Understanding the 4 Types of Insurance Buyers

Published on

June 6, 2024

Contributors

Ray Huang

Head of Marketing

Ray is the Head of Marketing at Canopy Connect and has helped dozens of startups and growth companies over his 20-year career to develop strategies and implement tactics that yield high-impact results.

Understanding Changing Insurance Prospect Behavior

I recently spoke with Dr. Billy Williams, CEO of the Williams Family Insurance and Investment Group and President of Inspire a Nation Business Mentoring Services, about how the types of insurance prospects and their preferences are changing nowadays.

He breaks down prospects into four main types:

‎Self-sell, Self-service Prospects

The first type wants to go online, get quotes, and purchase policies completely independently without interacting with an agent. Billy Williams recommends insurance agencies set up their website to easily provide quotes and online policy purchase options to serve these prospects.

Professional-sell, Self-service Prospects

The second type of insurance buyer wants to discuss options with an agent first and get advice, but then manage the policy independently after purchase via customer portals and apps. To cater to this type of prospect, insurance agency sites should provide complete self-service options post-purchase.

Self-sell, Professional-service Prospects

The third type wants to do everything themselves until an issue comes up. And when that happens, they want agent guidance. Billy recommends agents follow up with these types of customers anyway to make sure they've got the proper coverage—because while buyers may think they've got the right policy type, most individual consumers don't have the experience of knowledge that an insurance advisor does.

Professional-sell, Professional-service Prospects

The fourth type wants dedicated agent guidance throughout the process. They want to talk through everything, start-to-finish. Agents should prepare to provide this traditional high-touch process when needed.

Serving All Types of Prospects with Canopy Connect

Whether you've got a DIY prospect or a hyper-dependent customer, Canopy Connect fits into each prospect's insurance journey. All insurance prospects have to go through insurance data intake, and our platform helps them easily navigate that process.

Learn more about our platform here.

Adapt Your Approach

The key takeaway? Prospect behavior is individualized—make sure your agency has options and services tailored to fit those personal needs and wants.