Why Multi-Product Insurance Shopping Portal is a Good Idea

Sizing Up the Competition

Online search platforms like Indeed, Zillow and Airbnb tend to reward insurance products that are confined to a single category. The typical customer has already invested some form of interest in pursuing this category. Brands who can accommodate the consumer's existing interests are most likely to succeed. Many consumers harbor the belief that purchasing decisions are made from logical reason and informed research; however, we know that most people still base major decisions on issues that reinforce their pre-existing, emotional ideas about their own identity.

Insurance products do not easily fit into this advertisement model, for it requires a huge stretch of the imagination to expect consumers to glean any form of enjoyment from the process of shopping for insurance products online. Our value proposition can be made by providing a simple, easy destination where all insurance products can be located quickly. Their aggregate proximity to one another serves to enable a sense of ease while the consumer conducts important comparisons. The painlessness of the process is now a key selling point.

Branding the Aggregator

The concept of the online aggregator for insurance products needs to be branded, which will enable customer recognition and referral. By focusing the branding on the painlessness of the process, we can deflect attention away from the nature of the product. Since the product is not nearly as pleasant as the prospect of getting the shopping process over with quickly, the branding of our aggregator should reflect this feature. The benefits will compound as we continue to emphasize the value of being able to deal with multiple categories from one location.

Certain products, like auto insurance, are primed for online transactions. Many competitors have already left the gates to pursue a single product, and they may have plans for cross-selling in the future as well. Companies like PolicyGenius have also tackled personal categories of insurance within markets with a relatively low level of penetration. Examples of this include renters' insurance and pet insurance. These areas typically have a lower rate for acquisition costs, and cross-selling options are also cheaper. Other companies, like Cover, use mobile devices to make use of the camera and locator functions of these devices to capture leads and reduce the customer's workload.

Key Challenges Facing Consumer-Focused Online Brokers

Consumer-focused online brokers need to be mindful of common bottlenecks. This must include the integration into technology of multiple stacks of carriers. Unit economics, scaling for multiple products and competition for customer acquisition also present sizable obstacles. Certain products like life insurance are one-time prospects. Competition from NerdWallet or Credit Karma is steep, for they already have an existing relationship with this market.