A Reaction to the Latest Wall Street Journal Article on Shopping for Auto Insurance
The Wall Street Journal recently produced an exellant article (as they often do) about shopping for Car Insurance online. The title of the article is: "Want to Shop for Car Insurance online, Prepare for a Bumpy Ride." The article dated November 24th, 2018 and is written by Nicole Friedman. Ms Friedman has done her homework, because she speaks the solid truth.
"It can be difficult to directly compare prices from multiple insurers, especially the biggest brands. Estimated quotes can differ from final prices. And when shoppers are ready to buy, they are sometimes directed offline to complete the purchase by phone."
You are so correct Ms Friedman and that is the central issue with shopping or buying any type of insurance anywhere not just online. Quoting systems and Binding systems (which is where the actual real information goes) is often not the same thing. Plus any minor change can be a huge huge issue.
Miss just one past claim and you can forget that quote, its worthless, completely. Why is that? Because insurers depend on accurate information.
Another huge issue they cite: "some of the largest U.S. insurers, including State Farm and Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s Geico, won’t share their formulas with price-comparison sites." Therefore its not really possible to shop for everyones price through one site. However that is not the case for clothing either, is it? You can pull up REI clothing prices on Amazon can you? You cant find a boutique pricing on Targets site? So that in my opinion is not that different.
Ask yourself this simple question Google's Matt Cutts - When someone goes online and types in Best Home Insurance in San Jose - do you really think they want to fill out information and get 19 different insurance agents call them back? NO- likely they want an insurance agent, often local, that is writing the content and may be in their area to reach out to them.
This is where google fails people.
Lastly the WSJ article did not seem to mention that the most important thing. Often insurance is too complicated for some people to make decisions themselves. I realize that some may not want to hear that. But chances are that if you are driving around with a lower amount of uninsured motorist coverage that your primary auto liability, you too fit this bill.
Nicole Friedman - Don't let me talking points through you. I liked the article it thought was a great take on the industry. I really just wished that Google could get their act together.
Estimated vs Real Auto Quotes:
"It can be difficult to directly compare prices from multiple insurers, especially the biggest brands. Estimated quotes can differ from final prices. And when shoppers are ready to buy, they are sometimes directed offline to complete the purchase by phone."
You are so correct Ms Friedman and that is the central issue with shopping or buying any type of insurance anywhere not just online. Quoting systems and Binding systems (which is where the actual real information goes) is often not the same thing. Plus any minor change can be a huge huge issue.
Miss just one past claim and you can forget that quote, its worthless, completely. Why is that? Because insurers depend on accurate information.
Not All Insurers:
Another huge issue they cite: "some of the largest U.S. insurers, including State Farm and Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s Geico, won’t share their formulas with price-comparison sites." Therefore its not really possible to shop for everyones price through one site. However that is not the case for clothing either, is it? You can pull up REI clothing prices on Amazon can you? You cant find a boutique pricing on Targets site? So that in my opinion is not that different.
Lead Gen be Dammed:
She rightly points this out: "Another complication for consumers is that many price-comparison sites are lead generators, meaning they sell shoppers’ contact information to insurers and agents." As an insurance agent that generally uses my own leads I can tell you flat out that this drives me crazy. Contact me on my site and I will call you directly, but consumers do not seem to understand that many insurance websites are just aggregators of information. Much of this is the fault of Google, who steadfastly refuses to rank actual insurance agencies sites higher.Ask yourself this simple question Google's Matt Cutts - When someone goes online and types in Best Home Insurance in San Jose - do you really think they want to fill out information and get 19 different insurance agents call them back? NO- likely they want an insurance agent, often local, that is writing the content and may be in their area to reach out to them.
This is where google fails people.
Minor Coverage Differences?
The well written and useful article also ends with the note that all explanations about insurance need to have: "Insurance policy terms and coverage can differ slightly by company, and each state has its own rules. Some shoppers prefer to complete their purchase with the help of an agent to make sure they’re buying the right amount of insurance." Well that might be a slight understatement. The wording may be a slight difference but the eventual end difference could be gigantic.The Last Issue with the Article:
Lastly the WSJ article did not seem to mention that the most important thing. Often insurance is too complicated for some people to make decisions themselves. I realize that some may not want to hear that. But chances are that if you are driving around with a lower amount of uninsured motorist coverage that your primary auto liability, you too fit this bill.
Nicole Friedman - Don't let me talking points through you. I liked the article it thought was a great take on the industry. I really just wished that Google could get their act together.
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