More Small Businesses Want Direct Online E&O Coverage

Small business owners wanting to buy business insurance online have been at a disadvantage.

Many business insurance websites invite shoppers to buy coverage but instead provide quotes and connection to an agency or broker. One-stop, direct sales of insurance products for small businesses has been limited.

Services Are Going Online

Computers have now been around for a while and consumers now expect online access to services.

That is changing, and at Get Insured 24/7 we’re excited to on the forefront of a trend that makes life – and business – easier for you. Here Life and Health Agents can select E&O coverage, pay and bind in minutes.

We believe business owners want the same ease and flexibility in protecting themselves that people have when buying auto insurance online. And we’re in good company. Deloitte’s Center for Financial Services has concluded that as much as half of the small-business insurance market would be willing “to buy direct from a carrier over the Internet, without having an agent or broker shop for them or advise them.”

Makes sense. Consumers, business owners included, are increasingly tech-savvy and comfortable with online transactions. People want to evaluate their options when it is convenient for them – not when an agency or broker has office hours or when a toll-free number queues them into an irksome, “Hold, please. We’ll be with you shortly.”

In fact, Deloitte found 1 in 5 of those in its survey population initiated business insurance purchases online, either through a specific carrier’s site or an aggregator site making financial transactions online.

How Did They Rate The Online Insurance Experience?

To get an answer, Deloitte researchers gave it a go themselves. With some exceptions for professional liability insurance, after evaluating 20 sites – 14 small business carriers and six aggregator sites – Deloitte found only one site in each category allowed people to actually complete a transaction in one sitting.

“The other insurance company sites refer prospects to an agent in their ZIP code, offer to have an agent call them with a quote, or provide an opportunity to speak with someone at a call center,” Deloitte says. “The other aggregators either refer shoppers to relevant carrier websites or arrange to have an agent contact them to complete the process.”