Connectivity: The Secret to Competing in the Age of the Customer

Today, insurance agencies face many challenges that they didn’t contemplate years ago. Consumer buying behaviors and patterns are different. Now, you find shoppers engaging with you after doing extensive research, not up front. Service expectations are different too. “I’ll get back to you with an answer” doesn’t cut it with consumers who want and expect an immediate response. And whatever response or communication does take place must be on the customer’s terms, not the agent’s.

To meet changing consumer demands and gain a competitive advantage, agencies must leverage the power of connected technology. Technology provides your business with data-driven insights about your customers and automates business operations between your agency management system and your insurer partners. Connectivity technology creates more streamlined processes while driving more insurer connections to drive higher agent productivity and better service for customers.

Dive deeper into your data

Understanding data and having meaningful information available for all agency functions is important. That’s why you should focus on making sure employees enter thorough and accurate data. Workflow consistency can yield real productivity gains. So can implementing procedures and processes to capture comprehensive customer risk and demographic information your agency can use to better market and engage customers.

Data analytics helps you better understand client, prospect and employee trends and activities. With business intelligence gained from your system data, you can easily zero in on new business opportunities, identify responsive and profitable insurer performance, and productively align resources, activities and employees.

Access data anytime, anywhere

Data within the system is only actionable when it’s accessible. That’s why it’s essential to have a mobile solution that integrates seamlessly with your management system. Mobile technology provides your staff with access to client information while out of the office, enabling them to be more productive and to capitalize on new business opportunities. Mobile also enhances your customers’ service experience by providing online 24/7 access to policy information.

Develop relationships with the best insurers

Insurer connectivity technology provides your agency with a single workflow for information exchange, reducing manual processes and allowing you to deliver faster, more complete service to your customers. These automated workflows eliminate time spent on daily manual administrative tasks, including searching for quotes, policy information and appetite on multiple websites, or using outdated paper guides.

Connecting with insurers enables your agency to access new markets and quickly search insurer market appetite to submit new and renewal business, enabling staff to provide product range and insurer choice. Insurer connectivity also provides data-driven industry insights on expected renewal rate changes to ensure your agency provides guidance to clients around renewals and that you are focused on the most profitable lines of business for future growth.

Technology also automates the exchange of policy-related information from insurer systems into your management system to ensure the most accurate information is available for servicing. Automating data exchange allows you to seamlessly view, manage and increase insurer connections to meet the ever-changing needs of your business. Additionally, by eliminating manual management of administrative tasks, staff can save up to an hour a day per employee.

Ultimately, automating connectivity is critical to the core value proposition of the independent agent – providing the best products and advice to your clients. Therefore maximizing your insurer connection opportunities is key. By using applications to increase insurer connectivity like IVANS Exchange – a free online tool for viewing and managing insurer and MGA download connections on demand – you can easily identify which download connections are available, inactive or not turned on. 

Connect today for a more competitive tomorrow

As the business of insurance becomes truly connected, agencies have the opportunity to improve operational efficiency, capture new clients across all lines of business and increase loyalty and retention. The best performing businesses will set forth on a digital transformation to meet the ever-changing expectations of the connected insured and capitalize on the new market opportunities of the connected insurer. Agencies embracing digital transformation will realize the benefits of the connected business of insurance to grow and thrive.

Agency-Carrier Connectivity, Access to Markets, Agents, Best Practices, 2018