Insurance agents and brokers appear to welcome any form of communication from the insurance companies they represent, as long as it isn’t a phone call, a new study suggests.

The survey of 60 benefit brokers, performed by MORI for the Minnesota Life Group, found that the majority (70%) of respondents do not like to receive phone calls, even though carriers use the telephone to reach brokers between 65% and 94% of the time.

The study was conducted, according to Paula Bilitz, marketing director of Minnesota Life, because “we sensed that their media use was changing, and this research confirmed that employing a mix of communication channels is the right approach to reaching producers effectively.”

The research found that benefit brokers can be segmented into the groups that favor traditional communications such as printed newsletters, trade shows, and the U.S. mail. Others communicate more online, preferring channels such as blogs, podcasts, and RSS feeds.

Regardless of whether they favor electronic or traditional communications, benefits brokers and consultants do like to receive personal visits from carriers; 43% said personal visits create more visibility and strengthen their relationships with the carrier sales force.

MORI research, the firm conducting the study for Minnesota Life, interviewed 60 intermediaries from around the country.

Brokers want to control the timing and content of the information they receive from carriers. Sixty percent said they were strongly interested in open or secure websites where they can download the information they need, when they need it. Additionally, 34% of respondents expressed interest in webinars.