NU Online News Service, March 27, 9:31 a.m. – Digital Insurance Inc. has survived the consolidation in the Web health insurance brokerage market by working with brick-and-mortar brokers, not against them.
The Atlanta company has agreements to handle health insurance sales and administration for groups with 25 or fewer members for several large insurance brokers, including USI Insurance Services, San Francisco, the sixth largest broker in the country, and Hilb, Rogal and Hamilton Company, Glen Allen, Va., the seventh largest broker.
"We see technology as a wonderful tool," says Adam Bruckman, a senior vice president at Digital. "But we look at it as if, at least in the near future, we're not going to get to the point where all business can be done online. We look at the existing agent and broker community as our partner."
Digital Insurance believes it can serve traditional brokers, rather than compete with them, because traditional brokers are having more trouble than ever making money from selling health coverage to very small groups.
Digital Insurance says its use of technology increases profits on small groups by lowering administrative costs.
If Digital Insurance succeeds at turning very small groups into gold, the potential gains could be impressive, because 85% of all U.S. businesses have 25 or fewer employees.
