If you’re in the independent insurance marketing game, you’re on a budget. As a small business, you’re making every dollar count towards serving your customers and helping your agency grow. You simply can’t afford to invest in something that won’t pay off. So, when it comes to marketing, you’re looking for a way to make your hard-earned dollar count. (more…)
SIS is proud to release a new extension to the Partner XE system: the Partner XE Client Portal.
The Client Portal syncs an agency’s website with the Partner XE system, providing insured customers access to policy information online. Through the Portal, agency customers can view and print policy summaries, driver’s lists, auto ID cards, and certificates of insurance instantly. Agencies will receive real-time email notifications of customer activity and can view reports directly in the Partner XE system.
SIS worked closely with Board Members and the Partner XE Community to create the best experience for agencies and their customers alike. Product Manager Bryce Lee said of the Portal, “We achieved what our partner agencies needed: a simple way for policy holders to access their account information from the agency website.”
Multiple Partner XE agencies pilot tested the Client Portal before the full release. Mark Perkins of Perkins Insurance Agency called the Portal “a game changer,” adding, “It gives our clients the ability to securely access their policy information 24/7. This helps us compete directly with online markets and better secures our relationships.”
SIS CEO Alex Deak said the Partner XE Portal “is already one of the best enhancements we’ve added to Partner XE.” He added that the Portal strengthens the agency-customer connection saying, “We ensured the user experience is consistent with the agency brand and complements the existing agency relationship. This adds value through convenience and furthers customer loyalty. That’s the goal: make it easier for our partner agencies to serve their customers.”
The Partner XE Client Portal was released alongside a Partner XE 2017 Update. To read more about the Client Portal and the July 2017 update, read the full press release here.
Discover what Partner XE and SIS can offer your agency. Contact us at 800.747.7005, Option 6 or [email protected]
As an independent insurance agency owner, you’re always looking for ways to improve operations. Whether it’s a tweak in procedures, adding infrastructure, or a workflow overhaul, these adjustments can help you do more, better.
Written by those in the business, insurance blogs share hands-on experiences, best practices, and other helpful advice.
But, it can be a challenge to find a blog that speaks best to your management style and unique agency needs. Never fear: we’ve compiled a list of some of the most popular agency blogs covering a variety of topics and styles to help you find the right fit for you.
Though the SIS blog is top of our list, here are some other great sources for tips and tools to improve agency operations:
1. ITC: Insurance Technologies Corporation: A blog for the tech-savvy, tech-phobic, and anything in-between. It covers relevant technology in the industry and how to keep your agency protected from the threats that come with it.
2. Mega Agency Marketing: This blog focuses on marketing in the industry. It’s full of ideas, ready-made marketing plans, and practical suggestions to get you started in marketing or beef up your current practices.
3. PropertyCasualty360 blogs: A catch-all for industry news, these blogs have stories on various topics from tech tips to governmental policy changes. A go-to for keeping your agency up to date on how to stay relevant and protected.
Read more about the power of tapping into the insurance community here
4. Agency Checklists: This Massachusetts-based blog keeps agencies up-to-date on the ever-changing regulations in the industry.
5. Terms & Conditions: Perfect for understanding the fine print in insurance. Written for insiders and laypersons alike, Terms & Conditions reports on everything: property and casualty, cyber protection, home and auto—you name it, it’s covered.
Keep the Conversation Going
By reading industry blogs, you’re tapping into an on-going conversation within the insurance community. You can keep that conversation going by replying back and engaging with your fellow agency owners. We encourage this conversation within our Partner XE user community. The best ideas and most impactful improvements come out of our connection with our partner agencies and their interactions with each other.
You can join the conversation. Contact us at [email protected] to set up a time to talk with one of our staff. We’d love to hear from you!
When you think essential agency tools, your management system is likely first on your mind. Though this system does a lot (okay, almost everything) for your agency, it alone is not enough to compete with the fast-paced insurance industry.
To stay on top of progress, you need to add other tools to improve insurance agency workflows, creating an adaptable management system. With these tools, you will boost your system’s agility and better serve both customers and prospects alike.
