There’s been a trend in the insurance industry over the past few years. Brokers across the country have invested in technology that allows them to quickly and easily provide quotes to clients in an “apples to apples” format so that the client can make a buying decision, often without any additional input from the agent. Many agents even have quote engines on their website that allow clients to run the quotes and apply for coverage on their own without ever talking with the broker. With today’s tools, brokers can literally sell insurance in their sleep.

One thing we learned from the 2019 open enrollment period is that the government’s outreach efforts are coming up short. Marketplace enrollment was down this year, and that corresponds with a huge 90 percent reduction in the marketing budget for Healthcare.gov.