Medicare Supplement Insurance: A Market Rich With Potential

By Jeff Piotrowski

The fact that 10,000 people turn 65 every day makes Medicare Supplement insurance one of the largest markets in terms of growth potential. And these increasingly tech savvy consumers are more comfortable than ever shopping online for major life purchases.

Prioritizing which leads to call on while retaining the existing customer base is a challenge for every insurance agent. By taking a data-driven approach to understanding who is in-market, agents can reach their prospects and customers at the right time with the right message,  improving acquisition, placement, cross-sell and retention.

Developing A Data-Driven Approach

To better understand the Med Supp buying journey, Jornaya embarked on a research project to analyze more than 1.3 million online shopping events that were initiated during annual enrollment period.

The results of that research, Understanding the Insurance Consumer Journey: Auto, Life & Health, uncover the following:

• The journey begins early, so market to your segments as early as you can: 46% of consumers were shopping in the Jornaya network before they requested a quote, and the average consumer began shopping on health insurance domains 72 days before the quote request. While remaining compliant with CMS marketing guidelines, the agents who are in front of the consumer first are the most likely to gain a customer.
• Consumers shop around, so differentiate yourself: On average, consumers initiated 3.4 health insurance shopping events prior to submitting a request-for-quote. And, 21% of consumers were simultaneously shopping online for life insurance, while 30% of consumers were also in the market for a mortgage. Agents who sell multiple products can deliver personalized offers that better meet the prospect’s needs, as opposed to competing head-to-head with their peers on a single product.

• Consumers continue to shop, so nurturing is important: 59% of consumers continued to shop after they requested their first quote (vs. the 46% that were shopping before the quote). And, on average, consumers that continue to shop did so 26 days after the quote request. Agents who move on after the first few days of outreach are losing out to their competitors who employ longer nurturing strategies.

Create A Better Experience 

The insurance buying process can be confusing. Generate more value per customer by gaining a deeper understanding of who they are, when and how they want to be marketed to, and where they need additional guidance. Consider the following to better understand what your customers want, so you can give them what they need.

• Create more value: Winning agents are building end-to-end customer experiences that uniformly position their agency as a trusted advisory across many considered purchases, reachable via multiple channels, available to the customer on their time.
• Deliver personalized experiences: Consumers expect personalized content when engaging with brands. Medicare Supplement is no different. Agents can create true engagement by seeking to understand their prospects and customers with available data and technology, and then delivering focused guidance based on that insight that helps the consumer make informed decisions.
• Utilize data: This intent data is easily accessible and enables agents to optimize the timing and content of their outreach.

Insurance is a major life purchase that entails a complex buying decision and emotional risk for the buyer. In this space, it’s critical for agents to leverage the data and technology available to them in order to create satisfying interactions with their prospects and customers. Doing so is good business — it will increase sales, keep customers longer, and grow policy lifetime value.

Jeff Piotrowski is the senior director of insurance at Jornaya, a data-as-a-service platform that delivers consumer journey insights to major life purchase marketers. Jeff may be contacted at jeff.piotrowski@innfeedback.com.

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