How Traditional Insurance Sales is disrupted by Online TechnologyNearly, technological innovations and new entrants affect or disrupt the traditional way ofoperation almost in every industry. The participants in these industries are forced to adapt tothe changes and come up with means for survival. Over decades, insurance industry has notexperienced the kind of pressure from outside errands and technological innovations that arecurrently facing. Below are various new entrants and technological innovations that have alarger impact on traditional sales insurance.To start with, the most outsider errant threating agents in the insurance industry is Google.The technology giants have previously caused disruptions in lots of industries to achieve itsgreat success, talk of health, navigation, travel, email and now insurance. With its dominanceof the search space, many people use it to search for best insurance companies, cheapestpolicy and steps to follow to acquire insurance information. As a way of eliminating this longsteps and being used only as a search engine, Google has ventured into insurance businessitself, launched as âGoogle Compareâ. Instead of a person using google to search forinsurance companies or cheaper policies, Google will be there ready to provide the servicemore effectively and efficiently with a cheaper cost. With such in operation, no agent will beneeded since everything will be provided online in a more clear and simple manner.Furthermore, Google has teamed up with different insurance companies of all sizes to helpthem in business writing and determination of individual risks. It also allows them to quicklysearch for the rates and compare the policies, âPound for pound,â the work which was beingdone by agents. To manage all its large customer base and ensure that it provides insuranceservices of high quality, Google has come with different technological innovations;First is the Millennials Trust Google which was created to familiarize itself and elicit trustwith the consumers. It is aimed at increasing the number of consumers who will prefer topurchase insurance cover from online providers other than traditional insurers. This wasarrived at, after the research showed that consumers lack confidence in most insurancecompanies since they are not transparent in their operation. This creates an uneasy tension inthe industry. Besides that, it is largely believed that most millennials trust Google with theirinformation than they trust insurance firms. They share more confidential and privateinformation with Google than they do with insurance companies. They also trust otherconsumers more. In response to this, Google has created a platform that compares feedbacksfrom the user hence promoting transparency which traditional insurance providers lack. Thisconfirms that the survival of traditional insurance agent is highly endangered.Secondly Google has established a preferred Consumer Platform that enables consumers tofind their preferred policy at a cheaper price. A group product manager of Google, StephanieCuthbertson recently reported that since its launch, Millions of people have used it to findquotes they prefer. Among those who obtained quotes using Google, half of them haveconfirmed that the policies were much cheaper than the policies in existence. An agent wasonly involved for the sake of consumersâ peace of mind before purchasing the policy and notnecessarily providing any advice to the consumer. This means that with time, consumers willbe convinced and there will be no need of them speaking to an agent before the purchase. Sowhat will be the work of an agent?Finally Google compare has partnered with global insurance industries such as CoverHoundwhich is specialised in renters and homeowners insurance, Insurance TechnologiesCorporation and Comparenow. This points out clearly where google compare will be in nextfew years. It will also give Google compare an opportunity to interact with so manycustomers in different insurance companies identifying their specific needs. EventuallyGoogle compare will be in the better position to provide all these insurance policies in thebest manner ever that will leave insurance agents jobless.Another company that has start venturing in the insurance industry is Walmart. By the factthat it has entered into the partnership with AutoInsurance.com confirms that it has an interestin the insurance businesses. Auto Insurance has leased Walmart a space. This has given asupermarket a chance to interact with over 140 million individuals who visit the companyweekly to do their shopping. This is also a threat to the insurance agents since Walmart withits financial stability and global interaction will provide these services in a modern way thatwill not require an agent to intervene in the process of selling policies.Beside new entrants in the insurance industries, innovative technologies are also contributingto the eradication of human agents in their companies. For instance, some insurancecompanies such as PolicyGenius and CoverHound have started providing online insurance.Online means doing away with mediators, represented by agents, Others like Comparenowdonât use agents to get policy prices or fee ,rather they do it themselves immediately after theclient has purchased the policy by sending traffic to insurer. Whichever the case, at the end ofthe day, Main Street agents are pressed by showing insurers prices side by side andautomating the whole process.In his article, âThe Insurance Industry in 2015: Trends and Innovation,â Parker Beauchampoutlines four major technological and innovative trends that have taken place in the insuranceindustry that are threatening the survival of traditional insurance agents. The innovationsinclude; big data analysis programs, Mobile insurance, Re-Engineering Underwriting andCloud/Client Computing.Under big Data analysis program, the new program is developed to improve efficiency in theinsurances process by assessing fraudulent claims or improving on how one can fully meetcustomer needs and demand in response to environmental and economic changes. Theprogram also consists of the evolving dashboard for data that compiles metrics from multiplelocations into a visualized platform hence providing clients with all information they need.With such in practices, the services of insurance agents will no longer be needed.Another technological innovation is Mobile insurance. Most insurance have taken theadvantage of the advancements that mobile phones have gone through. The insurancecompanies have offered mobile applications that make it easy for clients to access theiraccounts, make inquiry, obtain insurance quotations and claim any support. The technologyhas also enabled policyholders to connect directly to the insured via mobile phone. The twoparties are able to exchange information directly.Finally, cloud/client computing defined as âthe practice of sharing a network or remoteinternet servers to store, manage and process information.â Operating this way helpscompanies to optimize Innovation and Technology that will see them doing away with agents.Additionally, the technology enhances business preparations for everything from potentialdata loss disasters to growth of the product or service. Integrating the network means thatinsurers will be in a better position to get in touch with their clients or consumers directly. Insimple terms, it means that the network integration eliminate an agent from the insurancecompany.ReferenceBeauchamp, P. (2015, February 18). The Insurance Industry in 2015: Trends and Innovation.Retrieved November 22, 2015, from http://www.inguard.com/blog/the-insurance-industry-in2015-trends-and-innovation.