How did you get into insurance?
A.P. Michaud has been in my family for three generations. Growing up, I would listen to my parents speak about insurance over the kitchen table. As a teenager, I assisted my family in the agency with filing paperwork and manning the front-desk phone. It was a great experience as a teenager, but I knew I wanted to learn other industries, which led me to study communications in college.
My college internships were broadly based, and I received exposure to marketing and PR. However, as I neared graduation, I stumbled upon an attractive opportunity as a claims adjuster at Amica Insurance. This was a great chance to build on my background at an agency and see what it was like to work directly for an insurer. I spent a couple years at Amica, and later Liberty Mutual, before coming back to the family agency.
My experience in marketing and claims allows me to create customer experience moments that matter and differentiate, especially during a time of loss.
What are some ways that technology can better support agents?
As a personal lines producer, the ease of producing quotes is critical. The insurers that can simplify the process of creating multiple quotes for multiple products quickly are more likely to see more business from me.
Comparative raters can be a great utility for agents. However, additional tools are needed to be effective in rounding out the overall customer experience. For instance, an effective cost replacement tool helps me explain Coverage A’s value from a customer perspective and doesn’t leave it to interpretation. Too often, carrier valuation tools provide very little explanation, which often creates more confusion and limits my ability to educate the customer.
Can you speak to how the direct-to-consumer market impacts your work?
Ultimately, it comes down to educating the consumer. There will be a certain percentage of people that will only shop online. For some, it is a convenience factor, and they prefer to purchase goods this way. On the other hand, there is a common misconception that policies cost more when purchased through an agent.
In turn, the onus is on agents to stay current. We need to consider how to support new risks like those of the gig economy. Some of these new policies that cover gig economy risks are very narrow. We need to understand how to support our clients holistically to ensure they are protected in variety of potential scenarios.
Can you speak about your experience as a woman leading in insurance?
I’d love to see more women enter the insurance industry. It can be a great career. I gained exposure by the mentorship of my mother and aunt, who are also great agents. In some ways, the industry has taken steps forward. I believe insurers have made more progress in this area than agents have. Agency principals have an opportunity to encourage greater diversity and recognize the contributions women make to the success of their operations and our industry.
Women have always been integral to our leadership team within our agency, and they bring a different set of experiences and perspectives, which only complement the culture and values we seek to live out when providing service to our employees and customers.
Add new comment