Insurers

Agent-Insurer Connectivity

Digital and Traditional: Find the Best of Both Worlds

Find out the importance of technology in insurance from the point of view of an agency and insurer.

Industry Trends

3 Commercial Lines Technology Trends to Look for in 2022

APIs, blockchains, and cybersecurity, oh my! These three trends and others will continuously evolve within Commercial Lines as we go into 2022.

Agent-Insurer Connectivity

Agency-Insurer-MGA Connectivity in 2021 and Beyond

Step into the shoes of your peers and agency partners by reviewing trends from the 2021 IVANS Connectivity Report.

2021

Meet IVANS CRO Saima Shaukat

Since joining the team this past summer, IVANS chief revenue officer Saima Shaukat has been working hard behind the scenes to create the most customer-centric culture at IVANS.

2021

A Veterans Day Tribute

Applied and its Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Council are proud to commemorate the service and sacrifices made by our military veterans throughout the month of November.

Marketing & Distribution

IVANS Quarterly Product Updates

In this blog post, find out more about the latest IVANS product updates and how they will make each stage of the insurance lifecycle easier for you.

Marketing & Distribution

Get Agency Download Feedback in 5 Easy Steps

Did you know that you can review and respond to feedback and download requests from potential and existing agency partners in one central location?

Agent-Insurer Connectivity

IVANS Acquires Ask Kodiak: What It Means for You

Agent-Insurer Connectivity

Find Out Why Agent-Insurer Connectivity Matters

IVANS Index

IVANS Index: Q2 2021 in Review

Take a look at the premium renewal rate change trends of Q2 2021, and view the full IVANS Index report for a more in-depth look at last quarter's trends.

Industry Trends

How Data and Technology Could Create a Bionic Broker

Learn how the role of the broker will evolve if the industry continues to leverage technology and data, level up connectivity, and bring strategy to the transaction.

Marketing & Distribution

How to Solve the 4 Pain Points of Commercial Submissions

IVANS Vice President of Product Management Kathy Hrach covers the four pain points in the CL admissions process and technology solutions that can help.

Industry Trends

A NEW Insurance Technology Podcast with an OLD Twist

To understand the insurance industry, you need to understand insurance technology – from the management system origin story to the latest tech innovations pushing the industry forward.

Marketing & Distribution

Connecting with Semsee – A Single Connection to More Markets

To discuss Semsee, IVANS Distribution Platform and all things straight-through processing, we sat down with Philip Charles-Pierre, chief executive officer at Semsee.

Industry Trends

Go Green by Going Paperless

Learn 3 technologies that can help your agency purge the paper once and for all.

Industry Trends

Catching Up with IVANS’ CEO – Insights from His First 100 Days

Now that he’s been at the helm for over 100 days, we thought it would be a good time to hear from IVANS CEO Reid Holzworth about what’s holding back the industry and how we move it forward for the benefit of all stakeholders.

2021

Celebrating Women In Insurance

March is Women’s History Month. To celebrate, we wanted to acknowledge the many contributions made by women.

Industry Trends

Speeding Up on the Insurance Industry’s Superhighway

IVANS CEO Reid Holzworth explains why IVANS is focused on building the industry’s digital distribution platform.

2021

Celebrating Black History Month

In the United States, thousands of companies celebrate Black History Month (BHM) every February. This year, Applied joins in.

IVANS Index

IVANS Index: 2020 Year in Review

Take a look at the premium renewal rate change trends for 2020 in our just-released infographic, and unlock the full report for a more in-depth look at last year’s trends.

Agent-Insurer Connectivity

The State of Agency-Insurer Connectivity

Check out this blog post to view 6 insights on the state of agency-insurer connectivity.

Industry Trends

A Bright Spot in 2020: Meet Our New CEO Reid Holzworth

As we look into the New Year, we wanted to take a second to sit down and introduce you to IVANS' new CEO Reid Holzworth and what he has in store for the insurance industry.

Industry Trends

Have Yourself a Happy, Healthy Holiday

Take a look at our latest blog post for a cheerful message from all of us at IVANS.