Integrating comparative raters into your agency management system allows for quick, easy policy comparisons. As Kayak or Priceline does for travel, raters do for insurance. With an imbedded comparative rater in your agency management system, you can get back to prospects and clients faster with the best policy options and premiums to fit their needs.
Customer Portals
Creating a space where your customers can view and update their information not only streamlines your communications, it provides customers with a sense of security. Knowing they can view and update their information at any time means customers feel in control.
Such portals should be an extension of your management system and accessible on your agency website. In these portals, customers can print certificates and ID cards, look up policy information, and update their contact information, among other actions. Providing this quick access to information makes your agency versatile.
Mobile Apps
Naturally, mobile apps play a big part in mobilizing your agency management system. Agencies use their mobile app as an extension of their management system, allowing them “on-the-go” access to all their system has to offer. Producers use their management system’s app to look up prospect and client policy info, view contact history and update important records. Customers take advantage of agency mobile apps during emergencies, snapping photos of accidents and initiating claims in the moment.
Having a scanner may not intuitively translate to improving system workflows, but scanning plays a critical role in an important initiative: going paperless. A paperless agency is no longer a trend, it’s a requirement. Storing documents virtually protects them from disaster and theft and improves E&O protection. Adding a scanner to each workstation makes going paperless that much easier.
It’s 2017. Each member of your agency should have their own email address and check it regularly. Customers now rely on email communication, and many times prefer it over in-person or phone calls to get business done. The speed of email is its charm. Policy documents can now be sent, signed, and securely returned through email. And the best systems include email integration so you can send and store emails and easily attach documents right from your management system portal.
Internet Providers
Working with a reliable internet provider is integral to your agency, and especially your management system operations. Your agency needs a provider with reliable upload and downloads speeds that are able to handle the large amount of data you’re processing daily. One way to ensure you’re getting the speeds you paid for is to test them on Speedtest.net, a website that rates your upload and download speeds. Your provider should also be responsive to any issues, getting your agency back online quickly.
These tools, coupled with an adaptable agency management system, will help you stay a cut above the rest. At SIS, we work with multiple partners to bring mobile, online rating, paperless workflows, and other efficiency-wielding tools into our Partner XE management system. We’re constantly improving our system, taking requests from our clients, and challenging the status quo in the industry.
To find out more about SIS and our Partner XE agency management system, contact us here or at 800.747.7005, Option 6.
These are just a sampling of the many learning resources we provide to our clients. But, the greatest resource is the clients themselves. We at SIS look for ways to connect clients, encouraging them to share best practices and learn from each other’s mistakes. Through regional learning workshops and client-run workgroups, our agency partners are constantly investigating and improving the Partner XE management system.
Through these tools and networking opportunities, we help our clients get the first down they need. I challenge you to do the same.
Small businesses point to accountants as some of the most important professionals for their business. That may be because 60% of small business owners say they don’t know the first thing about finance and accounting. As a small business owner, you can probably relate. Many independent agency owners find themselves in an accounting crash-course when they start or take over their business. How can you beat the odds to get a grasp on your agency’s finances and position yourself for future growth?
This past year, one of our team’s major focuses was insurance agency marketing and how we can get the best tools to our Partner Platform agencies, helping them build and grow their agency brand. From our integrated Marketing Automation Manager to our Partner Connect custom website, app, and Client Portal offerings, we spent hours gaining feedback and perfecting our sales and marketing offerings.
Beyond these tools, we also provided a wealth of information on how agencies can build their brand and grow their business on our blog. As we start a new year, we hope you’ll benefit from some of the tips and tricks we’ve captured.
The year 2020 was one like no other: it provided individuals and businesses worldwide with some interesting and rarely seen challenges. Innovation, flexibility, and adaptation were required in increasing measure to reduce risk and make the most of the opportunities that came our way.
For the Partner Platform team at Strategic Insurance Software, the foundational service principles we practice every day were exercised in new ways and to new heights, helping us turn the many challenges of 2020 into some amazing successes. The growth and achievements of the team are truly remarkable.
SIS is proud to release a new extension to the Partner XE system: the Partner XE Client Portal.
