The year 2020 was unique in many ways, one of which was how the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the use of technology across industries. This was just the beginning. We continue to see insurance software emerge as a decisive factor among agencies. Many of our independent agencies identify understanding and embracing tech as critical for survival and growth for small to medium-sized agencies.
So, to prepare our agency clients, we look forward and ask: what does the future of insurance software hold?
An Agency Management System that Can Grow
Gathering, analyzing, and storing prospect and customer data is essential for the future of insurance. Your agency management system is your data hub, and it needs to keep up with expanding data use. Successful agencies will have a management system that evolves with the changing market without interrupting daily service. Modern agency management systems need to live in the cloud, have regular updates, and focus on security to help your agency stay data-forward.
Systems that Work Together
The future of insurance software is systems that work
together without you having to lift a finger. Integrated accounting, email,
texting, quoting, and other systems save time and improve data processing. As
system integration continues to improve, agencies that utilize their management
system as a proper “system of record,” flooding data to and from other
necessary systems without duplicate entry, will get ahead.
Intelligent Reporting
Data reporting and analytics are just as important as storage and integration. As analytics improves, agencies will be able to conduct the type of analyses that large carriers do today. With quality, customizable reporting, your agency can improve lead qualification and identify more ways to grow your current book of business. Analytics can also help improve your customer service, identifying areas of specific need so you can devote resources to address them.
Digital Sales and Marketing
The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA)’s Independent Insurance Agent Survey found that over 64% of respondents said it’s “Very or Extremely Important” that their partners provide marketing and sales support. These agencies recognize that digitized sales and marketing are now essential for success. That doesn’t mean other marketing forms should go out the window; it simply means you need to diversify your efforts. A quality website, marketing automation to send targeted messaging, and a CRM to track individual sales journeys should all be in your agency sales and marketing toolbelt.
Personalized Customer Service
While your team can provide personalized service to a certain number of customers, it’s difficult for them to keep up once you hit hundreds or more. Digital customer service can help you provide that all-important personal service without your staff needing to work 24/7. Client portals are now expected among millennial and Gen Z insurance customers, giving them access to their plan information and the ability to update information and print insurance cards anytime. Texting is another quality tool that puts customers in direct connection with agents when needed, giving them the immediate, personal attention they expect.
Stay on Top of Insurance Software with Partner Platform
and SIS
Our SIS team knows the value of identifying and
investing in insurance technology. We work alongside our Partner Platform
agencies and specialized tech partnerships to understand emerging needs in the
industry before they become essential. Our Partner Platform integrations and
updates are focused and beta tested, so they’re ready for our agencies to use immediately.
Part of what makes our Partner Platform agency
management system and insurance CRM so robust is the partnerships we foster
with insurance tech companies. Our
Partner Allies specialize in their arenas, from esignatures to comparative
rating and more, each Partner Ally hones their technology to serve agency
needs.
Our Partnership with Exago and Exago BI
Today we highlight our longstanding partner, Exago. Exago specializes in building and delivering customized business insights with intuitive reporting and dashboards that anyone can use. After designing and implementing our own BI ad hoc reporting system, we found it too cumbersome and confusing for our Partner Platform agencies. Acting on our spirit of innovation and efficiency, the team knew it was time to look for an expert to work with and for our community.
Enter Exago and their Exago BI solution. They
offered canned templates to make available in Partner Platform user libraries and
allow users to adjust reports and dashboards in real-time as needed. Plus, Partner Platform
users can create ad hoc, highly customized reporting and dashboards from
scratch.
What Exago BI Brings to Partner Platform Agencies
In our search for a business insights tool, we knew
we needed something that would adapt to our Partner Platform agencies’ unique
needs. In Exago BI, we found a system that was:
Flexible with canned and ad hoc reporting
and dashboard abilities
Easy to use so employees of all levels of
tech and business understanding could create, manipulate, and read information
Web-based to integrate seamlessly with
Partner Platform’s cloud-based system
Customizable to fit the varying needs of
agencies of any size
Exago BI checked all the boxes. Plus, the people
at Exago mirror the SIS and Partner Platform team: imaginative, resourceful,
client-focused, and community-oriented. SIS CEO Alex
Deak said it best:
When
we decided to start our search for a business insights integration, we knew we
were looking for a partner, not just a solution. After meeting with several
different companies, Exago stood out. Everyone we met with had enthusiasm and
drive. They were client-driven and relentless in finding the best solutions.
Not only is their BI tool powerful and offers great features, but their people match
its excellence. We’re happy with our partnership and look forward to success
for years to come.
