It’s October: time for football, pumpkin flavored everything and of course annual price increases.
Each year around this time, providers update premiums on cable, satellite radio, agency management systems, and other products. I can’t blame them. Inflation affects us all. Yet, like a quarterback on fourth down, these changes prompt a mad scramble to get my money’s worth. Do I switch to a new provider? Do I cut my services? How can I get more out of what I’m paying?
When it comes down to it, I have the option to adjust what’s happening. Rather than accept what is “given” to me, I can call an audible and change the play. For agencies, this can look like reinvesting in learning, taking advantage of resources, and looking for ways to gain the advantages available to them.
Until I sat down to write this post, I’d never considered this option. And I’m not alone.
I work with agencies on a regular basis and find many aren’t maximizing use of their management system. They overlook capabilities like email integration and customized reporting, paying for time-savers they never use. For many, their agency management system is one of their highest expenses, yet their most underutilized.
Sadly most agencies simply don’t know where to go for help. As a National Account Manager for Strategic Insurance Software (SIS), it’s my mission to ensure clients never feel this way. I strive to connect each agency with tools to use our Partner XE agency management system to its fullest so that they get the most out of their investment. Tools like:
Personalized onsite and online training workshops walking clients through the most efficient ways to use the Partner XE system
Monthly webinars targeting how to best utilize specific capabilities, workflows, and systems
Online Knowledge Base, QuickGuides, and Learning Center linking users to step-by-step guides and how-to videos
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.
Quick – what words come to mind when you think of your agency management system?
Familiar? Tolerable? “There”?
If such a lack-luster description defines this integral part of your agency, it’s time to reevaluate why you stay.
We asked clients to describe their old system….
“I never felt comfortable…and it got more expensive by the day…It was obvious their only motive was getting us to spend more money.”
“It seemed like it took 20 clicks before an action could be completed. The program was loaded with bells and whistles (and flawed basic functions). We were paying a lot of money for an inefficient program!”
“It felt like you entered a massive switchboard and hit eight different numbers before talking to someone….They seldom acted on our requests and if they did it was very time-consuming.”
“If you ever had issues with (our previous system), good luck getting someone to call you and fix it. It was very cumbersome and the number of clicks it took to get anything done was obscene.”
Sound familiar?
These agencies knew they didn’t have to put up with high prices, poor service and an overbuilt, inefficient management system. You don’t have to either.
“It’s twice the system, and the personnel are twice as responsive as our old provider. Transition was easy too — no headache, no regrets.” – Pat Hull, Jacobs-Weber Insurance
“The service is head and shoulders above what we experienced with our old provider. It’s unbelievable how willing they are to respond and adapt to support us as an agency.” – Chad Van Camp, Family Insurance Center
“With SIS, I always get the feeling that they want to do whatever they can to make the system user-friendly…I think that their goal every day is to make Partner XE the best system it possibly can be.” – Leslie Huesman, Huesman Insurance Group
“SIS has showed me that my concerns are important to them… I have showed them a number of things. The difference between them and (my old provider) is that at SIS they were excited to see this stuff… to see how they can incorporate it.” – Steven Kramer, Kramer Insurance Center
“They don’t only resolve/answer the issue at hand, but they think long term and try to prevent or resolve long term issues as well.” – Marla Hutchings, Neal Dastrup Insurance
Ready to demand more?
Find out what it’s costing you to stay with an underperforming system. Access our Management System ROI Calculator and get in touch with the SIS team today. You can reach us at s800.747.7005, Option 6 or [email protected]
Strategic Insurance Software, LLC (“SIS”, “Company”, “us”, “our”, or “we”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting it through our compliance with this policy.
This policy describes the types of information we may collect from you or that you may provide when you visit the websites www.partnerxe.net, www.partnerxe.com or www.sispartnerplatform.com (our “Website”) and/or use Partner XE™ and/or any web or mobile (including tablet) application, and any supplemental information, tools, programs, equations, algorithms, methods, ideas, or processes of any kind (collectively, the “Services”) that SIS has made available. This policy also describes our practices for collecting, using, maintaining, protecting and disclosing such information.
This policy applies to information we collect:
On this Website.
In connection with Partner XE™ and any mobile or tablet applications.
In e-mail, text and other electronic messages between you and this Website.
