Tuesday’s Post 12/14/11 –  Coming in 2012, independent insurance agents throughout the U.S. will manage to connect with nearly 65 percent of the Auto & Homeowners Insurance Market share they are now missing out on. A large network of Property and Casualty Insurance companies in the US supports the concept for the Internet Consumer Agent Portal LLP (CAP). Most of these Auto Insurance and Homeowners Insurance Companies are affiliates of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (IIABA), commonly called the Big I.  The envisioned online portal will give twenty thousand U.S. insurance agencies the ability to give their customer quotes online for auto and Homeowners  Insurance.  The need for a more comprehensive online presence to offer Auto Insurance Quotes Online came about from the opening left by the Independent Insurance Agency Channel.  The local Brick & Mortar Main Street Insurance Agency has failed to keep up with the most popular means of shopping for auto insurance – the World Wide Web.   CAP in conjunction with Big I and Trusted Choice will conduct a branding campaign together.  This will certainly help boost the market share for local independent agencies.   CAP Agency Members will need to be a member of Trusted Choice, but the members of the latter group do not necessarily have to belong to CAP. Independent Auto Insurance Agents who are able to take advantage of the exclusive relationship between the two entities certainly benefit from the program. According to the CEO of Big I, the goal of the online Portal/Rater is to have every independent agent in the US duly signed. These agencies are likely to take up the CAP using different rates. As of now, almost two hundred agencies have already shown interest in the project. Other agents are likely to follow suit as time goes by.

CAP will not limit agencies to a specific area or state. The online portal will hardly restrict the number of agents operating from certain zip codes. It will also consist of two main platforms, the consumer agent portal with up to date information, ratings and links to local agencies; and an insurance industry portal, with news, marketing, technology and training resources for local insurance agents. The information portal will rollout first at the beginning of 2012. It will feature resources such as digital marketing procedures, technology and outsourcing and preparation for integration with the consumer portal. The Online Rating Portal is slated for launch by July 2012.

-Mike

Michael E. Dortch
President &  Managing Agent
InsureDirect.com
Corporate Home Office
618 South Broad Street
Lansdale, Pennsylvania  19446
(800) 807-0762  ext. 602