Assignment 20A: Growing Your Social Capital

Person 1: Supplier

This person is one of my best friends and she works at a local insurance agency in Gainesville. She write policies, as well as deal with policy changes and anything else that may impact a policy (claims, violations, etc). She was able to give me some more insight on how insurance works and how premiums are impacted. She absolutely agrees that my product would help the industry, not only just the consumer but the insurance companies as well. Having a network with her while creating this product will not only help me achieve more insurance knowledge, but it will help me learn about it from someone who actually works in insurance so it would be more reliable. In addition, I would be able to know how insurance companies respond to the usage of this product once consumers start to show better driving habits.

Person 2: Domain Expert

This person owns a driving school that teaches teens how to drive prior to them obtaining their drivers license. He is in his 40’s and graduated from University of Miami with a degree in Business. He currently lives in Naples and his family owns a driving school there. His goal was to teach young drivers how to drive better and defensively, in order to minimize accidents and create good driving habits. I actually found this person through a family friend. One of my dad’s good friends knows him; therefore I emailed him and later set up a phone call. He was really nice and helpful, and gave me great advice. He believes that my product would be amazing for new drivers, and he also suggests providing them to driving schools as well. I feel like if I were to provide my product to driving schools, by knowing him and working with him, I would be able to develop the quality of my materials in my product since he can give me feedback.

Person 3: Market Expert

This person is a co-worker of my best friend (person 1). This person is actually an actuary at the insurance company and is friends with her. My friend was able to set us up with a phone call, where she explained how insurance companies work and how they come up with their rates. She advised me that although teaching people new driving habits and minimizing claims will drastically decrease the chance of rate increases, she still mentioned there is a slight chance of minimal increases, due to inflation. Regardless, she thinks my product is an excellent idea that not only will help premiums, but will save lives. Having communication with her will help ensure I obtain as much information as possible about how insurance companies are responding to renewals, and how they are adjusting their rates. This would give me better insight on developing my product, as well as obtain accurate information to teach my consumers.

Final Thoughts

This experience really opened my eyes and made me have a better insight on my products. Networking really helps and most certainly can help my product become even better. Knowing more than one person in the industry can give you insight on many things, including perspectives, and most importantly, constructive feedback for improvement.