It does not apply to information collected by:
Us offline or through any other means, including on any other website operated by SIS or any third party; or
any third party (including our affiliates and subsidiaries), including through any application or content (including advertising) that may link to or be accessible from or on the Website
Please read this policy carefully to understand our policies and practices regarding your information and how we will treat it. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, your choice is to not use our Website or the Services. By accessing or using this Website or the Services, you agree to this privacy policy. This policy may change from time to time and your continued use of this Website or the Services after we make changes is deemed to be acceptance of those changes, so it is your responsibility to check the policy periodically for updates.
Children Under the Age of 13
Our Website and the Services are not intended for children under 13 years of age. No one under age 13 may provide any information to or on the Website or through the Services. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are under 13, do not use or provide any information on this Website or on or through any of its features or the Services, register on the Website, make any purchases through the Website, use any of the interactive features of this Website or the Services or provide any information about yourself to us, including your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address or any screen name or user name you may use. If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a child under 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under 13, please contact us at [email protected].
Information We Collect About You and How We Collect It
We collect several types of information from and about users of our Website, including information:
by which you or your customers may be personally identified, such as name, postal address, e-mail address, telephone number, credit card information, billing information, and any other identifier by which you may be contacted online or offline (“personal information”); and/or
about your internet connection, the equipment you use to access our Website and usage details.
We collect this information:
Directly from you when you provide it to us.
Automatically as you navigate through the Website. Information collected automatically may include usage details, IP addresses and information collected through cookies, web beacons and other tracking technologies.
From third parties, for example, our business partners.
Information You Provide to Us.
The information we collect on or through our Website may include:
Information that you provide by filling in forms on our Website. This includes information provided at the time of registering to use our Website or the Services or requesting further services. We may also ask you for information when you report a problem with our Website or the Services.
Records and copies of your correspondence (including e-mail addresses), if you contact us.
Details of transactions you carry out through our Website and of the fulfillment of your orders. You may be required to provide financial information before placing an order for the Services through our Website.
Your search queries on the Website.
Information We Collect Through Automatic Data Collection Technologies.
As you navigate through and interact with our Website, we may use automatic data collection technologies to collect certain information about your equipment, browsing actions and patterns, including:
Details of your visits to our Website, including but not limited to traffic data, location data, client data, logs and other communication data and the resources that you access and use on the Website.
Information about your computer and internet connection, including your IP address, operating system and browser type.
The information we collect automatically is statistical data and may include personal/company information. It helps us to improve our Website and the Services and to deliver a better and more personalized service, including by enabling us to:
Estimate our audience size and usage patterns.
Store information about your preferences, allowing us to customize our Website according to your individual interests.
Speed up your searches.
Recognize you when you return to our Website.
The technologies we use for this automatic data collection may include:
Cookies (or browser cookies). A cookie is a small file placed on the hard drive of your computer. You may refuse to accept browser cookies by activating the appropriate setting on your browser. However, if you select this setting you may be unable to access certain parts of our Website. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you direct your browser to our Website.
Flash Cookies. Certain features of our Website may use local stored objects (or Flash cookies) to collect and store information about your preferences and navigation to, from and on our Website. Flash cookies are not managed by the same browser settings as are used for browser cookies.
Web Beacons. Pages of our Website and our e-mails may contain small electronic files known as web beacons (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags and single-pixel gifs) that permit the Company, for example, to count users who have visited those pages or opened an e-mail and for other related website statistics (for example, recording the popularity of certain website content and verifying system and server integrity).
Third-party Use of Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies.
Some content or applications, including advertisements, on the Website are served by third-parties, including advertisers, ad networks and servers, content providers and application providers. These third parties may use cookies alone or in conjunction with web beacons or other tracking technologies to collect information about you when you use our website. The information they collect may be associated with your personal/company information or they may collect information, including personal/company information, about your online activities over time and across different websites and other online services. They may use this information to provide you with interest-based (behavioral) advertising or other targeted content.
We do not control these third parties’ tracking technologies or how they may be used. If you have any questions about an advertisement or other targeted content, you should contact the responsible provider directly.
How We Use Your Information
We use information that we collect about you or your company or that you or your company provide to us, including any personal information:
To present our Website and its contents and the Services to you.
To provide you with information, products or services that you request from us.
To fulfill any other purpose for which you provide it.
To carry out our obligations and enforce our rights arising from any contracts entered into between you and us, including for billing and collection.
To notify you about changes to our Website, the Services, or any other products or services we offer or provide.
To allow you to participate in interactive features on our Website or through the Product.
In any other way we may describe when you provide the information.
For any other purpose with your consent.
We may also use your information to contact you about our own and third-parties’ goods and services that may be of interest to you. If you do not want us to use your information in this way, please contact [email protected].
