Earlier this year CREW.Org began an agent survey on earthquake insurance. Between March 8 and May 17, 2023, CREW invited insurance agents throughout the western United States to take the 5-minute survey.
More than 800 agents responded.
The final results of the survey are fascinating and offer insights into a range of topics, including:
- The opportunities agents have to talk with consumers about earthquake risk and insurance
- How common it is for consumers to ask about earthquake insurance
- How familiar agents are with the earthquake risk in the areas where they sell policies
- How willing agents are to educate consumers about earthquake risk and earthquake insurance
- What information and resources agents need in order to educate consumers about their risk and options
The survey asked how often consumers ask the responding agents about earthquake insurance:
- 43% — Occasionally
- 40% — Rarely
- 10% — Frequently
- 7% — Never
Agents responding said consumers often inquire about natural perils:
- 30% — Wildfire
- 24% — Flood
- 17% — Wind
- 17% — Earthquake
- 6% — Hail
- 6% — Other
Kyra Nourse is the Project Coordinator for CREW.org. She asked the PIA Western Alliance and Weekly Industry News to distribute information about the survey to our membership and readers. We sent out several notices and did a number of stories on the survey in March, April and May of this year.
“We were heartened to learn that such a large proportion of agents responding to the survey are willing to participate in educating consumers about earthquake risk, insurance, mitigation, and preparedness,” Nourse told Weekly Industry News. “Their efforts could really help improve the resilience of individual households and ultimately of the wider community.”
Nourse also said the survey results can be used to assist emergency managers and earthquake preparedness professionals and help them to understand the role of insurance agents in educating the public.
“The results of this survey will help emergency management and preparedness professionals to understand the types of risk-communication tools and preparedness resources that are needed by agents and consumers to raise awareness and guide insurance choices and personal preparedness decisions,” she said.
Nourse said another plus is the education of the consumer by agents.
“Earthquake insurance can speed and strengthen recovery after a disaster, but too few people in earthquake-prone areas buy it or even know that they may need it,” she added.
PIA Western Alliance Executive Vice President Kim Legato spent time studying the survey’s results. One concern was the statistics on agents providing mitigation information and preparedness. It shows only 24% routinely providing it and 22% unwilling to provide that information.
The low statistics showing earthquake insurance isn’t offered enough to customers has Legato wondering if we aren’t offering enough education on the subject to our agents.
“From a consumer point of view, earthquake insurance seems quite expensive — and, maybe — not that necessary. I get that. That’s where the work of PIA can assist agents in better understanding the complexities of the product so their clients see the value,” she said.
As for the PIA, she said in the past the association has provided in depth education to agents and will continue to do so in the future.
“It’s important to convey to consumers to think relatively — that suffering a loss without the coverage far outweighs the premium or deductible,” she noted. “This is why the PIA will continue to be a leader in quality education to the agent community. Our aim is to enlighten, inform and educate agents so they can sell the product with confidence without hesitation.”
You can take a look at, and download CREW’s publication of the survey results here:
Source link: CREW.org — https://crew.org/eq-insurance-agents-survey/
