The Less Obvious Benefits of an Advantage Subscription: Carrier Voice
Marty Agather, CPCU, ARM
T rustedChoice. com just finished 2016 with 4.2 million visitors to the website, and 101,000 referrals to members of the IIABA nationwide. And although traffic and referrals are the most visible benefits that accrue to our members, there are other benefits as well.
One of the benefits of an Advantage subscription that might not be as evident is the value your subscription brings to our leadership’ s discussions with insurance companies. While it is true that all of our members in the KAIA are represented on TrustedChoice. com, carriers give special weight to Advantage subscribers.
One of the factors that carriers evaluate when deciding whether they should participate is the number of Advantage subscribers, and which agencies they are. If a carrier sees that many of their leading agencies are subscribers, it makes a decision to join the battle easier.
Conversely, if they see that many of their best agencies aren’ t willing to support the effort with a modest monthly subscription amount, they grow concerned that there might be part of the story that they are missing.
Think about the frequency with which you see direct and captive agency insurance advertisements in various
forms. Insurance marketing is very expensive. Carrier contributions are a significant part of the operating budget for both TrustedChoice ® and TrustedChoice. com.
Our ability to compete with these deep pocketed insurance companies is evermore dependent on our insurance company partners helping us tell the story of why an independent agent is the best choice. And the more carrier partners we gain, the better we can compete.
If you haven’ t subscribed to an Advantage profile yet, do it today. If you are already a subscriber, thank your Trusted Choice Partner carriers, and encourage those who aren’ t partners to rethink that decision. Our best opportunity for success is for all of us to commit to countering the marketing message of‘ CHEAP is best.’
The carriers need to know that you are committed to the brand and to the success of the channel. Your vocal support for the Trusted Choice brand and for TrustedChoice. com make it far easier for carriers to join the effort.
Thank you for your support.
Marty Agather, CPCU, ARM is the Senior Vice President of Development for TrustedChoice. com
26 kAnSAS InSURAnCE AGEnT & BROkER | January- February 2017 |