Quebec broker joins online rush

Following on the heels of Cowan Insurance’s online launch, Quebec brokers Di Perno & Associates has entered the online insurance fray with the launch of “AssureMoi.com Inc.” The site, issued through La Toile du Quebec, the world’s largest French language web portal, will offer auto, residential, medical and life coverage. It is expected to be running by the end of the year.

Offering full online transactions, from multiple quotes to binding policies, is the wave of the future, comments AssureMoi president Mark Di Perno.

Di Perno, a broker for the past 16 years, says the Internet should not be seen as a threat to distribution, but an opportunity. “It’s just another way to sell insurance.” He admits, however, that both insurers and brokers have resisted the move online in the past — in fact, the biggest stumbling block has been enticing insurers to deal with the online brokerage. “The hurdles are entirely with the insurance companies, their lack of understanding of how the Internet works.”

Di Perno says fears of a backlash against multi-distribution will become moot once other brokers begin to develop Internet sites. “A year from now, they [insurers] will have 20 brokers doing the same thing [we are].”

With 850,000 online users entering the La Toile portal each month, Di Perno sees this opportunity as a “no lose” proposition. The brokerage will be seeking additional insurers to represent on the site, particularly life companies, he comments. The service will initially be targeted at the Quebec market. “People in Quebec are more used to dealing with direct writers,” he notes, which should make online buying more acceptable to the insurance buyer.