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.

As a new general agency, Attune is aware of these challenges, and found a better solution for communicating appetite to and finding new agents. Offering Businessowners’ policies, Commercial Liability Excess policies and Workers’ Compensation from strong financial insurers, Attune leverages IVANS Markets to effectively communicate its appetite to current and prospective agency partners.

Head of Business Development for Attune, Patrick Girouard, sat down with us to provide more insight into Attune’s use of IVANS technology.

IVANS: Tell us about Attune’s business model.

Patrick: Started in January of 2017 and backed by AIG, Two Sigma IQ and Hamilton Insurance Group, Attune is reinventing how independent agents sell small business insurance. Attune uses technology to gather data to limit the amount of data entry agents must complete for appointments, applications and underwriting. Getting a bindable quote from Attune takes minutes – not days or weeks.

Attune’s use of data doesn’t stop with the application process. It is an integral part of its underwriting and analytical edge, allowing Attune to successfully write many classes of business including some of the most frequently searched classes on IVANS Markets: Lessor’s Risk, Medical Offices, Artisan Contractors and Restaurants.

IVANS: Why is it important for Attune to embrace digital as a foundation to the business and customer service models?

Patrick: As a digital-first general agency, ease of use is critical for our customer base and embracing digital is what springboards that experience. It’s important to us that we create the best insurance experience possible for everyone – insurers, agents and their small-business clients. By embracing digital, we can further our mission of empowering our insurance agents to spend time where it matters most – with their clients, not on paperwork or administrative tasks.

Attune has built a business around digital – utilizing analytics to digitize the appointment, application and underwriting process. It only made sense to leverage digital technology to communicate our appetite to agents.

IVANS: How do you feel IVANS brings value to the industry?

Patrick: Sitting at the intersection of the insurance transaction between agents and insurers, IVANS is in a unique position to access information regarding what is happening in the insurance world in real time. It’s because of their data-driven insights and energy around empowering the independent agency channel that makes the partnership between IVANS and Attune such a natural fit.

IVANS: What business drivers made Attune look to communicating appetite through IVANS?

Patrick: As a new entrant to the market, communicating at scale is a challenge. Partnering with IVANS helps us get our message across in a clear, efficient and consistent way to the largest network of 32,000 independent agencies.

It shouldn’t be a mystery to insurance agents as to which insurer or MGA can write which policy. Agents should know what we can and cannot do – even though it would only take minutes, we don’t want them to waste their time submitting business that isn’t in appetite. IVANS gives that information newfound horsepower and velocity.

IVANS: Why is having appetite communications integrated into agency management systems important?

Patrick: An agent’s agency management system is a massive part of their day-to-day lives, so we need to make sure it works both smart and hard. The management system is also where agents are most comfortable operating, so the more tools you can integrate into this world where they already exist, and streamline and standardize it, the better.

Think about it this way: agents already have volumes of information to deal with – appetites and rules are always changing and inconsistent. So, which would you prefer:

1. A 50-page hard copy PDF document that must be constantly updated.
2. A digital platform that provides accurate information in real time at your fingertips.

We know that #1 can lead to human error and wasted resources, but perhaps most dangerously, decisions made on incomplete or inaccurate information.

#2 makes the entire experience faster, accurate and profitable for everyone involved.

IVANS: How does Attune’s partnership with IVANS support your digital transformation?

Patrick: The way we look at it, we are working alongside IVANS as we go on this digital transformation journey. IVANS is an excellent partner that breathes new life into the commercial agents’ insurance experience.

To learn more about how your company can instantly communicate appetite to the more than 32,000 agents in the IVANS network, watch the Future of Commercial Lines Distribution on-demand webinar.

Marketing & Distribution, Carriers, MGAs, 2019