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It's true that most only have some carriers and not all, atypically if you are getting the Quote engine for free from an FMO it will only quote the plans they represent. We quote more than 65 carriers on our tool and house the primary forms (apps, SOB, OOC, Etc.) Agents and/or Agencies can choose to have all of them on the tool or only those they want to appear. As Somarco mentions there are multiple ways to use them. One less talked about advantage to having a Quote tool is that it can be used by an agent in their marketing efforts for competitive intelligence because it allows you to view all the competition and ensure your product mix is as competitive as possible. With that knowledge the agent can target areas they know their product is the best positioned.
For those that provide a QT (like me) it's usually not a money maker just a way to create a business relationship. Agents can use it the same way as a means to gather the clients interest, build trust and credibility which in turn helps increase the odds of a sale.
Are they the end all be all of success.... no, but they are a good additional tool that when used correctly have the potential to increase an agents ability to sell more insurance.
I think posts 16 and 18 contain important comments about the use of a quote engine in an agent's website.