The competition in the insurance sales market is shifting from the number of agents and commissions to customer databases (DB). As platform companies with large user bases expand their customer touchpoints into insurance consultations, insurance firms are also launching dedicated teams to supply their own customer information to agents.
According to the insurance industry on July 20, Samsung Fire & Marine has launched a 'Total Consultant (TC) branch' that operates based on customer DB. The branch will provide its agents with a total of 720 customer DBs over three years, with 30 cases per month in the first year, 20 in the second year, and 10 in the third year. Hana Insurance also opened a TC branch earlier this month and plans to supply agents with 30 cases per month for three years. This approach utilizes data from existing policyholders who have consented to marketing, rather than purchasing external leads, to propose additional coverage or other products.
The push by insurance companies to strengthen DB sales comes as platform firms with large member bases rapidly expand their influence in the insurance sales market. Toss Insurance, a subsidiary of Toss, has surpassed 3,000 agents, elevating it to the status of a major general agency (GA). The structure that connects users who request insurance consultations through the Toss app to agents is seen as a key growth driver.
The tax refund platform SamjeomSam is also seeking to enter the insurance sales market. Its operating company, Jarvis & Villains, has completed GA registration and is building a related organization. SamjeomSam is gaining attention for its potential to expand its customer touchpoints, formed during the tax refund process, into insurance diagnostics and product consultations, leveraging its 24.5 million members.
Customer DBs are particularly helpful for new agents who lack a sales base. Instead of relying on friends or family to find clients, agents can receive a steady supply of customers who have expressed interest in consultations. This allows both insurance companies and GAs to increase sales performance while using DB provision as a means to recruit agents and expand their organizations.
Starting this month, the '1200% rule' has also been applied to agents affiliated with GAs, further intensifying the DB competition. The 1200% rule limits the sales commissions and settlement support paid in the first year of a contract to within 12 times the monthly premium. As it becomes more challenging to recruit agents with high cash incentives, the ability to provide customer DBs, training, and digital sales systems has emerged as a new competitive factor.
However, simply having a large number of members or policyholders does not guarantee competitiveness. Factors such as consent for consultations, conversion rates, data accuracy, and retention rates must also be supported. An industry insider stated, “In the future, the dominance in the insurance sales market will depend on how reliably high-quality DBs are supplied.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
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