CONFLICTS ARISE AS DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS CROSS.

Business Insurance, May, 1999 by Roberts, Sally

To broaden their reach in today's highly competitive market, many insurers that historically have used agents and brokers to distribute their products are turning to alternative distribution channels, including a direct sales force, direct marketing, financial planners, the Internet and banks.

Insurers are using as many distribution outlets as possible to satisfy clients' varying preferences for buying insurance. But what happens when these various distribution systems representing the same insurer begin to compete for the same clients? It's called channel conflict, and insurers that have multiple distribution channels need to constantly manage it, observers say. ``There is no quicker way to get a distribution system upset'' than to add another...

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