Page 4 - AAA Central Penn – AAA Now! – November/December 2017

AAA
Buying Insurance is Just Like Buying Paper Towels?
By Bill Wilson, CPCU, ARM, AIM, AAM
An Open Letter to Everyone Writing About “Disrupters” and the Insurance “Customer Experience” and Citing “Industry Experts” and “Top Insurance Executives”:
WITH YOU ON THE ROAD OF LIFETM
TM
What Our Members Are Saying
"I received outstanding service that was beyond what my wife and I ever expected. I hit a curb and ruined my tire. I called AAA and Mike readily responded in 5 minutes. He was totally professional and helped calm me down, as
I was upset with myself and for ruining a brand new tire.
After putting on the doughnut spare Mike advised me to get some air in it. As I was putting coins in the air machine, who came up beside me and offered me a quarter? It was Mike. He had followed me to the gas station to make sure we arrived safely. He actually put the air in the tire and told me to be very careful driving. Thirty minutes after arriving home, Mike called to check that we were home safely. Mike is a good man and now whenever I tell stories about flat tires or AAA service, I will tell the Mike story.”
— Kermit of Carlisle
“Tracy H. is an exceptional travel agent! She went out of her way to make our Uniworld river
cruise experience memorable. We loved
working with her.”
— Dan of Hummelstown
“Our older daughter took the AAA Driving School behind the wheel novice driver classes and we were so satisfied that we sent our youngest.
I tell others frequently to contact AAA! Thanks for instilling safety in both our young drivers.”
— Angela of Mountsville
"Bill was wonderful! He not only checked out my dead battery but scanned my van’s electrical system for problems plus gave me a bottle of water. He then completed a battery swap in the pouring rain being cheerful, kind and patient.
I have always been impressed with AAA Roadside service providers but this man really made my day! Thank you."
— Susan of Harrisburg
"We had a wonderful trip. Hats off to Tracy L. and Linda who were upbeat, cheerful, helpful and caring."
— Gale of New Cumberland
Please stop comparing buying insurance to buying a consumer product on Amazon!
Case in point from an “industry expert”:
“What’s holding most insurers back from meeting the speed and performance of a customer experience leader like Amazon? In a nutshell, siloed legacy systems.”
No, siloed legacy systems are NOT why the insurance industry doesn’t meet the “customer experience” speed and performance of Amazon. The reason the insurance industry doesn’t meet the “customer experience” provided by Amazon is because WE DON’T SELL WHAT AMAZON SELLS! Amazon sells consumer products. “Insurance” is not a “product.” If you’re compelled to label it, insurance is a process, not a product.
Another case in point from a recent Reuters article that quoted Ajit Jain, Berkshire Hathaway’s “top insurance executive”
as saying:
“Amazon.com can deliver something to you in four hours. If people can buy paper towels on the internet, why not insurance?”
Sorry, sir, but buying insurance is NOT the same as buying paper towels. Yes, technology can and should be used to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the insurance process, but phone apps and “big data” are not going to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. (BTW, there are some great silk purse bargains on Amazon right now if you hurry, and the good news is, choosing the wrong one likely won’t bankrupt you, as can happen if you choose the wrong insurance “product.”)
Not every buying transaction can or should be reduced to an Amazon-like “1-click” purchase.
If I want to buy paper towels, does Amazon need to ask me to explain what I’m going to use them for? Or who is going to use them? Or where I’m going to
use them? Or...? The insurance PROCESS starts with assisting individuals, families, and organizations
in identifying their many, and often unique, exposures to financial loss. That information is
then used to determine what the best combination of insurance policy forms and risk management techniques to minimize the likelihood of a serious or even catastrophic financial loss. And if there is
a loss occurrence, the process continues in both a financial and emotional way.
“Insurance” is not a commodity product. It’s a regulated, service-oriented process where the “product,” if you will, is a complex, detailed legal contract that is highly litigated. To compare it
to paper towels or any other online consumer purchase is infantile. How many bad Amazon purchasing decisions can lead you to financial ruin?
Why do we listen to and enable people that lack historical perspective and clearly are fundamentally clueless about how the insurance industry works and why it works that way, who really don’t understand the overriding mission of this industry? Technology is a tool and a means to an end,
the “end” being protecting individuals, families and organizations from financial catastrophe. Unless it’s the product “disrupters” and consultants are selling...then it’s the end in and of itself.
Caveat emptor.
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
To learn more about auto, home, life and other insurance available from AAA, call 1-844-345-1823, Go to AAA.com/insurance, or visit your local branch office.
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