Customers have more information at their fingertips than ever. The trick is reaching the right customer, at the right time, on the right device. With more business being conducted online than ever, carriers, brokers and agents are discovering new strategies and tactics to better reach their customers. Traditional distribution methods are becoming less viable as insurance buyers have greater visibility into alternatives, expect personalized digital experiences, and can compare policies online with a few clicks. It's an opportunity for insurers to connect with their audiences and produce positive digital experiences in uncertain times.

With more business being conducted online than ever, carriers, brokers and agents are discovering new strategies and tactics to better reach their customers. Traditional distribution methods are becoming less viable as insurance buyers have greater visibility into alternatives, expect personalized digital experiences, and can compare policies online with a few clicks. It's an opportunity for insurers to connect with their audiences and produce positive digital experiences in uncertain times. It is estimated that people worldwide generate 1.7 MB of data every second. This provides near-infinite ways for sales and marketing teams to segment audiences based on online behavior, demographic traits, shared interests, and purchasing habits.

"What's dangerous is not to evolve." Let me ask a loaded question that might ruffle a few feathers: How successful do you think Amazon would be if it only responded to 40-50 percent of the orders customers placed online? It may sound absurd, but this is exactly the predicament many commercial insurance brokers and agents are put in every day when they submit an application to a carrier on their customer's behalf. A lack of automation in the submission intake process means that many carriers can only respond to less than half of the submissions they receive simply because they get too many. For business that the carrier doesn't want to write, it's not uncommon for distribution partners to receive no response at all. Can you think of another industry where this would be acceptable?

With A.M. Best's initiative to take insurers' ability to innovate into account as an element of its rating methodology, the point couldn't be clearer – technology is part and parcel of the insurance industry, and the work of brokers and agents is no different. Argo Group's recent report, "The Future of Insurance – 2019 Insights: Technology and Climate Change Creating Today's Risks and Opportunities," delved into the minds of brokers and small businesses to reveal expectations around topics that included climate change, cryptocurrency, and autonomous vehicles. The findings showed that, for example, 77% of brokers expect autonomous vehicle usage to reduce the number and severity of accidents, while 59% expect it to help decrease insurance premiums. However, other technologies are not as top of mind. Thirty-nine per cent (39%) of brokers say they are only somewhat familiar with IoT concepts, even as 91% of brokers see IoT as the dominant technology threat over the next 12 months.

The future lies in leveraging smart technology to streamline sales, increase conversions and have more productive agents and brokers. If your agency is still picking up the phone and hoping for the best, things probably aren't going to turn out the way you imagined. The real future of insurance lies in leveraging the power of smart technology to streamline the sales process, increase conversions and have more productive agents and brokers. Sounds like a dream for your business, right? Every agent and broker wants to be able to sell more efficiently, hitting the right customers with the best products for their needs, and not waste time.

If your agency is still picking up the phone and hoping for the best, things probably aren't going to turn out the way you imagined. The real future of insurance lies in leveraging the power of smart technology to streamline the sales process, increase conversions, and have more productive agents and brokers. Sounds like a dream for your business, right? Every agent and broker wants to be able to sell more efficiently, hitting the right customers with the best products for their needs, and not waste time. Operating this way lets sales professionals shine and it provides excellent customer service -- something consumers expect today.