a teen to get their license at age 16, otherwise, it will be at age 18. Driver’s education can provide a discount of up to15%.

Related to a driver’s education program is the safe driving programs that are specifically tied to some insurance providers. Some insurance companies offer their own driver’s safety program. Teens who apply for a complete these programs can qualify for another discount of up to 15%. Check with your insurance provider, or, this may be a consideration when doing your comparison shopping.

Another consideration that can greatly affect automobile insurance premium rates has to the with the car itself. Younger drivers (and many older ones) are greatly enamored with a certain kind of car – their dream car. Many times that translates into much higher premium rates. Cars with more safety features and less horsepower can be much less expensive to insure.

One final insurance matter that often applies to students has to do with short term auto insurance. Of course, the cheapest option is for a student not to be a full-time insured driver. That’s not always possible, but many university students can get by without having or using a car regularly. But the time does come when that person is going to have to drive. Temporary insurance can be secured for as short a time as one (1) day and up to twenty-eight (28) days. That may just fit the bill for a university student needing to drive home for a break or the end of a semester.

By: David Deffenbaugh

Auto insurance » Numbers Game

Insurance Industry Must Revolutionize To Survive

Auto Insurance Student Driver