But during the last few years, new sales channels have circumvented agents. Geico Corp. Now, the Internet may make things even tougher. Kathryn McAravy, office manager at Employee Benefit Insurance, a Seattle agency, says her company suffered a 3 percent drop in sales last year, the first time it didn't grow in 23 years. She attributes much of the challenge to the traditional agent business to heavy promotion of direct sales, and she realizes the Internet can only make matters worse. Her agency doesn't have a Web site, and the staff doesn't have e-mail, although the company is considering putting up a Web site.
Agents still push their importance as consultants for complicated product purchases.
But many also realize that much of what they do can be handled by good interactive software. It's unlikely that consumers will perform the entire insurance purchasing process without human help, says Forrester Research analyst Bill Doyle. His company partnered with InsWeb, a leading online insurer, and was unimpressed. But in my opinion, it's still five years away. Charles Waltner is a writer based in Seattle.