Esurance Inc., the San Francisco-based online auto insurance company, has agreed to supply insurance products to the customers of Provident Credit Union in California.
But Tom Capp, the insurer’s director of channel development, said that after this deal Esurance is changing its approach. Instead of signing up credit unions directly, he said, it will work with two third-party marketers that specialize in supplying insurance, investment, and other products to credit unions.
The Provident deal, announced Monday, means that Esurance is now selling insurance through five credit unions directly. Mr. Capp said it also has several credit unions signed up through arrangements with Southwest Business Corp. of San Antonio and Securian, a subsidiary of St. Paul-based Minnesota Life Insurance Co.
Mr. Capp said that as Esurance grows it wants to focus on developing products and improving its Web site instead of on hawking its services to credit unions. The third-party marketers “know the market very well, so we can focus on making the product,” he said.
The new partnerships will include joint marketing of Esurance’s auto insurance in both offline and online venues. Members of the Redwood Shores-based Provident can gain access to the service directly through Provident’s Web site.
Mr. Capp said Esurance’s credit union partners are “selling a reasonable amount” of auto insurance.
“I think that credit unions face the same challenge that the banks do; customers don’t really know they can come to their bank or their credit union to buy insurance,” he said. One role of an outside provider like Esurance is helping credit unions improve that awareness, he said.
The company intends to expand into other products eventually, Mr. Capp said, but not this year. “As far as we’re concerned,” he added, “there’s a lot more things we can do with auto insurance right now.”
