We’re more than halfway through 2019, and as the days continue to get warmer, this year’s tech trends are heating up, too. We took a look back at some 2019 digital insurance trend predictions to see if they still hold up. What we found was many have moved from “up and coming” to “here to stay.” Here are the top six you need to embrace before the year comes to a close.
Top 6 Digital Insurance Advances to Embrace by 2020
Cloud storage and security
As many as 7 out of 10 insurance carriers today utilize cloud technology, and it’s no surprise why. Cloud storage is scalable, flexible, and secure, allowing your business to grow while staying safe. With the rise of data protection trough the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe and consumer privacy legislation in seven states, protecting client data is quickly becoming a must.
The data you’re protecting can be put to good use through predictive analysis. Info gathered from marketing automation and CRMs can tell a lot about where a consumer will go next. Smart devices in cars and homes also provide valuable info. All this data can be used to establish pricing, predict risk, and identify customers looking to add lines or those at risk of cancellation.
Omnichannel outreach
While phone calls and mailing still work, almost 90% of retailers recognize that an omnichannel approach is necessary to win business. This means reaching out to customers via multiple channels, like social media, email, andthrough texting or an agency mobile app. The more ways you’re engaging with prospects the better.
Customer-facing mobile apps and self-service portals are now the norm in the industry. A recent Microsoft survey found 90% of users expected an online portalwith mobile access from their providers. Customers want to access the information they need the moment they need it, and these self-service methods allow them to, without you having to do any extra work. Plus, info from customer and prospect interactions with these tools can feed back into your marketing and lead nurturing systems to help you win more business and keep more customers.
Chatbots and other A.I.
Artificial intelligence (A.I.) and chatbots are no longer a thing of the future – they are here and now. Both are becoming standard in many customer-facing industries, including insurance. Some estimates show that by 2025, 95% of all customer interactions will start with chatbots. Through a chatbot, customers and prospects can get questions answered fast or be directed to the right contact quickly. Bots can save time, provide more immediate service, and overall streamline operations.
Commercial lines comparative raters
Comparative raters have been popular with personal lines for years, but now it’s commercial lines’ time. Tech advances made it possible to scan through hundreds of commercial lines offerings to find the best for your customers and prospects. Such fast processing is now the norm, meaning agencies without comparative rater abilities will be left behind.
With the rapid pace of these tech advancements, it’s important to take a look at current systems and ask: will we make it to 2020 and beyond with this? At SIS, we’re confident our clients will all say, “Yes.”
Our Partner Platform agency management system suite is specifically designed to keep up with changing technology. As tech has evolved, we’ve added elements like our Marketing Automation Manager, Producer Results Manager CRM, and now customer engagement suite Partner Connect. With Partner Connect, agencies get an all-in-one integrated client outreach and support system, including a client portal, branded agency app, and mobile-ready website all connected to a high-powered agency management system.
Whether it’s year or decades off, you can be doing something right now to impact your agency’s perpetuation. Each day is an opportunity to increase your value, all you need is the right insurance agency support tools and methods.
Essential Tools to Elevate Your Agency’s Worth
Customizable agency management system: Notice we didn’t just say “agency management system” – that “customizable” piece is what makes the difference. Invest in a system that adapts to your agency’s specific needs, with room to grow. You want a system you’ll instinctively use every day, tracking and analyzing data that’s critical to assess your value.
Integrated accounting: Accounting integration is an essential piece in your management system. With integrated accounting, your policy, client, and financial data is stored in one place, so you get a clear picture of where your agency stands.
Customer relationship management tool: Also known as a CRM, a customer relationship management tool helps producers better manage their sales pipelines. With an integrated CRM, agents can turn even more prospects into lasting clients, adding to your overall agency value.
Stellar customer support elements: The top three customer support tools to have are: an intuitive and informative website, agency customer portal, and customer agency app. Each of these three is part of a trifecta of reliable customer support, leading to higher retention rates and attractive growth potential.
Secure cloud hosting: Safe data means a safe future, and a secure future means higher value. Ensure your agency’s data is protected on cloud servers with redundant back-ups and multi-character encryption for increased security.
Steps for Perpetuation Prep
Pay attention to cash flow
Current and projected cash flow make buyers take notice. That means your accounting needs to be accurate and your growth needs to be steady. Invest in quality marketing and customer service to maintain a steady influx of new customers and base of lifetime clients.
