Test Your Knowledge
Is your brokerage ready for the new digital reality?
Talk about brokers needing to adopt technology is nothing new. The fact that holding off on digital transformation is no longer an option is new. Your business requires technology to keep your business up and running, staff connected, and your customers serviced 24/7 online. Take this short quiz to determine whether your brokerage is ready for our new digital reality.
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Yes
Could your staff easily access your management system when quickly shifting to remote working?
Question 1
No
Continue
Source: “State of Insurance Renewals Survey Report,” Indio, 2019.
While agencies with larger account sizes are more apt to use technology like a client portal to manage applications and renewals, a considerable amount still rely on outdated methods. Agencies spend unnecessary time attaching documents in emails or providing instructions via phone. This process especially hinders agency growth and the ability to collect information in a timely manner.
True
8
1-2
Are any of your staff still managing servers to keep your business up and running right now?
Question 2
3-4
Unlike personal line accounts that require a lower number of submission packet forms, there’s little difference between mid-market/enterprise accounts and small commercial accounts in terms of the number of forms. With the amount of supplemental forms — and, consequently, data — that these agencies work with, they should consider using software that collects and stores all data points from client applications.
5+
Correct
Incorrect
12%
Are mobile apps being used by your staff to access customer data in your management system?
Question 3
28%
No matter the size of a brokerage’s average account, unnecessary time and money are spent prompting clients to complete their applications. This constant outreach can also create a poor image of the agency in the eyes of the client.
50%
Do your customers have the option to view policy documents via a mobile app?
Question 4
Traditional ways of identifying market appetite, such as referencing paper guides and insurer websites, prevent agents from having the most up-to-date data and only provides a partial view of potential markets and coverages for risks, which can lead to lost business. In fact, in a recent IVANS Survey, 72% of agencies reported losing new business opportunities because they could not find the right insurer for their risks. This means that both sides are missing opportunities.
Products and coverages
Source: NU, the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) 2017 Independent Agent Survey
Responsive service
Compensation program
Are you paper-reliant to manage upcoming renewals?
Question 5
Agents are competing for business, and they have an urgent need to easily select the right provider for their customer. True ease of doing business – fast quote, fast submission and binding and/or rejection – via next-generation technology with real-time integration between agent systems and insurer systems is critical in a digital world where successful business transactions happen in minutes, not weeks or months.
88%
Source: Agency-Insurer Connectivity Report, IVANS, 2019
10%
Do you need to go into the office to pick up policy documents from your insurer partners?
Question 6
The tradeoff of spending so much time confirming data and communicating back and forth with agents is that underwriters have far less time to focus on core underwriting activities and writing new business. Data quality issues can lead to poor risk selection and premium leakage. The way in which most insurers currently manage submission intake has various opportunities for automation and optimization.
15%
Source: Streamlining Submission Intake in Commercial Underwriting for Middle Market Segments, Cognizant.
5%
Are you emailing policy information to your clients?
Question 7
The customer-centric approaches taken by insurtechs have driven insurers in the small commercial and workers’ comp spaces to put their focus there as well. Especially in the area of distribution, traditional insurers are rethinking their outdated processes and the data based on pressure from insurtechs who are delivering a quote with fewer questions in a matter of minutes. A customer experience focus goes beyond distribution to include claims and servicing. The truth is many insurers struggle to actualize transformation strategies beyond core modernization or business intelligence. With the pace of change in the insurance industry, strategic prioritization of transformational technologies is vital to success.
100%
Source: 2020 Strategic Initiatives: P&C Commercial Lines Research Report, SMA, 2020.
55%
25%
Is someone available to answer service customer calls 24/7?
Question 8
According to the IIABA, independent agencies write 84% of all commercial premiums, just under $250 billion. Faced with the rise of insurtechs, emerging technology and consumer expectations for speed and convenience, independent agencies are becoming more digital to remain relevant. However if insurers are complacent to meeting agencies’ digital connectivity needs, they could very well lose that 84%. Insurers won’t be successful if they think aligning with digital agencies means just asking them to go to their portals. Agencies want insurers to understand the value their business plays in the insurance lifecycle and act accordingly. Insurers that create efficiencies for them through tools that reduce keystrokes, increase times savings, and deliver a superior customer experience will reap the rewards from greater connectivity.
24,000
Source: IVANS
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15,000
6,000
Are you able to communicate with your customers wherever they are – online, on the phone, via text?
Question 9
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Your Score
Great job! You’ve taken important steps to bring your brokerage into the digital future.
0%
Good work! You’ve taken some steps toward a digital strategy.
Time to evaluate ways to further enhance your digital strategy.
Want to improve your score? View our Time Savings Calculator to learn how much time and money you could be leaving on the table and see where else you might need to incorporate technology for your digital path forward.
Make sure you’re looking at your full digital strategy from tools to enable your remote brokerage, keep connected with your customers, and communicate your markets to drive even more success today, tomorrow and in the years ahead.
Though you’ve taken some steps to automate your business, you still have some work to do. Though you’ve taken some steps to automate your business, you still have some work to do. Check out this guide to help you identify what other tech you might need to have in place.
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This means you are 0% of the way toward a successful digital path forward.
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