Insights from Insureon experts: Why customers choose Insureon

I. Leadership roundtable discussion introduction

JENNY RUNDE, SENIOR VP PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT: Insureon is the largest provider of small business insurance online. We make it easy for small business owners to come to our site and find coverage for their businesses. They can come to our website, fill out a single application, and get quotes back in seconds from all of the top carriers. And at that point, they're in the hands of our our insurance agents who can walk them through all their questions, all of their concerns and make sure that they've got the coverage that they need.

II. How do our experts ensure you get what they need?

KARI ALLEN, VP SALES:We have best-in-class sales producers who are dedicated to small market. They specialize in the micro businesses and focus completely on what are the needs of the small business client, what questions might they have, and where to direct them to help them understand coverages. We found that over 90% of small business customers don't understand the coverage insurance that they need, so their job is to help them understand what they need, and how to get that coverage in place. And so they walk them through as their trusted advisor.

III. What do we deliver long-term for small business owners?

DY KUNKEL, VP ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT: After the producers write the coverage for the clients, then it transfers over to our account management team, which our account management team's goal is to provide ease to the customers and retain their business. Our customers are really busy as business owners trying to run their small business, so it's our job to make their lives easier and provide them with that comfort and support of giving them the insurance that they need for their business.

IV. What added value comes along with that?

JENNIFER CROMLY, DIRECTOR SALES, OPERATIONS, ANALYTICS: We provide value because we are an insurance agency that works with small business owners all over the country. And in doing so, we provide the business owner the autonomy to be able to provide us their information on their timetable.

We have such strong relationships with all of our carriers and our experienced producers so that wherever that small business owner is located, we have a carrier that is going to provide the most competitive coverage and the most comprehensive coverage, and we're then going to be able to maintain this relationship with the small business owner throughout their growth and changes as they also develop as a small business owner. I think as a small business owner there is so much responsibility that they have, and protecting their business from loss is one of the largest exposures that they have, and it's our privilege to be able to work with them.

V. What insurance companies can you choose from?

MAURA BENSON, DIRECTOR CARRIER RELATIONSHIPS: We partner with A+ rated carriers in order to accommodate many different types of small business owners and and what they're doing. Anything from lawn care and accounting, to restaurants and IT Consultants. By establishing these strong relationships, we're able to provide competitive rates as well as have a good understanding of the service center capabilities and just being able to give our clients the the best options available in the market.

VI. How do small business owners find us?

YULIA KRONROD, SENIOR VP CUSTOMER ACQUISITION: Most customers find us through Google, but the way they search for information varies greatly. Some people search for their profession and how they can protect their type of business with insurance, others search for policy type. Yet, others just simply ask a question "Do I need insurance at all?" or "How do I renew my policy?" and things like that, so we try to educate customers on all those types of queries that they ask in Google or other search engines. We have information around what type of policies you need if you run this type of business, what a specific type of policy covers, we have educational articles for them on how to start and develop their business into something viable that they can succeed with, and things like that.

VII. What are we doing to make it easy for small business owners to buy insurance?

JENNY RUNDE: We know that many of our customers are a brand new business or new to buying business insurance, and so it can be a really stressful decision to make and one of the first things we try to do on our site is really educate people. Give them all the articles and the blogs and the information that's going to help educate them and inform them on what they need and what their options are. We also have the ability through technology to actually recommend products to them so have them answer a few simple questions about their business, and in seconds basically can recommend the types of insurance that they might need to cover their businesses.

So once they're at a point where they feel fairly comfortable with the types of insurance that they might need, and they've got some of those questions answered, then it's really our goal to make that process as seamless as possible in filling out the application. So from there they can select their profession type, they fill out a simple application online, and in the seconds they're able to get prices that are real time prices with all of the best carriers.

KARI ALLEN: By the time the application comes in and they compare coverages and they've either selected to go with certain carrier it's our producer's job to take a look at everything they put in, make sure that that makes sense, and then reach out to the customer and interact with them the way they want to be interacted with, whether that's text, whether that's phone, or whether that's email. And what they do is really review the coverages that they put together and you say "Does this make sense? What state is it in? Are our producers are licensed in every state? What carrier's actions do they have? Have they chosen a carrier that makes sense for their needs?"

And I think, to put a bow on it, obviously in insurance and potential insurance, that small business customers are going to have questions, and we can interact with these customers again how they want to be interacted with, but they're going to have questions about "What is covered? What isn't covered? How do I file a claim? What are some things that I need to be aware of as I'm issuing the policies?" And that's what our people are there for that to make sure that we put the customer and small business customers needs first and make sure that they are covered and, you know, set their mind at ease.

DY KUNKEL: After our clients have selected coverage through Kari's team, then they have the ability to go on and review that coverage again on our customer portal. Our customer portal also offers them the ability to look back at policies they've had previously, make changes to their current policies, request endorsements if they need to on that coverage. They can also get a certificate of insurance that shows proof of their coverage that they do have today. They can review which carriers they're with, as well, and the pricing of the coverage they have currently. And they can also find their insurance agent to get in contact with them, all by using our customer portal.

VIII. Where and when are we talking to customers?

JENNY RUNDE: Small business owners are...they're busy people. They're not always in front of their desk, right? They're growing their businesses, they're working with customers, they're out in the field. And so we know as an organization that we have to meet them where they are. And we have to be available when they are. And so for us, we really think very often about mobile as a key channel for our customers. So many of our customers come to us via their mobile devices, right? They could be could be late at night after leaving a job site, and that's the only time that they have to be able to search for insurance, and so that's where we really focus on our website of being optimized for that mobile experience so that it is as easy for them to buy insurance via their mobile device or their desktop as it would be walking into a brick and mortar.

KARI ALLEN: If you're a landscaper and you need a certificate of insurance and you need to change your coverage the next day, you can go on your mobile phone make, that option choice, and you can text, or call, or email with a producer at your convenience, and they can send you the application where you can digitally sign it and you've got a policy by that next day. It's just all at your fingertips, which is amazing.

JENNIFER CROMLY: And then just getting the certificate of insurance when you need it, right? Because those always come at the last minute. The request comes at the last minute, or you've forgotten about it, and how do we do that?

DY KUNKEL: You can pull it up on your customer portal all on your cell phone.

MAURA BENSON: And you don't have to worry about the the business being closed, or having to get to the office before you do something else that day, or to the agent's office.

DY KUNKEL: Or print it. Just do it online. It's all digital.

JENNIFER CROMLY: And even though we're an online agency, we still provide that personal touch and that relationship with our business owners?

KARIE ALLEN: Oh yes, absolutely.

IX. Is Insureon right-sized for your business

JENNIFER CROMLY: We can be that countrywide resource to where if you have one location in one state or multiple locations in multiple states, we're going to have the insurance companies being able to partner with you and provide you coverage throughout your process of owning your business. Or if you are that hometown small business owner, we have the right solution for you as well, because we're a small business agency as well.

JENNY RUNDE: And that's really where I think our technology comes into play and adds value, because a small business owner does not have time to go to 10 different companies and search for all the different options that are out there, they don't have that kind of time. That's not their priority. And so that's where we can do that heavy lifting for them is bring them to our site, put them through a very simple and customized application that gets them through in minutes, and gets them quotes so that they can move on with their day and they can focus on what they should be focusing on, which is growing their business.