When Compare.com CEO Andrew Rose announced his firm would be partnering with Google in its new auto insurance endeavor, the audience at the Valen Analytics executive summit went quiet.
“Even though everyone knew it was coming, the best way to describe it was ‘shock and awe’,” said Dax Craig, Valen’s president and CEO. “You could see a lot of contemplation in this room full of senior executives on what it meant for them and their organizations.”
Craig describes Google’s entry into the insurance market as a “game changer,” a move that heralds a new era of customer experience standards in the industry. With Google’s appeal, access to predictive analytics and new partnerships with Compare.com and CoverHound, the company stands to generate a lot of traffic—and business—for its associated insurance carriers.
And it’s unlikely Google will stop there.
Though Craig does not believe the company will ever venture into formal underwriting, he does see a future for Google Compare that stretches beyond the auto product.
“Given the technological infrastructure involved, it is incredibly reasonable to assume renters and homeowners are next, and small commercial won’t be far behind,” he said. “It makes a lot of sense, and business will follow quickly.”
For agents, Google’s entrance to the market may actually be a blessing—provided they adapt to new consumer preferences. By exposing shoppers to a wider variety of carriers, independent insurance agents have a better chance of making a sale than they would if Progressive or GEICO continued to gobble up market share on online shoppers.
In the meantime, though, Google appears to be struggling to attract insurance carriers. The partnerships with popular comparison sites like Compare.com and CoverHound suggest carriers are curious about what Google will mean for business, but hesitant to embrace a new player so disruptive to existing distribution channels.
“[Carriers] are nervous that Google will disrupt customer acquisition as they know it, the way it’s been done, the way it works for them,” Craig said. “Google is an unknown.”
Google Compare launched in California last week, and will roll out to more states in the near future. There has been no word on the tool's possible expansion to the Canadian market.
