I hate buying a new car. It is just an ugly process.

You see, the Chivvis household is expecting a second child in November and you know what that means. That is, aside from the crying, feeding and changing and consequent lack of sleep.

That’s right. It’s time to buy a minivan.

Personally, I’m not a fan of, “What do I have to do to put you in that vehicle?” So I decided to make an Internet run over to Autobytel (www.autobytel.com) to see what they had to offer or how they might aid me in my searching and buying process.

Well, the next day, just after I had received a haggle-free e-mail bid from a local dealer, I received a junk e-mail from Autobytel telling me that I could “SAVE MONEY ON YOUR AUTO INSURANCE WITH AUTOBYTEL.COM.” It turns out that Autobytel is actually using insurance services provided by ChannelPoint Inc. (www.channelpoint.com).

ChannelPoint may not ring a bell in the p/c arena, as it was a technology solutions provider for the life/health game. However, in April they acquired InsurQuote Systems (www.insurquote.com) and have put together a pretty impressive suite of products. From the beginning to the end of the insurance buying/selling process and all points in between, ChannelPoint can put the power of the web to work.

According to ChannelPoint’s distribution model, they work with everyone from brokers and agents to companies and portals. It’s all about the technology. It’s all about web enabling.

Now, offering an instant quote on your site may not be anything new, but like a car, a lot of ChannelPoint’s capabilities show up “under the hood.”

What I mean is that ChannelPoint is taking the steps to really turn the paper, time, and manpower-intensive process that is selling an insurance product into a seamless electronic workflow, cutting out the pain, problems and paper.

They offer the tools and the technology, from marketing/selling to processing to agency management to customer service.

Turn web presence into web business

For many agents, that means taking a serious look at InsurWare. InsurQuote’s InsurWare product is basically what drives the Autobytel insurance application. Autobytel wraps their graphics/look around the forms. I filled out the entire form and got my quote for two vehicles in less than five minutes.

This is the same application that is used by other portals to quote insurance: InsWeb, Cars.com, and Insure.com to name a few. However, it is also the same application that can be used by independent agents to establish their own e-commerce outlet. Agents are able to create their own site using an Insurware template (such as Sterner Insurance, www.sternergroup.com) or can be integrated into their own look if the agent already has a site (check out Collier Insurance’s site, www.collierinsurance. com).

ChannelPoint’s relationships with these portals may also mean more traffic headed your way. Those that receive an instant quote from a non-insurance carrier/distributor/ agent will be asked to click a button so that someone will respond to the quote that they select within 24 hours.

That could be you. Better do your homework

Now, I’m not saying to go out and buy every one of ChannelPoint’s offerings. Like any business tool, you ought to check them out. Their site offers a number of product demos as well as links to some of their partners and customers.

It might give you some ideas on implementing your own technology strategies. It might show you a new way of approaching how you use your current systems to communicate with the different parts of the insurance distribution system.

Because the more time we spend online, the more we use the web directly or indirectly to buy-be it insurance or even minivans.

Technocracy is a regular column designed to examine and explain new technology and how it applies to the insurance industry. Readers are encouraged to e-mail questions or comments to John Chivvis at ijwest@insurancejournal.com.

Topics Auto Agencies Tech