4 questions to ask about your agency management system
These questions can help guide insurance agency owners towards the right solution for their operation and clients.
Think of your agency management system (AMS) as a swiss army knife. Your insurance management system should automate processes, power collaboration, and manage your clients.
You might already have a solution for agency management. Or, you might be shopping for an insurance management system for the first time. Regardless of your circumstances, these questions will guide you toward the right solution for your agency.
1. Does your insurance agency enable you to work remotely?
Ideally, we’d all be in our offices right now. But working efficiently while working remote is now more important than ever.
Even before the pandemic, the modern agent needed to be able to service clients and sell policies faster than ever before. This is because the modern consumer has come to expect fast service from every industry, including insurance. Browser-based insurance management systems enable you to meet and exceed those consumer expectations.
Don’t let your technology hold you back from providing great client service from wherever you need to be. Because consumers do not have the patience to wait. If your agency management system does not enable your team to work remotely, it’s time to consider a change.
2. Does your AMS increase productivity and decrease taskings?
In today’s fast-paced world, success is tied to efficiency. An investment in an agency management system is an investment in your productivity.
Make a list of your current pain points with your current agency management system. Can you cut a few day-to-day tasks with the introduction of a new solution?
- Are your customer follow-ups automated?
- Are you spending too much time generating reports to gain agency insights?
- Are you missing eDOCS, eSIGN, or other document management features?
- Are you able to use your AMS from anywhere?
Searching carrier website to carrier website for a policy is not providing great service to your client.
To get to growth, you’ll need to streamline your processes. Refocus your agents on retaining clients and acquiring new ones. Your time and attention are valuable. Don’t waste it. Automate processes and trust your agency management system to work for you behind the scenes.
3. Are you fully using your agency management system?
Evaluating your agency management usage can be tricky. There are a variety of factors to consider. Is your whole team proficient with your agency management system? Were there training issues during the onboarding process? Is your current solution outdated and overcomplicated? Are you receiving dedicated support?
Look for a solution that has dedicated support to walk you through any questions you might have. Do a deep dive into the knowledge base, if one is available. Check for FAQs, process documents, training videos, and product tutorials.
4. Does your agency management system play well with others?
The modern insurance agency needs various tools to run their daily operations efficiently. There are consumers researching insurance online. You need a quality insurance agency website for that. Consumers want quotes fast, which means an accurate comparative rater is a must. Even the best sales organizations don’t have a 100% close ratio. An agency marketing system can nurture those unsold leads as well as cross-sell. No matter the size of your agency, that’s a lot of touchpoints to manage.
Your agency management system should bring all those touchpoints together. But not all systems play well with others. Just because you’re shopping for a new insurance management system does not mean you should change the solutions that do work for you.
Does the system you’re evaluating integrate already with your other technology? If not, is there an API available so you can integrate the systems? There are also vendors that provide full-service agency solutions so that all your systems work together seamlessly. (Like ITC! Request a consultation to learn more about ITC’s solutions that power insurance agencies like yours.)
Conclusion
You wear many hats as an insurance agent. Technology can never replace the value you bring to your clients. But, it is the key to your efficiency and, ultimately, your success.
Your clients have high expectations for your agency. You should have high expectations for your agency management system.
Does your agency management system increase how much you can do for your clients every day? Are you getting the most out of it? Does it work well with your other agency solutions? These questions will help you better evaluate whether it’s time to start looking for a new agency management system.
Zach Weeks is a content marketing specialist at Insurance Technologies Corporation (ITC), a provider of marketing, rating and management software and services to the insurance industry. ITC helps its customers across the U.S. grow their businesses and become more efficient through the philosophy of providing quality software and services. Currently, ITC serves more than 200 insurance companies and more than 7,000 agencies.
This article originally appeared on ITC’s blog and is republished here with consent.
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