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Insurance Software Solutions: Types and Benefits
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Every insurance agent or broker knows that multitasking is part of the job. Yet, when modern consumers expect personalized experiences at the speed of technology, staying on top of everything can get complicated. Insurance agency software provides insurance agents with various solutions to streamline processes, target specific issues in the industry, and communicate with customers promptly.
Outlined below is everything you need to know.
What Is Insurance Software?
Insurance software is a group of tools that help insurance agents manage day-to-day operations. Depending on the type of software you use, insurance software can offer customers a convenient online experience or help agency professionals automate administrative tasks.
Some tools improve specific processes for both the client and the agent. For example, InsurGrid allows agents to collect client policy data including dec pages with a single click, saving time and effort for both the consumer and the agent.
Why Is Insurance Software an Important Aspect of Digital Transformation?
Digital transformation is implementing new technology to improve every aspect of your agency. As consumers utilize technology to streamline business tasks and personal responsibilities, they expect the companies they interact with to provide the highly technical services they've become accustomed to. Agents need software that addresses the complex workflows and data sensitivity within the insurance industry to keep up with customers' needs.
Business Processes Automation
During an average workday, insurance agents generate leads, deliver quotes, provide customers with policies, renew policies, and meet with customers. By developing an integrated system of highly effective insurance software solutions, agents can eliminate many manual tasks associated with these processes. As a result, customer service is improved, and agents can save time and reduce errors.
Insurance Industry Outlook
90% of insurance professionals say that in five years, consumers will buy most of their insurance through online and mobile apps. By accelerating digital transformation initiatives, agencies can enhance efficiency and improve the customer experience.
A recent Deloitte survey revealed that 96% of agencies are already developing digital transformation solutions that utilize insurance software solutions to enhance efficiency and improve customer experience. Agencies that fall behind during this digital transformation risk losing customers to their competitors.
Benefits of Insurance Software Solutions
Insurance transactions are complex and involve many different parties. Traditional manual approaches required considerable back-and-forth between agents, customers, consultants, and third-party agencies. These processes depended largely on paper documents, manual data entry, and dependencies that could cause long delays and result in potential errors.
Modern software solutions, from an insurance agency management system to tools that target specific issues, work to overcome these obstacles in several ways.
Improved Customer Service
There are various ways insurance software improves customer service. Customer-facing applications and website functions allow customers to access information easily and perform certain activities without requiring interaction with an agent. Software that works to streamline agency processes and automate tasks reduces errors and allows prompt communication between agents and clients.
Compliance Management
Insurance software solutions with options to set up built-in compliance protocol helps insurance firms stay current with ever-shifting regulations. Such tools often highlight situations that require attention, preventing agents from overlooking important compliance requirements and deadlines.
Improve Communication With Agents and Carriers
Modern technology works in real-time, meaning agents, brokers, and carriers can access current information about policies and claims. Access to vital information through software applications allows insurance agents to compare quotes and access claims information quickly.
Help Reduce Overall Costs
By automating manual tasks, agencies can improve efficiency, accomplish more with fewer people, and reduce errors. Automation can reduce the cost of a claims journey by as much as 30%. Agencies can save money by streamlining workflows and increase efficiency by reducing headcount and hours worked.
Improve Communication With Clients
When correctly integrated, insurance software solutions can improve the entire insurance experience, from onboarding clients to processing claims. Agents who utilize software to automate manual tasks have more time for high-level interactions with clients that require personal attention.
With the ability to access real-time information, agents can meet clients' needs immediately and cut down on customer frustration. Such technology also reduces the chance of making critical errors that could result in lost customers.
Improve Efficiency and Productivity
Insurance software knows the format of storing information and provides effective search capabilities that allow agents to access data easily. Different types of software can allow both clients and agents to access real-time information without unnecessary interactions and appointments. As a result, overall workflows are improved, and agents can work more efficiently to improve productivity.
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Common Insurance System Software Functionality
While insurance software can be designed to accomplish specific functions unique to an agency's needs, the most common types work to address routine tasks and potential bottlenecks in daily processes.
These are the most common functions of insurance software.
Data Collection and Quoting
Agents' most time-consuming tasks are collecting information from clients and providing accurate quotes. This provides unwanted friction in the insurance sales process for the consumer. To provide an accurate quote, an insurance agent needs a significant amount of personal data and information about current policies.
