Dental Insurance Articles
How To Access A Dental Insurance Quote With An SMS Device
2010-08-05
As the insurance industry continues to move forward, more and more of its purchasing options are beginning to go online. In the Internet's infancy, the insurance industry lagged behind many other online retailers, keeping to its standard policy of agent-to-client meetings and phone conversations. Eventually, however, auto, health and even dental insurance providers realized the need to have insurance options available online for their consumers. Things like dental insurance quotes became available via websites, and consumers could send e-mails or chat online with company representatives in order to find the best deal for their money, or to develop a plan that would suit their needs. Now, the insurance industry is beginning to add even more ways to access quote options online in the form of text messaging.
Mobile phone messaging, also known as short message service (SMS) is the way in which most cellar communication is conducted, especially by those less than twenty five years old. Text messages are typically brief, and can contain symbols and shorthand that anyone not versed in the "language" will not understand. For those that have been raised in the digital age, this type of communication is second nature, and being able to access any type of service through their phone is virtually an expectation. Until recently, insurance companies have not taken advantage of an untapped market whose members are just now coming of age and whose members find themselves in need of reasonable dental, health, and life insurance choices.
As a result of this trend toward text messaging and the ability of insurers to finally keep pace with the technology in use, several providers have begun offering text message based quoting systems. In these systems, consumers text a quote request to a special number provided by the company, and the company responds with a dental insurance quote or other care quote within a specified period of time. Typically, this is in the nature of one minute or less in keeping with the desire for quick communication on the part of those requesting the quotes. While the industry has not quite progressed to the point where a policy can be purchased with nothing but a text message, the market is beginning to shift that way, and in order to stay competitive, companies need to be prepared to alter their sales strategies.
While text messaging will never replace the face-to-face discussion of a quote with a provider or agent, and while questions will inevitably arise that a text message cannot answer, the addition of text messaging options to access quote information is a bold step forward by insurance providers. Though the industry still lags behind many other retailers, this is a significant step forward.