When Broad-Based Service Provision Beats Specialisation

Normally when it comes to comparing service providers with the view of going with the one which is likely to provide you the best service, I would encourage one to go with those which have a singular focus and speciality as this would suggest that that particular service provider puts everything into making sure they’re the best at offering that product or service. This isn’t always the case however as there are some instances in which broad-based service provision wipes the floor with specialisation.

Having said that however, these suggested yardsticks with which to measure possible service delivery quality aren’t cast in iron. I mean we can explore them all from a general point of view using nothing more than the life experience we’ve accumulated up to so far, so too some specialised advice from friends and family members who might have had first-hand experience of using those products and services under consideration, but ultimately it’s always about your unique situation. It’s ultimately all about what you want to get out of a specific product or service because what may work for the next person may not necessarily work for you.

Anyway, getting back to the discussion of those instances when a broader focus trumps specialisation by way of getting the best product or service for which you will be paying, a good example of this instance is in the insurance industry. Yes, at first thought one might very well assume that a specialist insurer offers better coverage than an insurer which perhaps covers many different types of assets as part of their offering. This isn’t necessarily the case though because the broad-based insurer which may have comprehensive cover as one of their offerings tends to have a better understanding of the many factors which come together to make up the dynamics of the insurance policy you’ll ultimately be paying for.

For example, they might be able to look a little wider in their consideration of the risk factors associated with your policy, thereby reducing the premiums proportionately, as opposed to the singe-focus insurer which would have a risk-assessment policy that’s a lot stricter. They’d also naturally have finer margins to work with financially, even though any size insurance company makes bucket loads of money, so again this would affect the quality of the service, even if only marginally.

This observation extends beyond the field of insurance however, permeating the legal field as well. In the legal field however I can make reference to specific examples in which a broader focus suggests a much better service to be enjoyed, with the likes of Dan Dolan as a legal firm which maintains quality service in the many specialties they provide legal services in.

Okay, perhaps this can be seen as a special case (no pun intended) since this particular legal firm, while covering many different areas in the legal field, specialises in each of those fields at a level which would rival and perhaps likely beat any other law firm with that particular offering as their singular focus. The same principle of having a wider scope to draw on applies as well.