Real-Time Connectivity Solutions for Carriers Vertafore Real-Time Connectivity Solutions for Carriers. Real Efficiencies. Real Benefits. Real Results.
Over 1,000 carriers, 800 MGAs and 20,000 agencies use Vertafore for more than 81 million transactions annually. Learn how we can help you unleash your potential.
Real-Time is The New Reality We live in a real-time world where everything happens in an instant. Consumers can check current bank balances on their smartphones moments after making a deposit, change a flight reservation on the way to the airport and get virtually anything they need right now. These consumers and small business owners are demanding that same kind of convenience from their insurance agents. Why wait for a next-day call back when they can get the same coverage online instantly from another company? Why not work with the agency that can give them the immediate answers they want? The numbers tell the story. Four years ago, Vertafore facilitated less than 500,000 real-time transactions. Today that number is more that 81 million, and growing exponentially. According to the industry s Real Time/Download Campaign 2013 Agency & Brokerage Technology Survey, Vertafore products accounted for 38% of the products respondents used for PL Rating, and Vertafore s TransactNOW ranked as the highest percentage of usage of those respondents using any real-time rating tool for Commercial Lines. The good news is, Vertafore has made it easy for you to connect to your agents in real-time with a full suite of connectivity tools that support everything from real-time quoting to policy download and more all of which work with your current technology. Your strongest agents get the self-service tools they need, you gain efficiency, reduce calls and protect against Errors and Omissions (E&O). Just as important, you ensure your independent agents stay competitive in a market that has the need for speed. Our technology decisions completely impact our business model by allowing us to compete effectively and successfully in a national marketplace, providing best-in-class technology solutions, maintaining excellent relationships with business partners, and providing exceptional service to our agents. Stacey L. Shaw, Vice President, Information Systems, MMG Insurance Make It Easy People work with agents who make their lives easier. Agents work with carriers that do the same. Successful independent agents know that, to compete, they have to respond quickly to their customers and manage their business as efficiently as possible. With connectivity, you can help them do both. Studies indicate that one of the biggest agent frustrations is that, when they want to perform a particular transaction in a given line of business, they can t count on all of their carriers to offer that real-time functionality for that specific transaction. This requires the agency to either train employees on multiple workflows for the same transaction or simply work with the carriers that give them the real-time option. 800.444.4813 VERTAFORE.COM
My most technically-averse employee actually tried it, loved it and started telling everyone about it. She d say, You re not going to believe how easy this is you just click and go. Carl Schlotman III, President, CAI Insurance TransactNOW provides real-time, secure access to your database, so your agents can check on billing or claims, request a quote or process endorsements whenever they want, without calling in or sending an email. If a customer calls with a question, an agent can go online and find the answer while a customer is still on the phone. That means your agents can spend more of their time growing their businesses, not answering inquiries. You increase efficiency as well, by reducing incoming call volume, email inquiries and faxes, while, at the same time, giving your agents the self-service capability they need. You don t have to change your website or invest in new technology. TransactNOW works with your current system, serving as a real-time bridge between your database and your agents. You can also use the solution to drive proactive communication via TransactNOW Activity Notes and TransactNOW Claims Download which enables you to send claim status, payment notifications, and additional documentation that you would normally make available on your agency portal. Get It Fast When a customer wants a quote, he or she wants that quote now. Successful agents know that time is of the essence, so they are more likely to write business with carriers that enable them to respond quickly and provide better customer service. Although TransactNOW enables your agents to submit a quote request, Vertafore s PL Rating takes that efficiency to a new level. PL Rating is a comparative rating tool that enables your agents to get real-time quotes from multiple carriers in one step. Instead of going from website-to-website, typing in different passwords and requesting one quote at a time, agents can input the details one time, press a button and, in minutes, get competitive quotes for their customers. They can work more efficiently and more effectively compete with direct writers and captive agents by offering multiple carrier quotes and do it all without making the customer wait a day or two for the options.