Marketing & Distribution

Industry Voices: Solving the Challenge of Managing Submissions with Acuity

IVANS Vice President of Product Management, Kathy Hrach recently sat down with the Digital Sales Director at Acuity Insurance, Joel Katsma to discuss Acuity’s participation in a project to tackle commercial lines process improvement including the challenges and how to address them.

Marketing & Distribution

The Importance of Data Insights in the Insurance Industry Pt. 2: Growing Business

We recently sat down with Melanie Watkins, VP of Product Management for State Auto Insurance, to explore some exciting advancements in distribution solutions specifically with respect to commercial lines.

Marketing & Distribution

The Importance of Data Insights in the Insurance Industry Pt. 1: Market Appetite

We recently sat with EMPLOYERS Client Relationship Manager and Product Owner for API Distribution Strategy and Development Basilios Manousogiannakis to discuss marketing and distribution related topics.

Agent-Insurer Connectivity

You Go First

The apprehension to be the first mover or first adopter is being overcome by a community process of development that promises a major move forward in reducing roadblocks and inefficiencies in the quote and bind process.

Marketing & Distribution

For the Win: A Game-Changing Solution to Solve a Broken Industry Problem

Together with Indio, IVANS has teamed up with carriers and agencies from across the industry to form a working group chartered to tackle all the challenge of managing submissions. The result of this initiative is a game-changing industry solution that simplifies submissions management.

Business Continuity

An Update On Our Business Continuity Plan

First and foremost, I hope that you, your family, friends, and communities are staying safe and healthy. For those who have been impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak – whether directly or indirectly – my prayers are with you and I wish those affected a speedy recovery.

Marketing & Distribution

IVANS and Aon Affinity: Supporting Agents Where They Are: Part 1

IVANS’ Vice President of Data Products Group Brian Wood recently sat down (via Zoom of course) with IVANS Markets client, Aon Affinity, to discuss AON Affinity and AON Programs.

Marketing & Distribution

Test Your Knowledge: Commercial Lines Submissions Process

Test your commercial lines submissions knowledge and learn ways to improve the process for the benefit of all those involved – agents, insurers and insureds.

Events

Big News: IVANS Connect 2020 Is Going Virtual

As you have likely heard by now, we have decided to take IVANS Connect online. And while we would like to say it was a hard decision to miss the opportunity to see you all in person, the decision was ultimately an easy one.

Industry Trends

COVID-19: Personal and Commercial Lines Policy Transaction Index Report

Analyzing more than 120 million data transactions, this special COVID-19 Index report measures the month-to-month volume of specific policy transaction types, like new policies, policy changes, policy cancellations and policy renewals for both personal commercial lines policies relative to transaction trends.

Agent-Insurer Connectivity

A Book Roll Solution Made for These Times

Even in this time of social distancing and remote working, your day-to-day business activities need to continue. Some activities traditionally involve working with agents face-to-face, but the current world we are living in doesn’t allow for in-person office visits – and might not for some time. How can you do so if you can’t visit offices in person?

Industry Trends

Coming Together in a Time of Crisis

We are all going through a trying time right now but through all the anxiety, confusion, isolation and Tiger King, the human spirit remains. People around the world, our industry, and here at Team IVANS are doing amazing things to support educators, first responders, healthcare workers, and local businesses they used to frequent. We want to share some of them with you because who doesn’t love Some Good News.

Industry Trends

How to Celebrate Earth Day While Sheltering in Place

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has caused concerts, sporting events and other exciting spring plans to be put on hold, one thing that’s not cancelled is Earth Day.

Business Continuity

Breaking Down the CARES Act – What This Means for Your Business

This past Friday, March 27, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act made headlines as the largest economic stimulus package in U.S. history. The Act includes relief for businesses and individuals, assistance to states, and key protections for workers.

Business Continuity

Coronavirus Outbreak: Business Continuity for IVANS Customers

Your business continuity is our #1 concern. As your trusted technology partner, we are here to help your business continue to operate without interruption.

Automated Servicing

The Secret to Generating More Benefits Business for Your Insurance Company

Benefits carriers face many challenges when manually handling the exchange of benefits information such as policy details, coverage, minimums, premium payments, and commissions among other information between their businesses and broker partners.

