Business takes me far and wide, and I put in many hours behind the wheel. So it’s a given that I hear a lot of insurance ads—the same ones you do. I’ll spare you the catchy slogans; you know the messages and the faces. The sad truth is that these characters are built by factories calibrated to churn out a distorted value proposition. They’re banking on you asking a series of “or” questions.
Do I want...
an affordable policy or a quality policy?
ease of doing business or a relationship with an agent?
fast, easy technology or interaction with a person?
Basically, they’re pitting one option against the other and hoping you’ll follow suit. Any marketing angle is meant to drive you toward a perceived value or advantage. These life-or-death, come-or-go, happy-or-sad messages are giving you pseudo-choices based on a false premise—that you can’t have both. Well, that’s just wrong. Following their set path will eventually make you an insurance castaway. Out on your own and stuck with your “choice,” you’ll be without the help you need when it’s most vital.
The fact is, you do have a choice. Insurance questions are always “and” issues when you turn off the marketing noise and commit to a little work with the right agent. In the 21st century of insurance, you absolutely can have it all. Every insurance product you select can and should have built-in options for those times you’ll inevitably want or need them.
Quality, custom-built coverage and a fair price
Easy access and professional support
Killer technology and a real, live person
So please, don’t buy the hype. In this industry, marketing is geared to play up the perceived “limitations” of how you buy insurance from competitors in order to drive business home. Along the way, companies manage to strip consumers of fundamental choices. It’s a ridiculous notion, one you wouldn’t accept anywhere else in your life. If you went to a mechanic to fix your brakes and were asked, “Would you like reliable work done by a professional, or would you like it done quickly at a reasonable price?” what would you think? “Um...can’t I have both?” Yes, you sure can.