We may use the information we have collected from you to enable us to display advertisements to our advertisers’ target audiences. Even though we do not disclose your personal information for these purposes without your consent, if you click on or otherwise interact with an advertisement, the advertiser may assume that you meet its target criteria.
Disclosure of Your Information
We may disclose aggregated information about our users, and information that does not identify any individual (or any individual company), without restriction.
We may disclose personal/company information that we collect or you provide as described in this privacy policy:
To our subsidiaries and affiliates.
To contractors, service providers and other third parties we use to support our business and who are bound by contractual obligations to keep personal information confidential and use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them.
To a buyer or other successor in the event of a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution or other sale or transfer of some or all of SIS’s assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation or similar proceeding, in which personal information held by SIS about our Website or Services users is among the assets transferred.
To third parties to market their products or services to you if you have not opted out of these disclosures.
To fulfill the purpose for which you provide it.
For any other purpose disclosed by us when you provide the information.
With your consent.
We may also disclose your personal/company information:
To comply with any court order, law or legal process, including to respond to any government or regulatory request.
To enforce or apply any Agreement between SIS and you for use of any portion or version of the Services and other agreements, including for billing and collection purposes.
If we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property, or safety of SIS, our customers or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.
Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information
We strive to provide you with choices regarding the personal/company information you provide to us. We have created mechanisms to provide you with the following control over your information:
Tracking Technologies and Advertising. You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. To learn how you can manage your Flash cookie settings, visit the Flash player settings page on Adobe’s website. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this site may then be inaccessible or not function properly.
We do not control third parties’ collection or use of your information to serve interest-based advertising. However these third parties may provide you with ways to choose not to have your information collected or used in this way.
Your California Privacy Rights
California Civil Code Section § 1798.83 permits users of our Website that are California residents to request certain information regarding our disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please send an e-mail to [email protected].
Data Security
We have implemented measures designed to secure your personal/company information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, alteration and disclosure.
The safety and security of your information also depends on you. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password for access to the Services or certain parts of our Website, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share your password with anyone.
Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we do our best to protect your personal/company information, we cannot guarantee the security of your information transmitted to the Services or our Website. Any transmission of information (including personal or company information) is at your own risk. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained in the Services or on the Website.
Changes to Our Privacy Policy
It is our policy to post any changes we make to our privacy policy on this page. The date the privacy policy was last revised is identified at the top of the page. You are responsible for ensuring we have an up-to-date active and deliverable e-mail address for you, and for periodically visiting our Website and this privacy policy to check for any changes.
Contact Information
To ask questions or comment about this privacy policy and our privacy practices, contact us at [email protected].
Your agency is made up of people: each with unique personalities, preferences, and positions. So, why force each to use your insurance agency management system in the same way?
Different people and roles need different things from your agency management system. And your agency has different needs than other agencies. You’re an independent agency – you adapt to serve your local community. Shouldn’t your management system adapt to serve you?
Enter personalized workflows
Personalized workflows are just what they seem: system processes and views adjusted for your agency and your staff. Examples include:
Tailored naming conventions
Multiple pathways for a single process
Customized home screens
Each agency and person uses their management system differently. One natural differentiation is by roles – for example, producers have different priorities and daily needs than CSRs. Their agency’s management system should meet their varied need.
Adapt your system for each role
Producers
With a heavy sales focus, producers spend most of their time looking at prospect profiles, tracking “x” dates, and checking their commission reports. An ideal producer home screen shows a running to-do list and calendar – likely pulled up on a mobile app. Producers also benefit from simple, straightforward workflows for viewing and editing profiles and reports.
CSR
Ideal customer service is quick and courteous. The last thing a CSR wants is to fumble around for information, growing more frustrated each minute. Streamlined paths and quick links to common procedures relieve stress, allowing reps to deliver the best service. Though each CSR home screen will look different, most will contain quick links to regular tasks, relevant customer profiles, and essential reports.
Owner/Principal
An owner or principal needs a 360-degree view of their agency – and they need it fast. A principal’s dashboard may contain accounting reports, new business reports, and producer stats among other items. Like a producer, principal-owners look for the quickest way to get the information they need, striving for intuitive management system data paths.
Find it all in one system
Meeting individual needs is what we do at Strategic Insurance Software. The Partner XE agency management system was created to serve agencies with built-in personalized workflows, easy reporting, and integrated accounting among other features. We believe in challenging the status quo: asking our customers what they need and delivering.
Find out more about the Partner XE system, including our customer-driven capabilities, at sispartnerplatform.com. Or, contact us at 800.747.7005, Option 6 or [email protected].
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