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Literally no idea what my insurance company name is. Or their cringe jingle. How do you even know them? People remember that? Even for candy bars? I just got w

Literally no idea what my insurance company name is. Or their cringe jingle. How do you even know them? People remember that? Even for candy bars? I just got whatever had the lowest quote for the coverage I wanted, and filed it away. I know the broker name, but don’t know and don’t care what lowest cost regulated carrier provides the coverage.

sokoloff 5y ago
When coverage is identical and service unimportant (as in term life insurance or statutory minimum auto), this makes sense. Having had the same auto insurer for 34 years and excellent service on a small handful of claims, I’m not shopping them on price (although they have a strong reputation there as well).
nickelcitymario 5y ago
...but how did you pick your broker? If you're using a broker, you're not choosing the insurance company. So telling us that the insurance company's marketing has no effect on you is a moot point: You passed the buck to your broker. And how did your broker choose them? How did they choose which insurance companies to work with? Do you know for a fact that they took every possible source of insurance into account when providing you with recommendations? Sounds to me like you may be naive about just how much of an effect marketing has your purchase decisions. It's not always as obvious as a jingle.
- inter_netuser 5y ago
  How I picked my broker: step1: scape the list of all licensed brokers in my jurisdiction from their regulatory website. step2: prepare the email clearly spelling out the request for quote. step3: spam all brokers. repeat in a week to make sure they weren't on vacation. i emailed 200+ brokers with my RFQ, waited a week or so, and picked the lowest cost, then grind them down a little more on the price. I then emailed them my billing details and forgot about it. Insurance in my area is tightly regulated. Forms, tables, amounts - it's all tightly regulated. It's a commodity. Could you play devil's advocate and point out where marketing could've played a role?
  - nickelcitymario 5y ago
    Impressive. That does seem like a thorough objective process for which promotions/advertising* would have had zero impact. So: Touché. I don't think that's the norm, even among the majority if HN readers, but I agree that your process as described appears to remove any potential promotional influence. * Marketing, as I've argued elsewhere, goes beyond promotion and impacts prices and the details of the offers, which obviously did impact your choices. But I think you and most people in this thread are referring specifically to the promotional side of marketing, so it may be pedantic of me to make my argument here.

sokoloff 5y ago

When coverage is identical and service unimportant (as in term life insurance or statutory minimum auto), this makes sense. Having had the same auto insurer for 34 years and excellent service on a small handful of claims, I’m not shopping them on price (although they have a strong reputation there as well).

nickelcitymario 5y ago

...but how did you pick your broker? If you're using a broker, you're not choosing the insurance company. So telling us that the insurance company's marketing has no effect on you is a moot point: You passed the buck to your broker. And how did your broker choose them? How did they choose which insurance companies to work with? Do you know for a fact that they took every possible source of insurance into account when providing you with recommendations? Sounds to me like you may be naive about just how much of an effect marketing has your purchase decisions. It's not always as obvious as a jingle.

inter_netuser 5y ago
How I picked my broker: step1: scape the list of all licensed brokers in my jurisdiction from their regulatory website. step2: prepare the email clearly spelling out the request for quote. step3: spam all brokers. repeat in a week to make sure they weren't on vacation. i emailed 200+ brokers with my RFQ, waited a week or so, and picked the lowest cost, then grind them down a little more on the price. I then emailed them my billing details and forgot about it. Insurance in my area is tightly regulated. Forms, tables, amounts - it's all tightly regulated. It's a commodity. Could you play devil's advocate and point out where marketing could've played a role?
- nickelcitymario 5y ago
  Impressive. That does seem like a thorough objective process for which promotions/advertising* would have had zero impact. So: Touché. I don't think that's the norm, even among the majority if HN readers, but I agree that your process as described appears to remove any potential promotional influence. * Marketing, as I've argued elsewhere, goes beyond promotion and impacts prices and the details of the offers, which obviously did impact your choices. But I think you and most people in this thread are referring specifically to the promotional side of marketing, so it may be pedantic of me to make my argument here.