Learn More About Our Partnerships
The ingenuity and utility of Exago’s BI system are
part of what makes the system a great fit for SIS and our Partner Platform
agencies. The other part is the common culture we share. As Mike Brody,
President & CEO at Exago, said:
SIS
shares our client-first approach to product development, and it’s made them an
ideal partner. We strive to provide the most user-friendly, self-service BI and
reporting solution on the market, and that wouldn’t be possible without engaged
clients like SIS. They’re always forthcoming with feedback and insight into
their use cases. We look forward to a continued partnership.
Exago is an example of just one of the great
companies we partner with here at SIS. These tech relationships are more than
integrations with our Partner Platform system – they’re commitments from
like-minded companies with diverse strengths working to serve mutual clients.
Our next “Behind Our Insurance Agency Software”
series focuses on encrypted email and
signature provider RPost. Based in Los Angeles, CA, the team at
RPost operates in the U.S., the U.K., and more than 100 countries worldwide.
Formed in
1999, RPost filled an emerging need in online communications. While the
convenience of email made it the dominant form of business communications, the
team at RPost saw a worrying trend in email security. Organizations were
sending sensitive information via the web and needed to protect it.
RPost stepped up to fill that gap between convenience and security, adding legal verification to email content and attachments through encryption technology. I talked with RPost’s VP of Business Development, Jake Finnell, about how RPost brought its powerful encrypted email and esignature services to SIS and the Partner Platform community.
How did you first become connected with SIS and Partner Platform? What prompted you to want to collaborate?
Our partnership started around 2013 thanks to
mutual clients who saw a possible collaboration. They reached out to us and
SIS, asking to integrate our services with the Partner Platform system. When we
connected with the SIS team, we saw the opportunity – it was apparent that SIS’s
clients needed a secure way to send and sign documents. After talking more with
the SIS team, we knew they were someone we could work with; the drive to
collaborate and innovate was there.
How did you first become connected with SIS and Partner Platform? What prompted you to want to collaborate?
Our partnership started around 2013 thanks to mutual clients who saw a
possible collaboration. They reached out to us and SIS, asking to
integrate our services with the Partner Platform system. When we
connected with the SIS team, we saw the opportunity – it was apparent
that SIS’s clients needed a secure way to send and sign documents. After
talking more with the SIS team, we knew they were someone we could work
with; the drive to collaborate and innovate was there.
What services do you provide for the Partner
Platform customer base?
Initially, we integrated our
RMail service with Partner Platform’s email integration. RMail provides
HIPPA-compliant email security and encryption, allowing Partner Platform users
to email documents with sensitive information to their clients. We recently
expanded our services with our RSign esignature service.
With RSign, Partner Platform agencies can send and receive secure, binding
signatures on documents. This makes it easier for agencies to sign new
business, update existing coverages, and process claims for their clients.
What prompted you to want to
collaborate and integrate your technology with SIS and Partner Platform? Why
did you feel the collaboration would be beneficial?
The market demand was strong. Partner Platform is
a popular management system among independent agencies, and insurance agencies
need better ways to send and receive the confidential documents they deal with
daily. We’re excited to partner with the SIS team to provide this essential
service to their agencies because they’re a great team to work with.
What do Partner Platform clients like about
RMail and RSign? What type of feedback do you hear?
We hear great feedback. Agents and brokers are
constantly focused on revenue-generating activities, and the combination of
“ease of use” and affordability are the top two comments we hear. That
combination makes it easy for agencies to generate revenue rather than worry
about security, compliance, and collaboration.
What has been your experience with the
SIS/Partner Platform team so far?
The SIS
team is highly responsive and constantly provides top-tier support and
educational content for their customers. That combination is rare – we can see
how we can grow together, continually improving our services.
What emerging needs do you see for
cybersecurity and insurance in the next 3-5 years?
Every day, we learn something new about how
technology can help us and how it makes us vulnerable. Cyber
threats and attackers are constantly evolving,
and the insurance industry needs to evolve, too, to stay one step ahead. We’re
focused on continually improving our services, and we know SIS is as well. Armed
with SIS and RPost, insurance agents and brokers can keep ahead of these
threats.
In the latest of our “Behind Our Insurance Agency Software” series, we talk with Brad Ruben of IT services provider Archway Computer. Archway has been one of our industry partners for years, and we rely on Brad and his team to keep us and our community up-to-date on the latest insurtech and cybersecurity.
Brad Ruben
has been working with insurance agnecy software since 1985, when he first
helped a family friend install and run a Coast Premium Rater software as part
of the friend’s insurance business. Since then, Brad founded Archway Computers
to help independent agencies get the best insurtech and IT support at a price
they can afford.
I talked with Brad about Archway’s partnership with SIS and the Partner Platform community, aiding agencies with IT services and providing expert consultation around insurtech and security.
How did you first become connected with SIS and Partner Platform? What prompted you to want to collaborate?
