"Technology cuts the time and paperwork that’s needed to arrange home insurance, which gives advisers the perfect opportunity to reengage with this market."
We’ve heard all of the barriers when it comes to selling general insurance: advisers are short of time and often can’t see the benefit of operating in a market where customers are very reliant on price comparison websites. However, at the same time, we have a duty of care to the customer, and it’s difficult to see how we can meet it without considering all of their insurance needs.
Customer needs
For years, customers have been required to answer a number of potentially tricky questions to get a home insurance quote. A customer may not immediately know the answer to some of these questions, particularly if they are new homeowners such as what type of property it is and what type of locks it has. After all, if inaccurate information is given, it could potentially cause problems if a customer needed to make a claim.
Rewriting the rules
Industry players are increasingly recognising that arranging cover has to be made smarter and easier, both for the adviser and their client; as a result we’re seeing more and more providers embrace technology to do just this.
We’ve created SmartQuote for intermediaries to redefine the rules of how advisers and their customers get a home insurance quote and to challenge any lingering misconceptions about the quotation process. Through the use of big data we’re making it both quicker and easier for advisers to obtain a general insurance quote.
Benefits for all
This new way of working offers a number of benefits. First, customers will experience a much smoother, simpler quote journey, since they won’t need to spend time answering endless questions.
Secondly, advisers will benefit too. The time regained from not having to ask potentially 30-40 questions to get a home insurance quote can be transferred back into the human aspect of the advice process. This will give advisers more time to engage with their customers and discuss their specific needs, which is fundamental to holistic financial protection.
And third there is a reduced disclosure risk - customers no longer have to answer a lot of complex questions to which they may be unsure of the answers, which means potentially fewer claims declined.
Opportunity for advisers
Without a doubt, technology cuts the time and paperwork that’s needed to arrange home insurance, which gives advisers the perfect opportunity to reengage with this market. And they should take it.
They owe it to their customers to look after all of their insurance needs and because it could be a great opportunity to widen their client base.