Focus on cost reduction
Your income will look even better when next to lowering expenses. Pay attention to ways you can reduce waste or streamline processes, knocking down your superfluous output. Tech advances like paperless processing, e-signing, and streamlined document management are game-changers here.
Investing in tech is one of the ways to create value for your agency. Another is hiring the right people. The knowledge and experience possessed by your staff are invaluable assets. Knowing your team’s value, build in funds to offer stay bonuses to keep them around after you retire. You want to pass on an agency with the team that helped build it.
Identify a successor
Part of hiring right is hiring with your departure in mind. Identify potential successors early on and put time into mentoring them. Regardless of whether they’ll be buying, you need to have someone in place to take over the reins when it comes time to retire.
Look for someone who possesses superior leadership skills, is willing to learn, and wants the job. Too often, agency owners want to pass on their business to their children, but the next generation has no interest. Be sure your selected successor is in it for the long haul.
Now is the time to decide how you’ll be involved after passing on your agency. Don’t wait till the moment comes to make a decision! Chances are you will have more emotional attachment that you expect and may not make the right choice. Be specific in your succession plan how you’ll stay connected (or not) once retirement rolls around.
What you do today has a significant influence on your agency’s (and your) future. You need the right tools to help you do business well today and improve it for tomorrow.
Complex Commercial Manage Large and Complex Commercial Accounts Less clicks, more information at your fingertips, easier to respond quickly to your clients with accurate information – those are some of the ways independent insurance leaders describe the value of...
What makes quality customer service? Really, it’s not for you to say – it’s for your customers to define. Your customers have grown used to certain levels of service, and those expectations affect what they look for in their insurance agency support. And they’ll leave if they don’t see it.
How can your agency avoid falling into this service slow-down trap?
Know What Customers Want
Step one to meeting customer expectations is knowing what they want. According to our research, insurance customers look for:
Mobile website access: A 2016 Accenture study showed 41% of respondents used a mobile device to make their insurance purchase – a number that is likely much higher now.
AI insights: An Accenture study found almost three-quarters of customers are “very or somewhat willing” to get insurance advice and answers from a computer-generated platform.
Results from shared data: The same Accenture survey revealed 57% of respondents recognize the importance of sharing their data with insurers and are willing to do so in exchange for “added benefits” like personalized offers and discounts.
Single point contact: Your customers value speed, but they also value consistency. A McKinsey survey showed when agencies moved customers to have a single point of contact, satisfaction increased by 50% and follow-ups decreased by more than 80%.
There are dozens of tech solutions out there to meet the above customer needs, but that doesn’t mean they are all right for your agency. Start by deciding what tools you need (i.e., customer portal, CRM, marketing automation) and then look at specific systems. When looking, be sure to:
Check with your management system user group to get advice and hear experiences
Ensure new tools are compatible with your current systems
Asses time savings and efficiency improvements as well as cost savings
Ask about training and support provided
Go for tools and systems with dynamic updates so you don’t need to buy the latest version year after year
If you need a mobile app, we got that. Want a customer portal? We got that, too. CRM? Marketing automation? Mobile website templates? Yes, yes, and yes.
You can get all the insurance customer support tech you want, and the superior service you need to back it up, with the Partner Platform from SIS. With your management system, marketing, sales outreach, and customer support all in one pace, Partner Platform provides the unifying communications required to meet customer needs.
With Partner Platform, you’ll also get our new Partner Connect customer communication tool. Partner Connect ensures customers are being heard and supplied with the tools they want to connect with you.
Find out more about this innovative insurance customer support tool and the team behind it. Contact us at 800.747.7005, Option 6 or [email protected].
It doesn’t matter whether you consider yourself introverted or extroverted; the fact is part of running an agency means meeting people and making connections. Everyone has their own way, but being social is a critical piece of your insurance agency marketing. Here are three ways you can up your interactions, engagements, and ultimately sales.
Discover more ways to reach out and make connections with our post on “How Do Insurance Agents Get Clients?”
Go where the people are
Never expect people to come to you – it is always your job to go to them. That means getting “out there” physically and virtually.
Engage with prospects virtually with a social media presence. Create and maintain profiles on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram, among other platforms. Use these profiles to build relationships by interacting with followers and establishing your agency as a local expert.