We had a mutual client who told me about SIS and Partner Platform. There
was a definite connection around personalized service and commitment to
innovation. Once I met with SIS President Michael Doran, we immediately hit it off and have been working together ever since.
We had a mutual client who told me about SIS and Partner Platform. There was a definite connection around personalized service and commitment to innovation. Once I met with SIS President Michael Doran, we immediately hit it off and have been working together ever since.
We get
great feedback from our Partner Platform clients about how SIS and the team
support them, which we love to see in any insurance technology provider. However,
what really stands out is the seamless sales and marketing integrations SIS provides in Partner Platform. That’s
something few agency management systems do well.
What services do you provide for SIS and the
Partner Platform customer base?
Archway
Computer provides managed IT services exclusively for independent insurance
agencies. That means keeping their information secure and their technology
compliant with cyber regulations in their state. Small and mid-sized agencies
usually cannot afford a full-time IT person, and their local IT company knows
nothing about insurance technology. So, we’re a great fit for the independent agencies in the Partner
Platform community.
Beyond
being a preferred IT service provider for Partner Platform agencies, we also provide
educational opportunities for the broader Partner Platform and SIS community.
We’ve been part of numerous national conferences and hosted cybersecurity
webinars for the community. We’re a comprehensive IT resource for SIS and its
Partner Platform agencies.
We’ve
been lucky to work with SIS for years, establishing a solid relationship. As
cybersecurity and compliance issues grow, our partnership is that much more
important. Partner Platform understands that having a digital presence and
working from anywhere are vital issues for their agencies. Working with us,
they can help agencies grow while keeping them protected from cyber
vulnerabilities.
You have a unique value proposition that
aligns with independent agents (as does Partner). How do independent agents
benefit from working with you versus a big-name provider?
Independent
agents need someone who already understands the technology they’re using and
how to make it work better for them. Larger IT firms just don’t know insurtech and take a long time to get up to speed.
Agencies love that we’re knowledgeable, responsive, and hands-on right from the
start.
Also,
we’re not selling them anything they don’t need. Insurtech software providers
will often sell their IT services alongside their tech and then constantly try
to upsell. We’re a neutral party that fairly evaluates agency tech without a
stake in the game. Our only goal is to keep agencies efficient and protected.
What has been your experience with the
SIS/Partner Platform team so far?
We love
the SIS team. All our mutual clients experience excellent customer service from
them, and we know they’re always working for the client’s best interest, just
like us. It’s been great sharing our expertise with the Partner Platform
community, including the staff at SIS, who integrate our expertise into their
software.
Plus,
the Partner Platform team are just all-around great as people. We look forward
to getting to meet face-to-face again at the next convention.
——–
Our Partner Allies like Archway Computer provide
invaluable insights into tech advances and how to keep our Partner Platform
community connected and protected. You can learn more about Brad and his team
at myarchway.com, and see the remote
work tips Brad shared
with us on our blog.
We continue to explore the story behind our
insurance agency software partners. In this post, we talked with independent
insurance veteran Cheryl Koch. Cheryl founded Agency Management Resource Group
to help independent agencies “achieve their goals and dreams.” With that
motivation in common, we work with Cheryl and her team to educate and equip
agencies for success.
When she
was introduced to the Partner Platform team, Cheryl Koch saw an opportunity.
Equipped with a wealth of training content for independent agencies, she knew
she had just what so many Partner Platform agencies needed: personalized
education. After holding our first “Ultimate Producer School”with
Cheryl and her team, it was clear her expertise was the perfect fit.
I spoke with Cheryl to hear about her wealth of experience in the industry and how she connected with the Partner Platform community.
How did you first connect with SIS and the Partner Platform team?
I got connected through Mary Eisenhart-Belka of Eisenhart Consulting Group.
Mary and I were business partners for several years, and she is an
excellent judge of character. She was raving about Partner Platform –
the people and the system. After hearing so many good things from her, I
looked into you all. I realized there are a lot of things we do here at
Agency Management Resource Group that would benefit the independent
agencies connected through Partner Platform. Partner Platform serves our
target audience, so I asked Mary to connect us, and here we are.
How do you collaborate with SIS and the Partner Platform
community today?
We decided to start with our wildly successful
Ultimate Producer School and Ultimate Account Manager School.
The Producer School is designed for people who are
new to P&C sales. We do both a commercial and a personal lines school, but
the one we did for SIS was focused on commercial lines. The 10-day in-person
school is a blend of technical insurance knowledge and sales skills. Even if
someone has been in sales in some other industry, most people know insurances
sales is different and needs unique training.
Drawing from our experience selling insurance and
owning independent agencies, we offer training on the technical side of the
business and the specifics of insurance selling. It’s focused on understanding
terminology, what to look for in coverage, and how to have conversations to
grow your book of business.
