Solving insurance distribution problems

If the insurance industry is going to earn respect and trust with the business community, how about we start with... Stop training insurance producers to be telemarketers like it's 1995...it's ruining their careers. I have to call this out because it has to stop at some point. I keep seeing the same tired, old-school sales advice from a so-called “insurance sales coaches”, like this one: "You don’t have time to screw around when your pipeline is empty. Just pick up the phone. Do your research after the meeting is booked." What? Are you serious? And that… that right there is exactly why our industry is in this mess. Let me break this down: → We’re training producers to act like commodity-peddling telemarketers… → …instead of Industry Niche Specialists, Risk Architects, Advisors, and Experts who business owners actually respect. We have producer licenses. We study for years. We learn risk management, compliance, contracts, indemnification, mod analysis, TCOR and the intricacies of how entire industries work. So why the hell are we training new producers to “smile and dial” like they’re slinging used cars? If all you’re doing is cold calling without understanding the problems your "Ideal Client" actually faces... → You don’t have a pipeline problem. → You have a strategy problem. → You have a differentiation problem. → You have an industry niche MASTERY problem. Here’s what we BELIEVE, teach and has proven to get RESULTS instead... because this is what actually works in 2025: 1) Pick your niche. Master it. Know the exposures, regs, contracts, risk factors, mod volatility, claims trends — ALL of it. 2) Do your market research FIRST. Know the industry, target decision-makers and their businesses better than your competition (this is about quality, NOT volume). 3) Build your “Dream 100” list of decision-makers and your “Top 25 COI Referral Partners.” Think chess, not checkers. 4) Create daily content solving painful problems in your industry niche. Lead with thought leadership. Let them binge your content. 5) Execute my “Core 3” Outbound System. Blend cold outreach with warm referrals and smart, strategic content that builds trust. 6) Show up like a pro. Stop calling yourself a “Producer.” You’re a Risk Architect. Trusted Advisor. Start acting like it. 🔥 This isn’t about being soft or overthinking things. It’s about doing it right. The insurance producer of the future isn’t a cold calling telemarketer. They’re a trusted advisor. A niche specialist. A revenue-driving business consultant. If you don’t think that matters? Then wait until AI-powered phone bots start doing the same volume dials better than you can. That day is ALREADY here (I had one from a well respected specialty MGA call me and it was brilliant!) You can either become the Risk Architect they can’t replace… Or be the next casualty of the commodity game. Your call. ❓Who do you think makes more money in this industry? Earns respect?

If ACA carriers actually want to fix distribution, start with the basics. Stop building obstacles and start building alignment. 1. Recognize multiple hierarchies. Most agencies today run layered models—FMO, SGA, MGA, GA, street. Your systems only recognize one. That’s why your reporting, overrides, and contracting files are chaos. Support multiple hierarchies and you’ll instantly see where production really lives. 2. Pay agents direct. Quit running commissions through uplines before they reach the person writing the app. Pay agents directly. Let the overrides flow separately. Every delay between submission and payment bleeds trust and retention. 3. Allow clean releases. This isn’t the 1990s. Lock-in contracts and hostage uplines only fuel bad behavior. One clean release per year—direct to carrier, no permission needed—solves 80% of the movement drama. You don’t need more tech. You need cleaner economics and fair mobility. Fix the pipes, and the water will flow.

#IRDAI’s decision to proposed cap the #bancassurance business limit to 50% marks a significant shift in the Indian insurance distribution landscape. The move aims to curb the over-reliance on bancassurance channels and promote a more diversified insurance ecosystem. Impact Analysis: Distribution Shift: Banks, which have long dominated the distribution of insurance products, will face limitations on how much business they can handle under the bancassurance model. Companies with deep bancassurance ties will need to explore other channels such as direct sales, brokers, and digital platforms. Increased Competition: The 50% cap could lead to more competition in the market as insurers diversify their distribution networks, leading to a rise in agent networks, direct selling, and online insurance platforms. Focus on Customer-Centric Models: As bancassurance becomes more constrained, insurers might focus on improving customer engagement and reducing mis-selling, which has been a concern in the past. This could push more companies to adopt the broking model, which is seen as less prone to mis-selling Risk of Unequal Impact: While the regulation targets the bancassurance model, it could disproportionately affect public sector banks (PSBs) that have a higher share in bancassurance business. . Policyholder Benefit: On the positive side, the change could encourage more transparent and diverse insurance products, benefiting policyholders with better options and reduced mis-selling Overall, this change aims to make the insurance market more robust and less dependent on banks, which could eventually lead to a healthier and more competitive market. However, insurers will need to adapt quickly to this shift in distribution strategy.

Nearly 4 billion people in emerging markets remain un- or underinsured, and most disaster losses go uninsured—locking households and micro and small enterprises into fragility. At CGAP, we believe that inclusive insurance is not a niche product but a foundational tool for resilience and development—yet it stalls at scale due to three systemic gaps: products that don’t match real risks and preferences; fragile, high-cost distribution that can’t earn trust or reach; and enabling environments that lag innovation with misaligned regulations and missing data. Progress is real—with millions covered across dozens of countries—but the protection gap is widening faster than solutions spread. We call for rapid action at scale: funders, policymakers, and insurers must pivot from pilots to systems. Invest in household-centered risk solutions that bundle prevention with payout. Build scalable distribution through public channels and anchor firms. De-risk premium financing with guarantees and blended models so affordability no longer blocks uptake. Equip supervisors with adaptive, evidence-based tools. And embed inclusive insurance in national strategies and global metrics to lock in accountability. The window is closing; let us all treat inclusive insurance as core resilience infrastructure—and finance, regulate, and deliver it at the scale the moment demands. Read more at: https://lnkd.in/d_EY3Tgn By Anaar Kara, CFA Kara, Sarah Rotman Parker, Swati Sawhney, Martina Wiedmaier-Pfister, Liza Diane Gordin #InclusiveFinance #ClimateResilience #InsuranceForAll