We were struck recently by a couple of stories in the news about retail outlets selling insurance.
One was a story from insurance capital Hartford, Conn., about the healthcare giant Aetna striking a deal to sell its insurance products in Costco stores.
It will sell the plans in its home state of Connecticut and in Illinois, Texas, Michigan, Virginia, Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Nevada. Aetna said it plans to expand the plan to more states later in 2012. Costco Wholesale Corp. operates 601 warehouse club stores, including 434 in the United States and Puerto Rico, making it one of the two largest players in its sector of the retail industry.
It’s a bit hard to imagine picking up health insurance the way you’d pick up a giant bag of M&Ms, a 12-pack of chicken stock and a few free samples, but for some people that’s probably OK.
The second story came from Florida, where Blue Cross has opened up some retail outlets selling their own brand of insurance in those physical locations.
“Why did Apple decide to open stores, when they could sell everything they sell online?” asks Patrick Geraghty, CEO of Florida Blue Cross Blue Shield. “There’s an experience attached to it. It puts a face on the organization.”
That’s fine for them, and for Apple, to sell just that one product, and we agree with the idea of having a physical place to come into to talk about insurance needs, but we don’t think only having one brand to sell is the way to go.
That’s why we offer a range of products from a wide variety of providers for Auto, Home, Life and more. Outside of Apple, why go to a store that only has one brand?
So, if you need Scottsdale Home Insurance, please check us out online, or call or come on down to our location. We don’t have those cool long tables like they have at the Apple stores, but we do have the best insurance policies and best insurance Agents.
Scottsdale Insurance Home
(480) 712-0400
20875 N. Pima Rd
Scottsdale, AZ 85255