It could be argued that no profession in insurance is under the microscope more than that of an independent insurance agent. New startups seem to be breaking into the industry at a more rapid pace than ever and some of them make it abundantly clear that they are coming after agents.
However, studies continue to show that while consumers believe agents provide a sense of needed expertise in the complex insurance environment, it is imperative for agents to utilize pervasive tools such as the internet and technology to better communicate with their clients. This hope could be one of the reasons online insurance buying outside of personal lines has yet to flourish despite the high hopes.
Carriers are already becoming more reliant on insights derived from data and continue to invest in technology for their customer communication management systems. By extension, they should view it as their responsibility to provide the tools necessary to make independent agents both experts and efficient communicators in this digital age. Instead of making moves to direct distribution, carriers should be facilitating scenarios where they can empower agents to bring in new business in a more engaging and efficient manner.
|Fragmented agent/carrier relationship
The disjointed customer experience that continues to face the industry is a reflection of many components in the insurance business workflow — with a major one being the fragmented communication between agents and carriers during onboarding. During this process, one significant question comes to mind: Does the carrier have the infrastructure in place to turn around an agent's lead quickly?
In most cases, there are simply too many steps (and disparate systems) between a consumer/agent/carrier. The consumer speaks to the agent, a form (in many cases still paper format) must be filled out by the agent with customer information, which is then formatted and input into the agency management system (AMS). It then must be converted to match each carrier's unique system format for submission, approval and quoting. This information is then in turn provided back to the agent for presentation, then back to the consumer again.
Let's not forget the nuanced editing that occurs during each of these steps or the printing/scanning or data re-entry/reformatting at each touch point — and for the independent agent, they typically have to go through this with multiple carriers at once. In many cases, this process starts all over again when the customer decides to go forward with binding the business with one of the carriers. Unsurprisingly, this build-up of tiny setbacks creates an unacceptable wait time for any product — but especially for something that is viewed as an unfortunate necessity to most consumers.
|Independent agents are customers of carriers
A second component is the understanding that independent agents should be considered the customers of a carrier as well. By learning what independent agents need to make their job easier, and removing some of the time consuming administrative tasks, they will be more incentivized to bring that carrier the high-profile and high-profit business.
Agents often work with many carriers at a time and this is when tasks — such as filling out passwords or manually updating forms — becomes a serious bottleneck issue. Each carrier and state has their own parameters for these items, but the less time wasted on these tasks, the more agents are able to focus on closing business.
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24/7 consumer
As mentioned previously, while consumers enjoy the expertise of agents, they find efficiency much more important. In fact, a study from Celent found an eye-opening revelation that consumers prioritize ease and convenience over a better product when it comes to financial services.
One way to improve this issue is to implement modern customer communication systems that make it easier for an agent to quote and close business more quickly. Unlike most internal workflow revamps, this does not require a legacy system overhaul, which can take time and can be risky.
By leveraging these solutions, carriers can not only generate compelling documents at a much faster rate but also streamline and automate the arduous process in the sales chain. This includes migrating existing documents in some cases, Omni-channel delivery, archiving, real-time editing, traceability, and even adding an e-signature component. Eliminating as many unnecessary process touch points should be the overarching goal of the insurance carrier.
|Smart forms and efficiency
Another key area of focus is allowing a more dynamic display of information/instruction that customers need to understand the process and products they are buying and to easily submit the required information through the use of advanced electronic entry forms called smart forms. This more advanced functionality can help add to customer confidence in addition to the efficiency benefits, which is currently the strongest attribute to the independent agent. These documents make sure that all questions and anticipated questions happen within one visually conducive web deployed form that can be generated and pre-filled with customer information directly pulled from the carrier's CRM system.
Some of these forms allow for well-placed multimedia assets like video explanations of complicated policy information in order to squash confusion usually reserved for the call center. These dynamic forms can actually improve the up-selling of additional products simply by allowing a more appealing and engaging distribution method to explain add-ons. They also allow for a perfectly integrated multi-screen experience.
As an example, many insurance documents don't work well on a smartphone, but a recent Pew research found that 64% of Americans are now smartphone owners and use them as key entry points into the online world. Documents with clean mobile device integration can mean a significant difference in securing new business from a younger generation of customers.
|Independent agent's destiny
Right now the independent agent's destiny is in their own hands. They can adapt to the heightened expectation of the 24/7 consumer or potentially be replaced by direct sales, but it is in a carrier's best interest to help them succeed. For a complex purchase business like insurance, there is an often-underrated trust factor involved when everyone discusses innovation.
If something goes wrong, a customer wants a person invested in their process to some capacity, even if they don't know it at the time of purchase. If carriers can help agents become the perfect balance between efficient communicators and trustworthy advisors, there will be considerable business gains.
David Squibb is the chief sales and marketing officer of Peabody, Mass.-based Xpertdoc Technologies Inc. Opinions expressed in this article are his own.
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