Strengthening the Insurer-Agent Relationship Through Technology

Young agents are rethinking some of the traditional agency practices. These members of the Millennial generation, a group that now represents half the US labor force, are leveraging new technologies to improve their customer experience and building relationships with insurers that are willing to promote the value of the agent-policyholder relationship.

At Novarica’s recent Virtual Town Hall on “What Are Agents and Brokers Thinking Now?,” Matthew Josefowicz and Emerson Davis joined me in hosting four members of our 400 Under 40 community to speak about how they are approaching their work.

Interacting with an Agency Management System

The ability for an insurer to integrate with an agency management system is becoming increasingly important. Some agents are looking to centralize the customer experience around the agency’s own policyholder portal.

This approach allows the policyholder to become familiar with one portal for all needs—rather than learning several different portals for each policy. It also makes it easier to transition between carriers over the course of a long-term relationship with customers. Supporting this capability requires strong download and upload capabilities between the insurer and the agency.

Using Technology to Increase the Ease of Doing Business

Agents are seeking technology that is intuitive and efficient. Technology that supports policyholder self-service can be invaluable to small agencies, as service calls can quickly overwhelm staff, leaving little time for revenue-generating conversations.

Technology that enhances the quoting process is highly desired by agents. The ability to produce quotes efficiently is a key driver to win business, so having a streamlined underwriting experience for agents can encourage more quotes.

Improving Transparency

Insurers can promote the agent-policyholder relationship by achieving greater transparency in customer interactions. At times, insurers may communicate directly to policyholders without remembering to notify agents.

This can lead to unnecessary confusion, as the policyholder is likely to call their agent to inquire about the updates—leaving agents scrambling to respond effectively.

Reevaluating Insurer-Agent Relationships

Social distancing guidelines are increasing the scale and reach of marketing reps since they are no longer traveling for on-site agency visits. In turn, these meetings can be condensed to quick, but frequent, updates via video conferencing. These quick meetings allow marketing reps to meet with more agencies, while allowing agents to dedicate more time for outreach.

In a post-pandemic world, in-person relationship building between insurers and agents will remain important, yet it is necessary to recognize its diminishing returns. Like many other things in business, the expectation is that a post-pandemic world will be a hybrid of virtualized capabilities and traditional communication channels, rather than a return to experiences that would have seemed familiar way back in 2019.

The 400 Under 40 Community members who participated in the panel were: Jake Ferrara (Streetsmart Insurance), Samantha Neugebauer (Althans Insurance Agency), Ben Rathbun (The Rathbun Agency), and Patience Noah (Horace Mann).

This week, our Virtual Town Hall showcases the Impact Award Winners. If you haven’t already signed up, registration is now open here.

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