Connecting with customers is an essential part of the insurance business, and, these days, texting is a universal way of connecting with anyone. If you’re in the business of connecting, shouldn’t texting be part of your insurance software? The answer, of course, is...
6 Insurance Challenges and the Best Agency Management System Capabilities to Combat Them
Growing any business can be difficult, but it’s been especially tough for the insurance industry of late. Studies show the insurance sector’s growth rate is slowing, moving from 12.5% in 2006 to a predicted 3% to 5% seven years later. With such a significant growth decrease, agencies must do all they can to overcome growth obstacles.
What are some of those obstacles, and how can you combat them? We take a look at the common issues facing agencies and the best agency management system capabilities to break down barriers to success.
Challenge #1: Cost-Effective Marketing
Agencies are seeing more marketing competition direct from carries, and less support from the carries themselves in the marketing realm. This raises concern about how to stand out when you’ve got less to spend.
Data is the answer. The more you know about your customers and prospective audience, the better. With more knowledge, you can spend your dollars wisely, targeting audience segments and content with the highest ROI for your agency. Marketing automation and CRM software are essential in helping you collect better data, analyze more effectively, and deliver results faster.
Challenge #2: Industry Tech Advances
There are dozens of new methods and mechanisms in the industry. The key is to focus on those that matter and attack them first. Process digitization should be your first.
By digitizing processes, you can save time and money and deliver better service to your customers. A recent Harvard Business Review study found process digitization can deliver up to a 65% reduction in cost, 90% reduction in process turnaround time, and as much as a 20% increase in conversion rates. Plus, moving to paperless processes means decreased E&O issues.
Great digitization resources include integrated proposal creator, esignatures, and email in your management system. The more you can do without mailing, printing, and faxing, the better.
Are you up with the tech trends for the industry? See if you’re leveraging the best agency software
Challenge #3: Customer Barriers to Entry
Insurance is already a hard sell as it’s not seen as a necessity. Add to that a cumbersome underwriting process, and you’re making it less likely for leads to convert. Again, paperless or digitized processes and integrated systems will alleviate much of that pain.
In addition to paperless and integration, a client portal makes it easier for customers and prospects to do business with your agency. A client-facing portal allows constituents to make changes and get the information they need instantly, making them much more likely to come back again.
Challenge #4: Fear of E&O
Errors and omissions are always on your mind, but even more so with increasing security threats and more stringent industry regulations. You can put these fears at ease with paperless processing of information and integrated systems as well.
By digitizing documents and processes, you can be sure you won’t misplace or be unable to understand documentation. Integrated systems like email and texting help you accurately track customer interactions so you can go back and confirm information easily. Both are designed to keep you and your customers safer.
Challenge #5: Customer Expectations
Tech advances have amped up customer expectations across industries. A Salesforce.com report found more than 70% of customers expect businesses to change their service based on customer interactions. That means you need to understand customer expectations and adjust your services to meet them.
The good news is J.D. Power already did the work for you: a 2018 Auto Insurance Study found customers with the highest auto insurance satisfaction cited access to self-service tools and mobile apps as the top two things that make them happy. Start with these two customer-focused tools and you’ll be on your way to keeping up with expectations.
Dive deeper into what customers really want on our blog
Challenge #6: Lead Generation
You knew you’d find lead generation on this list. It’s the number one issue for most businesses, and insurance is no expectation. The best and most effective tool to increase your leads is a CRM (Customer Relationship Management tool). CRMs are built for lead management and provide you with a host of data to help you target and grow leads more effectively.
One way you can leverage a CRM is to identify your agency’s niche markets. For example, maybe you see you’re providing coverage to multiple emergency vehicle fleets or that you have a knack for serving those with lifelong health conditions like diabetes. Refine your services to meet these niche areas and you’ll find great success in targeted markets.
Gain more insights on Insurance Prospecting as an Independent Agency here
Getting Ahead of Roadblocks with Partner Platform
Our Partner Platform Community is focused on identifying obstacles and working towards solutions to support our agencies. Our most recent Partner Platform additions, Partner Connect and Producer Results Manager, are just a piece of what we have to keep our agencies equipped for whatever comes next.
Hear from the agencies themselves on our client stories page and see for yourself when you view a demo at sispartnerplatform.com.
Partner Platform
Agency Management, CRM, Marketing, Mobile Partner Platform is more than an AMS… it’s a true platform. Partner Platform is an industry-leading comprehensive system that is easy to use. Designed for the agency that is looking for a trusted partner,...
Are You in Line with These 2019 Digital Insurance Advances?
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.
Find out more about data privacy regulations and how to keep your agency safe
- Data-informed decision making
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, and through texting or an agency mobile app. The more ways you’re engaging with prospects the better.
See how to leverage an omnichannel marketing approach for your agency
- Self-service tech
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 portal with 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.
Find out how to leverage the latest technology for your agency here
Finding a Management System that Can Keep Up
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.
Learn more about Partner Platform and view a demo today at sisparterplatform.com.
What Are You Worth?: Insurance Agency Support Tools and Steps for Perpetuation Prep
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.
Find out how to leverage your management system to track agency progress
- 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.
See what our partner agencies had to say about perpetuation in the SIS Perpetuation Survey
- Hire right, and get them to stay
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.
Should you pass on your agency or sell? Get tips on how to decide here
- Know (and commit to keep to) your role
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.
Ask yourself these 5 questions when preparing your agency for perpetuation
Prepping for the Future, Now
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.
Partner Platform and SIS are here to help. With integrated accounting, a Producer Results CRM, and other agency valuation and business tools, along with a dedicated SIS team and Partner Community, you have all you need to thrive today and for years to come.
Set up your agency up for success – contact us at [email protected] today.
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