Increase Security Vertafore s real-time connectivity tools work to keep your data secure, protecting you and your information. For Example, Vertafore s partnership with ID Federation is working to eliminate the constant updates of carrier credentials for agencies making the transfer of information and transactions more seamless and consistent with real time. Transit Server is an integration platform that gives you a secure, direct connection to your independent insurance agents. It acts as a translator, ensuring that both systems can communicate and exchange data. And because it establishes a virtual private network (VPN)-type connection between you and your agents, it provides an added level of security that you just can t get using the public Internet. With all of our connectivity tools, your agents only connect to your site when they need to, going through Vertafore s data center to make that connection. Without these real-time options, agents could log in and leave your website open all day, leaving you vulnerable. Connectivity Summary PL Rating Sell More Save time, click TransactNOW Reduce service times Increase efficiency Vertafore offers a full-range of carrier connectivity tools: TransactNOW gives your agents real-time, self-serve access to billing, claims and policy information, process endorsements and quote requests. TansactNOW also enables you to send notifications, claims information, and attach policy documents via Activity Notes and Claims Download. Download personal lines for PL and CL policy detail, commercial line policy detail, including inland marine and crime download, and direct bill commission statements are transmitted direct from the carrier system to the agent s Vertafore agency management system. PL Rating provides immediate, multi-carrier, real-time personal lines quotes. Transit Server is a powerful integration platform designed to give carriers and MGAs a secure, direct connection to independent insurance agencies to streamline communication, build solid business relationships and make it easier for them to write business for you. Consumer Rate Quotes Provide real-time quotes to online shoppers Better compete with Direct and Captive Companies Consumer Rate Quotes Significant time savings Increased E&O protection Built on Microsoft s.net platform as well as the ACORD standards, Transit Server provides seamless integration with all agency management systems, many leading rating platforms, and third-party products
Connect With Your Agency Community Vertafore can work with you to offer connectivity adoption assistance to ensure your employees and our mutual agents are able to connect with you and bring you more business. Some examples include: On-site and web-based training for field marketing and agency support teams Co-sponsored webinars, e-communications and agent meetings to drive adoption Post-implementation training and promotion for staff and agents Reduce Risk Any time information has to be re-entered, you increase your margin of error. When that error happens on a policy, you have E&O exposure. But, when you download a policy detail or ongoing transactions from your system directly into your agent s management system, you ensure what s covered on your policy is accurately represented, and also enable your agents to save time by reducing the need for duplicate entry. Download is available for personal lines, including personal auto, dwelling fire, homeowners, inland marine and crime and umbrella, and for commercial lines, including business owner s package, general liability, property and worker s compensation. In addition, Vertafore can help you automate the download of your monthly direct bill commission statements. Not only does this reduce incoming calls, but it enables your agents to review and update any items before posting the statement. Real Value It s important to note that the success rate of these real-time initiatives is not in the number of agents who actually use the technology, but how it enables your high-producing agents to compete in today s market. Although Vertafore actively works to drive adoption, the real goal is making sure your best agents can work efficiently and provide the same kind of turnaround time as their competitors. With real-time, you help your best agents hold on to their share of the market. In many ways, the ROI of real-time is ensuring that the independent agent model will not only still be here, but thriving in the next decade. As one of the leading providers of agency management systems, Vertafore has a strong relationship with the 20,000 agency customers who use our solutions. With 500,000 insurance users, we have the broadest customer base in the industry. We continually advocate with our agents to increase real-time adoption and work to drive the industry forward. For example, TransactNOW is a free add-on for agents with any Vertafore management system. It s a painless change that can position our agents to stay in the game no matter how competitive the market becomes. We also work to make your life easier, with free software developer tools and assistance to get your company connected with your agents as quickly and easily as possible. We live in a real-time world where giving customers what they need right now could be the difference between success and failure. Give your agents the real-time advantage with Vertafore s connectivity tools. You ll see a real difference when you do. 800.444.4813 VERTAFORE.COM
Contact Us For more information on Vertafore s suite of connectivity tools, please contact your Vertafore Account Representative today or call 800.444.4813. 5.5 5.0 4.5 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0 Vertafore Real-Time Transactions in Millions JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 The above chart shows real-time transactions using PL Rating and TransactNOW, for the full years of 2007-2013 and year-to-date 2014 as of publication of this white paper. Vertafore Total Transactions in Millions 9.0 8.5 8.0 7.5 7.0 2014 6.5 6.0 5.5 2013 2012 5.0 4.5 4.0 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC The above chart shows real-time and standard transactions using FSC, PL Rating and TransactNOW, for the full years of 2012-2013 and year-to-date 2014 as of publication of this white paper. 800.444.4813 VERTAFORE.COM
11724 NE 195th Street Bothell, Washington 98011 800.444.4813 vertafore.com Vertafore delivers software and services that transform the business of insurance. Unique to the industry, more than 20,000 customers rely on Vertafore to provide integrated technology that connects the entire industry with the most complete source of solutions agency management, rating and connectivity, content management and workflow, research solutions and producer lifecycle management so their businesses run better and are more profitable. For more information about Vertafore, please visit vertafore.com. 2014 Vertafore, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Trademarks contained herein are owned by Vertafore, Inc. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. VCM.BR.CCB.0614