Automated Servicing

What Efficiency Means to Your Business

Have you noticed how customers have changed in the past 10 years? Consumer behavior and expectations have experienced significant change with the introduction of new technologies in recent years.

Marketing & Distribution

Step Into the New Year and Step Into New Business

Did you spend 2019 manually managing the bookroll process with your agencies? Now that it’s 2020, it’s time to consider bringing your book transfer process into the new year and the next decade with an automated solution that works for all your agency partners and allows you to identify new growth opportunities sooner.

Industry Trends

The Future of Commercial Lines Submissions: Part 2

Following our previous blog post where we began our discussion around Commercial Lines submissions, let’s continue with a look at the second half of the process; starting with quoting and submission.

Industry Trends

The Future of Commercial Lines Submissions: Part 1

When discussing where we are going to focus our innovation to provide the greatest value for our customers, commercial lines submissions is often top of mind for many.

Industry Trends

Insurance Industry Trends to Prepare for in 2020

The digital revolution is here. While we advance toward this digitally connected future, I thought it wise to look at the state of the insurance industry and how technology is providing greater value to your business.

Industry Trends

4 Things Insurers Need to Know About Agents of the Future

The way independent insurance agents conduct business is changing. Faced with an aging workforce, new insurtech competition, and the digital transformation of the industry, agents are quickly embracing technology to ensure future success and longevity.

Agent-Insurer Connectivity

Don’t Miss the Forest for the Trees: Why Agency-Insurer Collaboration Is Necessary to Grow Your Business

Have you ever walked into a forest, looked up and seen the way the crowns of trees seem to fit together like puzzle pieces? It turns out trees, no matter their species, work together to make the most of the resources and space available to them.

Agent-Insurer Connectivity

The Latest Trends in Digital Distribution and Automated Servicing

The digital age of insurance is here. Insurtechs are starting daily. Consumers are demanding new digital services. And regulatory changes are forcing organizations to adapt more quickly than ever before.

Industry Trends

A Match Made in Heaven – What Makes Agencies Love Insurers

Nowadays, nearly everyone expects the convenience of not only accessing information on their mobile device via a web browser, but from a mobile app too.

Automated Servicing

Going Beyond Download – What’s Available and How You Can Benefit

According to the latest IVANS Connectivity Survey, 82% of agents surveyed reported they place more business with insurers that provide automation. In the digital age of insurance, efficiency through automation can build stronger agency relationships and lead to significant time and cost savings for both your business and agencies. Are you using all the automation available to be as efficient as possible?

Industry Trends

The Agent of the Future: What Carriers Need to Do to Prepare

The world of the independent agency is changing rapidly and dramatically. Shifting customer expectations are creating a need for new business models.

Marketing & Distribution

Embracing Digital Distribution: Instantly Reach More Agents

A challenge for many insurers is finding the right agents to fit their appetite. It’s even more difficult for a new insurer since many agencies do not know where or how to find you.

Marketing & Distribution

Insurtechs Working Together: A Different Way to Cover Small Businesses

Any agent who has worked with small business owners knows that the process is a complicated one. There is typically a lot of work involved, including working through complicated insurer appetites, policies that don’t properly cover customers, and what feels like endless forms to fill out in order to submit and underwrite a risk.

Best Practices

Surety eDocs: How Insurers Can Help Agency Partners for Mutual Success

Many independent insurance agencies would agree that the traditional way of receiving Surety renewal documents is a highly manual process. In a typical work week, I would estimate that I spend about four to eight hours going through the mail we receive from our insurers.

Industry Trends

A Visual Guide to Millennial and Gen Z Buying Preferences

As previous generations retire and move to a life stage in which they consume fewer products and services, younger millennial and Gen Z adults between the ages of 18 and 38 are becoming more relevant to the insurance industry in terms of size and spending power.

Agent-Insurer Connectivity

A Journey Through IVANS’ 35-Year History

For 35 years, IVANS’ commitment to innovation has enabled thousands of insurers, MGAs and agencies from around the globe to safeguard and protect what matters most in people’s lives.

Agent-Insurer Connectivity

Insurers, Ever Wonder How You Can Better Support Your Agency Partners?

Today, insurance agencies face many challenges that they didn’t contemplate years ago. Consumer buying behaviors and patterns are different.

