Connect to All Your Distribution Channels Liz Tluchowski - Couch Braunsdorf Insurance Group Pete Zale - Vertafore Katie Herbst - Westfield ACORD 2009
At recent ICMIF conference Celent Representative ti shared the following:
Liz How is your agency using technology to network and improve relationships?
With our customers Utilization of an on line submission web site Monitoring submission process and communicating via the web site between agent and customer Chat features for outside customers On line policy view On line ability to request changes as well as certificates, Id cards 24/7 hotline for claims and billing
With our companies Data transfer between web site and management system Data transfer between management system and comparative rater Data transfer for underwriting and rating Upload process for New Business, endorsements and billing Download policy detail/reconciliation
With our third party partners Transact Now to various carriers Transact Now to comparative rater Nightly data extraction from management system to 24/7 Policy issuance and billing
Pete as a system provider How have the ACORD Standards helped to connect all your systems? Identity management is a hot topic. How will expanded functionality in this area expand your customers ability to connect to more channels?
Vertafore Overview Vertafore offers a family of connected technology and information solutions that increase the efficiency of insurance organizations 30+ years old, 1,150150 employeesees 15,000+ agencies, 150,000 users 99 of the top 100 agencies 750 MGA customers 1,000+ carriers, 50,000 users 20,000,000 real time transactions annually Not incl. download est. at ~+12M, BenefitPoint or licensing (8M annually)
Vertafore Solutions Agency Markets Agency Management Systems (P&C, Employee Benefits) Comparative Personal Lines Rater TransactNOW Reference Connect (SilverPlume/Sage) Carrier and MGA Markets ImageRight Phoenix PremiumBill AIM, PolicyRater for MGAs Compliance and Governmental Sircon Producer Lifecycle Management Sircon for States t
Benefits of Using ACORD Standards Help connect insurance users quickly and inexpensively Fewer resources required for analysis, specification, maintenance and development TNOW and PL Rating use ACORD standards to connect to carriers and third-party providers Lead aggregator implementation projects were days vs. months PL Rating implementation is 70% complete when we start if a carrier has adopted ACORD standards ACORD AL3 allows us to add carriers into our download pool. New certification tool which validates AL3 records from the carriers is available at no charge to our partners (39 now)
Benefits of Using ACORD Standards (cont.) Fewer resources are required for analysis, specification, maintenance and development (cont.) ACORD standards are used to integrate between Vertafore applications ACORD e-forms for our output needs Different forms engines for management systems, rater, PAS, reference resources Changes to forms require changes to multiple systems We re working with ACORD to make sure all ACORD forms are implementable and are mapped between AL3/eLabels and AML/eLabels ACORD standards d ease conversions between management systems platforms Only two carriers use ACORD standards for Producer Licensing i transactions! ti
Benefits of Using ACORD Standards (cont.) Fewer resources are required for analysis, specification, maintenance and development (cont.) ICE Insurance Collaboration Engine (beta) Collaborative workspace for mid to large commercial lines accounts Share structured t /unstructured t data with internal and external resources with security, access control, and version control Consumer Rate Quotes (beta) Agency-branded, d multi-company rating tool for PL Rating agents to expose to clients / prospects on their web sites Offer a competitive response to the captives and directs: Come to my web site and get a free rate quote. Premium indication allows consumer to start the process
ACORD Standards Drive Increasing Transactions in Connectivity 1,700,000 1,600,000 1,500,000 TNOW & PLR Transactions 2009 1,491,579 1,537,798 1,642,582 1,406,984 1,400,000 1,300,000 1,200,000 1,259,900, 1,254,114 1,213,929 1,100,000 1,056,719 1,064,479 479 1,000,000 Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept
Identity Management (IDM) IDM requires coordinated efforts by Agents, Vendors and Carriers to enable efficiencies for Real Time Password management is currently inefficient and inconsistent Agencies need to be able to self-service user names, passwords and role based security in a centralized utility with broad scope and reach There is a significant need to move to complex, non-expiring passwords that can be controlled by agency administrators Federation Identity must become trusted and portable throughout the insurance vertical Single Sign On Logging into a vendor product must enable access to other products from the same vendor Password expiration in a real-time environment is a severe pain point.
Identity Management (IDM) The benefit of IDM is for our trading partners (Agents, carriers and MGAs) to trust user identities as secure throughout the industry and enable a more seamless connection with a variety of products and partners. Our first version of IDM is expected to be available in Q2 2010 for PL Rating and TNOW. Additional products will be added to the IDM / SSO product over the coming months
Standards Help the Insurance Industry Work Together We must devote our efforts and commit resources towards agent / carrier connectivity functions. We must create products that agencies can truly use. If carriers and vendors make the solutions difficult to use, all of us lose the opportunity to gain efficiency from connectivity and expand the benefits of real time transactions. ti
Katie Westfield s connectivity goes beyond real time and download d What social media opportunities should our industry be exploring to connect to all of our potential channels?
Why Social Media? Manage your reputation Get found online Generate leads Level the playing field with your competitors and direct writers
What is Happening Out There? People are: Posting content of value Collaborating Trusting their peers Helping other people Doing business!
Why Might You Hesitate? E&O Exposure Employee Behavior Productivity it Customer Complaints
What are you thinking? What are you working on? What are you reading? What have you found of value?
One Step at a Time 1. Just Try One! 2. Listen. 3. Stick to Your Goals. 4. Address Risks. 5. Figure Out WHO. 6. Publish!