Data collection software like InsurGrid minimizes the hassle for clients by allowing them to effortlessly send information securely with the use of a single link. The agent simply waits for the information to arrive instead of wasting a significant amount of time on phone tag and back-and-forth emails. By reducing the friction in the sales process, agents can increase conversions and consumers have a better experience.
Data Analysis
Data is used to assess risks accurately during the quoting process and analyze fraudulent claims. Manual data analysis is time-consuming and typically forces agents to work with a smaller pool of data.
As a result, information is often less accurate and can contain errors. By automating data analysis and eliminating fraudulent claims, agencies can save money.
Customer Relationship Management
Customer service is one of the most important aspects of insurance transactions. When it comes to providing the peace of mind that comes with adequate coverage or dealing with the complexities of filing a claim, customers want to know that their insurance agent has their back. Insurance software that manages customer relationships helps agents keep track, manage, respond to, prioritize and resolve client queries.
Types of Insurance Software
Different types of insurance software exist to cater to specific needs within the industry. Often, these tools can be integrated to provide end-to-end management of your insurance agency.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)/Insurance Lead Management Software
A CRM for insurance agents connects teams, distribution channels, call centers, agents, and field sales to a unified portal. Different functions are bundled into a single solution to provide effective storage and access to customer information as well as automation for improved communication with customers. CRMs are used in many industries, so it's important to consider what CRMs agents use before making a final decision.
Insurance lead management software is like a CRM for potential customers that stores information, provides communication tools, and prioritizes actions related to potential customers between the cold lead stage to conversion.
Video KYC/eKYC Solutions
Insurance is a financial product subject to significant fraud. As a result, "know your customer" (KYC) practices are an important part of onboarding.
While this was traditionally taken care of in a face-to-face meeting, video solutions offer a secure way for customers to onboard virtually. Video KYC solutions support screenshots, real-time verification, geolocation, and photo verification for ID verification.
Underwriting Software
Underwriting evaluates the insurance company's risk in insuring a home, car, or other assets. Underwriting software allows users to write rules and policies to automate the process saving time and reducing errors during the real-time underwriting of policies for customers.
Mobile Apps for Field Agents and Reps
Mobile apps for field sales reps allow agents to manage customer relations, track activities, create schedules, and update meeting notes while in the field. With these applications, agents have the convenience of the office in their cars.
Document Management Software
Without information, an ERP (enterprise resource planning) system would starve. The data that exists within your ERP can either be input manually from paper documents or supplied from another application like document management software. Document management software manages approvals of documents, sends specific data to the ERP, and stores relevant reports that aren't fed into the ERP.
Enterprise Resource Planning Software (ERP)
An ERP system is designed to streamline tasks surrounding documentation. An ERP system stores documents such as policies and contracts and information like market conditions and trends. It's like an agency's digital file cabinet with an easily searchable database to quickly access vital information.
Policy Management Software
Most insurance agents sell multiple types of insurance policies. Policy management software is used to create, administer, and manage insurance policies. Agents can reduce risks and improve reinsurance processes with convenient access to existing policies.
Agency Portal
Insurance firms that sell policies from multiple carriers can use agency portals to set up and manage agents. The portal provides real-time data exchanges between agents, brokers, and clients to improve efficiency and offer a better customer experience.
Claims Management Software
Claims are one of the most important parts of customer service in the insurance industry. Unfortunately, many moving parts in the process could allow room for errors or miscommunications to occur.
Claims processing software provides risk assessment capabilities to identify the likelihood of litigation, analyzes data to detect fraudulent claims, creates automated claims reports for users, and supports claims workflows. The result is improved transparency and speed during the claims process to improve customer satisfaction.
Insurance Software Solutions Are an Important Part of Agency Success in the Future
Insurance software is no longer something nice to have. It's a necessity to provide customers with the accurate and convenient experience they expect when conducting insurance transactions. When accurately applied and integrated, different insurance software types can work together to provide an end-to-end management system for your agency.
InsurGrid is an insurance software that eases the customer quoting and enrollment process through the instant collection of client policy data including dec pages. A hub for collecting policy information professionally and efficiently, InsurGrid can allow agents to collect dec pages with a single link and improve consumers experience. Sign up for an InsurGrid demo to learn how InsurGrid can transform your agency's operations.
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