Engage in social media groups, especially on LinkedIn, and use your profiles to watch for life changes from certain prospects. A Facebook post on getting a new car or tweet about a child graduating give signals it may be time for them to re-think their coverage.
You also need to be physically present in your target territories. Spend time in local coffee shops, attend services at a community church, and have your car serviced at an area auto body shop. Each time you’re out and about is an opportunity to see a prospect or current customer and build a relationship through conversation.
Go one step further by volunteering with local service agencies and attending local events like sports games or festivals. Get your name out there by sponsoring events or hosting booths, helping people to connect your agency with community and service. Hold events of your own as well, sharing your expertise in areas like planning for the future and protecting your home from natural disaster.
Read more on prospecting in your community in our recent blog post
Keep them talking
When you do get into a conversation (whether online or in-person) keep your goal in mind. That goal may be to introduce yourself as an agent or to find out more about their needs, but ultimately it will always be to keep your conversation going. That means determining a time when you can talk again; setting up a meeting or phone call. Whatever you can do to move a step forward is a win.
In your impromptu conversations, focus on getting to know the person and find out what they’re looking forward to, worried about, or other significant events in their life. This creates an opportunity to think about how you can protect the things they need protected and bring peace of mind to them and their families. Use this knowledge when you meet.
During your planned meetings, find out what prompted them to meet with you and/or what they hope to get out of the meeting. With the right questions, you can uncover their direct needs, making it easier to win them as a customer. At the end of your meeting, ask if there is anything you missed that could help them commit.
Talking and engaging with prospects is only one part of the equation. You need the right tools to document and help you continue the conversations. Texting is becoming more popular for agents and customers alike, and integrated texting can help you capture these conversations instantly.
Marketing automation is another essential piece for prospecting. Segment your client and prospect lists to communicate the right message at the right time, and more easily stay in touch using automated campaigns.
How do you manage relationships with people who are not yet your customers? All the data you collect should be stored in a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool to help you manage activity and analyze your efforts.
The final pieces you need for quality outreach and engagement are a branded app, client portal, and high-quality website. Each of these elements is essential to your online presence and customer service.
The app and portal allow customers and prospects to reach you wherever you are and get the information they need instantly.
Your website is your landing place – it’s where people will go after they’ve talked with you or to do research before a meeting. Make sure it is well-branded, easy to navigate, and an effective way for customers to connect with you.
Once you have new leads, you need to track, engage, and nurture each before they become customers. We’ve designed our Partner Platform agency management tool to do just that. Partner Platform offers an integrated Producer Results Manager CRM to follow prospect progress, and Marketing Automation Manager to keep contacts connected. And, we’re introducing our Partner Connect customer engagement tool to keep prospects-turned-customers engaged for years to come.
Find out more about Partner Platform and how it can help you get connected, stay engaged, and boost sales: contact us at 800.747.7005, Option 6 or [email protected].
Are you intentional about your insurance agency marketing? If you’re sailing by on your current client base and waiting for the phone to ring, you’ll soon be left behind. As one of our clients recently said, the “order-taker” agencies are quickly becoming a thing of the past. With most potential customers searching for insurance online, you need to be thoughtful about your agency brand and how to get it found.
As we recently heard from one of our Partner Allies, one of the most significant challenges facing independent insurance in the next ten years is how to keep up with the progress of digital insurance technology while maintaining a personal connection with customers.
Studies show customers want agencies to use more tech and increase service personalization. A recent PWC survey found 41% of insurance customers said they’d switch to a new provider if that provider were more digitized than their current one. And the recent COVID-19 pandemic shutdown exposed more people to digital service speed, causing a lasting shift in expectations.
How can your agency harness digital insurance tech’s speed and efficiency without losing your signature personal touch?
Identifying the right insurance sales software and systems requires understanding the balance of quality and quantity for valuable insurance leads. The concept of “living on renewals” is great – until it’s not. Intentional, proactive, professional insurance sales demand the right mindset, strategy, and systems to make the desired impact in an independent insurance agency.
Rethinking your insurance sales software and systems doesn’t have to be a major project. Start with knowing what you want, bringing that into your sales mindset, and finally acclimating to new tech. It only takes a step at a time.
