Why Commercial Insurance Brokers Should Embrace the Digital Age
Commercial insurance brokers, like most other professionals in the field of insurance, have a somewhat suspicious view of technology and digital innovation. This is mostly because, where insurance is concerned, digital innovation basically means selling online, and most companies in this sector – including Watson-Laurie – believe online insurance sales are counter-productive to good customer service and true customer care.
Yet even while remaining staunchly and purposefully traditional, many commercial insurance brokers have come to discover that not all of the digital innovations launched onto the market in recent years clash with their business principles, ethics or mission statement; on the contrary, some of these advances are not only beneficial, but necessary.
A good example of a digital innovation which is all but required from business in modern western society is, for example, mobile-friendly website design. Many customers nowadays browse the Internet on their mobile devices, be they phones or tablets, and businesses are therefore required to tailor their websites to reflect this trend. Here at Watson-Laurie, we have already restructured our website to ensure customers have no issue viewing or navigating it on their mobile devices.
In addition to this requirement, there are a number of other, optional digital innovations which can actively help traditionally-minded commercial insurance brokers without detracting from their face-to-face approach. Ratings and resource hubs, for instance, can be an excellent tool, not only for customers to compare brokerage companies but also for the companies themselves to exchange knowledge and resources and to help improve the field as a whole.
It is clear, then, that when it comes to the field of insurance, technology is not evil, and embracing innovation does not mean changing the way companies within the sector do business; on the contrary, the pairing of technology and insurance brokerage can be a highly successful one. For that to happen, however, it is necessary that commercial insurance brokers accept that the industry is changing, and know how and where to incorporate innovation and keep their services up to date.