Hat tip to Mike Maloney for this article, link. If you are worried about digital disruption, good, that gives you a split second lead on those advisers still denying the possibility.
Start with the past. Once upon a time the job of an insurance adviser was to sell, calculate the sum insured for a premium or vice-versa, and collect the premium and remit it to the insurer. Two of those jobs have been entirely automated – robots now quote and robots pass the money around. Yet, curiously, the industry is bigger than ever.
A lot of what goes on in insurance advice is not, really advice. Some is marketing, some is education, some is just checking underwriting guidelines, and some is checking eligibility. Those are things which could be automated right now helping us all enjoy a lift in efficiency.
Will advice shrink as there is more automation? I doubt it. I suspect that more advice will be given (automated or not) because life keeps getting more complicated. The range of products is greater than it has ever been. Taxes, estate law, and interactions with other financial products, including those provided by the state, are typically becoming more, not less, complex. So there is probably at least as much scope for advice as there ever was. I bet more, in fact.
Will advice automation increase? Yes, there will be lots of robo-services providing sales and advice and many clients will use them. Most financial advice businesses will offer a mix of robo and human advice services in a package which appears completely seamless to the customer. If you want to start designing yours, talk to us.