Credit unions that want to get serious about fee income shouldlook to insurance products sold on their websites, vendor Jeffrey Chesky told those who attended a breakout session atNAFCU's Annual Conference Friday morning.

“Credit unions don't think about their websites as e-commercesites,” said Chesky, president/CEO of the East Windsor, Conn.-basedcredit union outsourced insurance provider Insuritas.

Instead, websites are only seen as a way to provide a freeservice, like mobile banking or education. Credit unions areleaving fee income on the table by failing to sell products likeinsurance on their websites, he said.

“Once you start making your website more than a place thatprovides just education and online banking, your members willengage you,” he said.

Imagine if members could fill out an application for GAPinsurance or other types of insurance products while applying forloans online, Chesky challenged session attendees.

The insurance industry knows the traditional channel of sellinginsurance is under attack given that an increasing number ofconsumers don't want to sit face-to-face with an insurance agent,or even speak with one over the phone, he added. Instead, they arepurchasing insurance online with no interaction from an agent orrepresentative, unless through online chat.

Online chat help, and a single shopping cart or checkoutprocess, are two things consumers want and demand from ecommercesites, he said.

Chesky did, however, warn of training requirements. He told astory of one insurance provider that launched online chat, butdidn't train its service representatives. They subsequently failedto respond to customers' online chat initiations for threedays.

However, once the firm trained representatives to respond tochat requests, 13 customers initiated chats the first day, of whichnine purchased insurance online.

“This portal is a hotspot for connecting, educating,communicating and getting members to buy products and servicesonline,” Chesky said of online chat service.

The $1.4 billion FAIRWINDS Federal Credit Union of Orlando, Fl., was profiled asa best practices Insuritas client during the session.

FAIRWINDS challenged Insuritas to provide a better ecommerceexperience for members, Chesky said. The credit union deliveredhome and auto insurance quotes to members as part of the onlineloan application process, and generated fee income while increasingvalue to members, he added.

FAIRWINDS also sells insurance online through its CUSO, usingshopping cart technology.

The credit union has done well cross selling insurance productsto members, Chesky said, noting that 32.4% of sales emails wereopened. Members would then click through to linked productwebpages.

Selling products online is an opportunity to present disclosures in a way that is both cost-effective and timely,while also meeting regulatory requirements, Chesky said.

He also indicated a great regulatory value in capturing time anddate stamps for when members click a button and accept disclosureterms.

Chesky added that having online disclosures, rather than hardcopies, allows a credit union to make changes quickly and withlittle cost as regulations and disclosure requirements change.

“The only way we will drive change is if we demand it,” Cheskysaid. “So during your strategic planning sessions this fall,challenge the conventional way your products are presented tomembers.”