Allstate insurance announced that they will be opening agents offices at car dealerships. The idea is to attract the business leads generated by auto sales and offer customers a full menu of Allstate products.
Car dealer referrals were once considered poor business practices by most insurance companies. The companies did not want their agents working this market. Apparently that is not the case at Allstate.
I am not sure this is a good idea. The reasons that insurance companies prefer to stay away from auto dealer referrals are legitimate. A high majority of these referrals are people who have no prior insurance; they are primarily interested in getting the car off the lot and therefore may provide false driver information; and of course, the car salesman also wants to make a sale and may encourage the customer to provide misleading or even false information.
Dealership auto referrals have also caused many agents to lose their license or their insurance company contracts. New agents are hungry for business and will do most anything to write a policy. Dealership sales managers are aware of this and will work on a new agent to try and get them to bind coverage over the phone instead of coming into the dealership. Sales managers do not want the cost of auto insurance to screw up the pending sale, so they may encourage a low ball quote. Remember that the goal of the dealership is to get the car off the lot with few hassles and insurance is a hassle.
I wish Allstate the best of luck in this venture, but I seriously doubt that it will be sustainable.
For the full story about Allstate's auto dealership plans, click here.
http://www.bodyshopbusiness.com/Article/96696/allstate_to_open_fullservice_agent_offices_at_auto_dealerships.aspx?categoryId=
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