Insurance Industry Lags in Web Site Performance, Says New Study
March 29th, 2006 by Megan Mahan
The insurance industry “lags behind” in web site performance, this according to the recent Internet Standards Assessment Report (ISAR), which evaluated over 9,700 Web sites in more than 80 industries over the last decade.
According to the Insurance Journal’s report, the insurance industry has “underperformed the overall industry benchmark in six of the past nine years.” The common affliction of insurance web sites seems to be lack of innovation, which William Rice, president of the Web Marketing Association (the company behind the ISAR report), blames on the “conservative nature and risk adverseness of the industry.”
Rice goes on to say:
Many insurance companies were late in developing dynamic Web sites because they generally relied on a sales force to sell their products. Insurance sites still tend to be more focused on the agent and broker community rather than the end consumer.
The report did, however, name content and copywriting as strong suits for insurance web sites, which shows that industry sites are nearing the right path.
Now for my two cents:
Because InsureMe is a web-based insurance referral service (serving agents, affiliates and consumers), I was particularly interested in these findings. I can tell you that many of us here at InsureMe are constantly working to improve and advance our site. And, while this article inspires me all the more to create and innovate, it should also be a wake-up call to insurers who have a presence (or who want to have a presence) on the web. Because the fact of the matter is, more and more consumers are turning on their computers to find the information, quotes and coverage they need–rather than picking the prettiest ad in the yellow pages.
My point is this: while you may not be hungry for the Web Marketing Association’s WebAward (which is perfectly okay), you do need to think about what kind of experience your consumer has when they get to your page. And because we love our agents here at InsureMe, we’ll help you get the ball rolling with these web-centered articles:
- Improve Your Agency’s Website: 9 Free Tools
- Writing Web Articles: The New Key to Success
- Using the Internet to Leverage Your Business.
Make no mistake–the surge in Internet shopping and research is not a fad! Take a look at the IJ article here; you’ll also find a link to the complete ISAR report, which will give you a list of companies whose sites you may want to emulate.
Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress!
