Your Space

In teenage land, the Internet is hardly foreign. Ask any 14-year-old today — they likely know all the ins and outs of using the Web to research school projects, as well as how to make friends all around the world with MySpace, one of the nation’s hottest online social networking sites that provides its 80 million registered users with free personal web space to post information, write blogs, and chat with other members.

While teenagers may be hard pressed to share all their Internet know-how with their elders, insurance agents and brokers can learn a few lessons from the younger generation on the power of technology.

Most people know they can turn to the Internet to look up a company or article, but agents also should be using the Web to look for potential exposures, according to Laurie Infantino and Marjorie Segale of the Insurance Skills Center. Speaking at the Insurance Brokers and Agents of the West 20th Anniversary Blue Ribbon Conference, Infantino and Segale said the Internet contains a lot of good, free information that can be helpful in ascertaining a client’s risks, assets and benefits.

For example, the pair said www.homerisk.com allows browsers to check earthquake exposure on specific homes. As another example, www.info.iso.com lists rates and replacement cost value for commercial buildings. Or, when trying to determine whether there are any patent issues involving a client that has been merged or acquired, the government’s copyright Web site allows users to see if patents exist in the name of a prior company or perhaps a person who created the product but no longer works at the existing company, they said.

Spending a few minutes browsing around the Web, especially to check on an existing or potential client, can pay dividends. Scanning a client’s Web site, as well as other Internet resources allows an agent “to find out additional information about the client, creates an opportunity to discuss additional risk and sell additional coverages, and can possibly forestall a negative view of the account from the underwriter,” Segale said.

“In today’s world, there is a heightened responsibility on brokers working on behalf of clients,” Infantino added. Client Web sites are important to review, because you can bet the insurer will review them, she said, and agents need to prove that they did their due diligence, too.

Companies that fail to embrace the Web will soon be left by the wayside. That’s the reason Safeco says it has decided to add an online component to its product distribution system. “Today, Safeco faces a growing group of consumers who are choosing to purchase their insurance directly from companies [via the Internet],” Michael LaRocco, Safeco president and COO, told independent agents in an e-mail broadcast.

“The need for creativity has been driven by market conditions,” he said. Adding a supplemental online distribution system, instead of being fearful of what the Internet would do to its business model, should benefit agents, too. He said Safeco hopes to apply what it learns to assist agents in their direct response marketing efforts and to help draw more browsers to its partner independent agency Web sites.

When turning to the Worldwide Web as a resource, the avenues are nearly endless. But as your teenager likely knows, if you harness the advantages of the Internet, you will see benefits. Whether you’re building a community of customers or simply advertising your brand, the Internet is an invaluable information resource and marketing tool — why not embrace it as your space.