Agent-Insurer Connectivity

Irrefutable Interdependencies: The Case for Agent - Insurer Connectivity

As a lover of all things tech, it shouldn’t be a surprise to hear that I also love science. Recently, while thinking about the future of the insurance industry, I was taken back to something I first learned about in my sixth grade science class, which is the concept of mutualism.

Industry Trends

Why Digital Transformation Is a Partnership

For a very long time, everyone outside the insurance industry has been admonishing everyone inside the insurance industry for their lack of digital capabilities. In turn, insurers have been pushing agencies to step up their digital capabilities.

Best Practices

3 Ways to Support the Needs of Today’s Digital Agents

As the world becomes more digital, agencies are leveraging technology to meet consumer demand for instant, 24/7 customer service. Consumer demand, along with the need for greater ease of doing business and a more diverse product range, has pushed agencies to seek increased connectivity from insurer partners.

Industry Trends

Digital Collaboration: Agents Speak and Why Insurers Should Listen

Digital technology is changing the way we live and work, creating a more connected life in a more connected world.

Automated Servicing

Goodbye Paper, Hello Productivity

Do you find yourself spending countless hours every day re-keying data and processing requests? Are you searching for a better way to access policy documents on demand?

Agent-Insurer Connectivity

CAB/AAB Insider: Agents Reveal What They Really Want from Insurers

Our annual Carrier & Agency Advisory Board (CAB/AAB) meeting brings together insurers and agents for an open dialogue on the group’s collective experiences, challenges and opportunities in the insurance industry.

Marketing & Distribution

How Digital Distribution Will Revolutionize Insurer-Agency Collaboration

The insurance industry is transforming unlike any time in its history. New startups, new business models, innovative products, and new types of partnerships are surfacing everywhere.

Automated Servicing

Why Your Business Should Be Leveraging Automated Servicing Technology

In today’s digital world, insurers across the industry are recognizing that their agencies need improved servicing options to work more efficiently and sell more business.

Industry Trends

IVANS Index: Industry Insights to Help You Run Your Business Better

More than a year ago, the IVANS team asked agents and insurers, “What insight is missing in the industry that you truly need to better run your business and serve your clients?”

Industry Trends

Emerging Trends: The Widening Technology Gap – And How to Close It

Recently, I spoke at the 2017 AAMGA Automation Conference in Atlanta, an annual gathering of MGAs and insurance professionals that centers on automation and advancements in insurance technology.

Marketing & Distribution

New Ways to Distribute Your Products

As the digital transformation of insurance continues, agencies and insurers have come to rely on technology to run their businesses. In order to provide the best coverage to their insureds, agents are looking to place their risks with the best markets by product and service.

Marketing & Distribution

Grow Your Business Through the Independent Agent Channel

On a daily basis, there are new stories commenting on technology’s impact on our world. Technology is redefining communications, evolving business and upstarting new economies.

Agent-Insurer Connectivity

What Do Agents Want from Insurers?

The world is becoming more digital and the insurance industry is no different. Consumers are demanding real-time customer service from their insurance providers.

Automated Servicing

Getting Started with eDocs & Messages – What You Need to Know

Insurance has historically been known as a paper-heavy industry that mails all notices, policy information and general messages.

Industry Trends

Women in Insurance: Meet 2 Industry Leaders Paving the Way for the Future of Insurance

Insurance Networking News’ 9th Annual Women in Insurance Leadership conference took place recently in Chicago, celebrating gender diversity in the workplace and honoring the important contributions of women who have helped redefine the insurance industry.

Industry Trends

2020 Insurance Trends: Competing in an Era of Customer Immediacy

Humans and technology are inseparable. Each impacts the other, in both predicted and inexplicable ways. The co-evolution of humans and technology continues to progress exponentially through time, and currently, the interdependence of the two is bringing society into an era of customer immediacy.

Industry Trends

Technology & the Insurance Industry – Buckle Up, There’s an Exciting Ride Ahead

This is a great time in the insurance industry, and we have an exciting ride ahead of us. But before I get into that, I want to share this GE commercial I saw the other day that reminded me of how our industry is often perceived. It’s embedded below, so check it out before reading on.