The Account Manager School is a three-day in-person
session. It’s what we call “line of business agnostic” because it can apply to
individuals working with nearly any type of coverage. It’s a unique program
because – as far as I know – we’re the only ones who offer it. It used to be
that when a new account manager was hired, they’d attend training sponsored by
the company. But companies have stopped providing that training. Instead, they
get trained by “the osmosis chair” – they have to learn on the job, on their
own. Since independent agencies lack the resources to do this essential
training, we started our own.
You have unique experience in the insurance industry. What
do independent agents gain from working with you over a big-name firm?
I’ve only ever been an independent agent my whole
life. I understand that emphasis on the
word “independent.” Being
independent is an agency’s greatest strength and Achilles’ heel all at the
same time. They are fiercely independent to the extent that they serve their
communities’ unique needs, yet they’re resource-strapped and unable to do
training in a meaningful way. That’s why they relied on the insurance providers
to give that training for so many years. When those programs went away, they
were left with nothing. Some states – some state associations – do some
training, but it’s just insufficient.
What we want to do is provide programs that fill
that void in the market. Where they could find these resources in generic sales
or project management training, we provide targeted insurance training. These
are not huge agencies – they’re people owning and running a small business, and
they just don’t have the resources and network to train people. Especially
with so much new technology, there is so much more producers and account
managers need to know than they did ten years ago. And, when they’re expected
to know more, there is less available. That’s where we come in.
What do kind of feedback do you hear from the agencies you
work with?
Many tell us the training gave them exactly what
they needed to succeed. In the Producer School, we hear that it’s a
game-changer to understand the sales process and understand coverages and how
to look for specific gaps in endorsements that are needed to protect clients. We’re
relentless in ensuring our clients know what they’re selling. We want them to
come out knowing exactly how to assess coverage. There’s no excuse for going
out there and messing with people’s financial life when you don’t know whether
you’ve got a good fit for what they need or not. We’re proud to help producers
be prepared in that way.
For the Account Manager training, we get feedback
along the lines of, “it changed my life.” Not just “it changed my profession”
or “it changed my job,” but “it changed my life.” That’s because account
managers are so often overlooked and undervalued. We have so much respect for
that job because we’ve done it. We feel privileged to give them the
respect and education they deserve to succeed.
What are some common issues you help agencies navigate?
Agencies are overwhelmed – especially their account
managers. That job has just gotten bigger and bigger, and technology was
supposed to help, yet it hasn’t. In many cases, technology alone can’t drive
that change. With multiple insurance companies coming at them with their
technology solution and their own agency’s management system, they also have
all these other applications to understand and use daily. They’re overwhelmed
by what it is they need to know.
We understand that agencies need to identify and
address their overall process issues before adding technology. Too often,
agencies have attacked problems the other way around, adding technology without
addressing
overall operations. That just means they have bad practices that are now
happening faster. It doesn’t address the problem. We work to identify and
address operational issues and look for practical solutions.
How would you describe the experience of collaborating
with SIS and the Partner Platform community?
It’s the perfect match. Partner Platform agencies
are precisely who we serve and, as small agencies, need what we were providing.
They’re a ready-made market!
Beyond the perfect customer march, the team at SIS is
the best. Everyone is easy to work with, meeting all the expectations I
came with, thanks to Mary. She also raved about the Partner
Platform system, so I expected nothing less than impressive. The same is
true of the community – all the individuals we had in our first Producer School
were great. Everyone was engaged and asking questions. It was a great group.
Find out more about how you can enroll in our
Account Manager and Producer Schools and how the Partner Platform can serve
your agency: get in touch at sales@sisware.com,
or 800.747.7005, Option 6.
Since our founding, the Partner Platform Community has grown exponentially. What started as a group of agencies and dedicated staff has exploded to contain much more. One of those additions is our group of Partner Allies. This team of insurance agency software providers started as a collection of exciting integration possibilities and grew into an ever-expanding coalition of cutting-edge insurance tech.
Another year is here, and we can already see what’s on the horizon for digital insurance—the last few years demonstrated the need for more data gathering and analysis, tech integration, and a focus on personalizing and streamlining customer service. The 2021 Independent Insurance Agent Survey found that, before the COVID-19 pandemic, about a third of agencies said they “lacked the financial or other support” to invest in digitization. However, by the end of 2020, 77% were investing in digitization, showing digital insurance is growing rapidly.
As we ring in the new year, let’s take a look at what’s on the digital insurance horizon for 2022.
This year continued a trend of technology’s growing influence in the insurance market and all industries at large. We saw a shift where more clients embraced agency software and integrated it into their regular systems and processes. This growing interest and influence prompted our Partner Platform and SIS teams to ramp up our tech focus, including several blog posts on this highly relevant topic.
