Increase Agency Efficiency with Real Time
Many independent insurance agents are challenged with the inefficiency that comes from dealing with different carrier interfaces. Duplicate entry, multiple passwords and too much time spent on training waste both time and money. One way to simplify processes is to adopt new workflows and /or systems that leverage Real Time tools.
To help get the word about the benefits of Real Time, there is a widespread initiative afoot known as the Real Time/ Download Campaign (www.getrealtime.org). The Real Time campaign is dedicated to improving the competitiveness of the independent agency distribution channel through a streamlined and efficient workflow approach.
Increased efficiency = more time for selling
As the following figures put out in a recent Real Time Campaign Statement indicate, a large number of agency management system users (63%) are already employing Real Time to access multiple carriers at once for a significant increase in productivity. Consider:
- The use of Real Time rating tools for personal lines saves agencies an estimated 68 minutes per employee per day.
- About three fifths (62 percent) of those using Real Time rating also use Real Time inquiry and service transactions through agency management systems.
- Real Time inquiry and servicing are saving 50 minutes daily for those employees using the functionality.
Room for improvement
Turn those figures around though and a full 37% of those surveyed are NOT taking advantage of the benefits of Real Time. Whether this is because they are working with agency management systems that do not employ the technology or whether they are just hesitant to use it is not clear. Regardless, for an agency looking to curb inefficiency, the use of Real Time should be part of day-to-day business operations.
Employ best practices
For those who have Real Time capability, but just aren’t sure how to use it most efficiently, we’d like to share Agency Real-Time “Best Practice” Workflows & Implementation Strategies, recently published by the Get Real Time campaign and touted as “ a road map for implementing ‘best practice’ real-time workflows.”
The time is now
For those not using Real Time, there is no better time than the present. As Daniel Burrus, CEO of Burrus Research, a research and consulting firm that monitors global advancements in technology driven trends, wrote in The High Risk of Wait and See, “One thing that’s certain regardless of industry or profession is that we have massive business process transformation taking place. Which processes? Virtually all of them: purchasing, logistics, accounting, sales, marketing, communications, collaboration, innovating, educating, training, managing, releasing new products, engaging our employees…the list is endless. We’re transforming all of these things plus more, and if you don’t initiate the transformation, someone else will.”
Find the right agency management system
If you are using an agency management system that does not support Real Time, consider switching to Partner XE from SIS, a feature rich, affordable, easy to use, scalable agency management system designed to streamline workflow and increase productivity. With Partner XE and Real Time you’ll be closer than ever to straight through processing.
Find out why so many agencies have been switching to Partner XE insurance agency management system from SIS. Call 800-747-9273 or click here to get in touch with a representative.
