Does it seem like clients are becoming more impatient? It’s not just you. A 2022 Zendesk study found that 66% of customers were less patient than they had been just a year earlier. Everyone has a phone on them at all times, and many people expect instant replies. If you don’t get back to clients and insurance shoppers quickly enough, you risk losing business to a more responsive agency.
But clients aren’t the only ones who feel a need for speed: insurance agents have a lot on their plates. The recent hard market and increased interest in insurance shopping has given them even more to do.
Technology can help. When agents leverage technology to automate processes and eliminate manual data entry, they free up time, which allows them to focus on their clients instead of their back-office tasks.
Say Goodbye to Frustrating Processes
Insurance historically involved a lot of paperwork. With modern technology, you can skip the paper and reduce the work. However, using electronic forms isn’t enough – you need a system that eliminates steps to create a more efficient process, not one that merely replaces paper with digital records.
The insurance application process is a perfect example. Agents have switched from paper to electronic forms, but this doesn’t automatically improve the process. It’s a hassle if a client has to download a form, print it, fill it out, scan it, and send it back to you. In fact, it’s more work than receiving a physical form in the mail. If you then have to manually enter the data into your system, you’re not benefiting from going digital, either.
In today’s innovative environment, there’s always a better way to support both your team and your clients. The tricky part is determining which solution might be right for your agency.
Selecting the Right Tools for Your Insurance Agency
There are a lot of tech tools to choose from, which makes it difficult to find the right ones for your agency. When comparing options, there are multiple things to consider:
- There’s no point in adopting a new system if it doesn’t have the features you need to boost efficiency and improve client experiences. Think about the pain points in your current work processes and look for tools that address them.
- Although you do need to consider your overhead, choosing the cheapest option – or refusing to invest anything at all – may not make financial sense. Compare the cost to how much time and money you stand to save. Also consider how a particular tool would help you grow your agency and increase your revenue.
- A platform that promises the world but then crashes whenever you try to use it isn’t very good. To get a real sense of performance, you may need to look at reviews or endorsements from people and organizations you trust.
- Since insurance agents handle a lot of sensitive information, security is an absolute must. The last thing you want is a data breach that exposes your clients’ to data.
If comparing all your options sounds like too much work, don’t worry – Heffernan Network has already done the work for you.
Cutting-Edge, Pre-Vetted Tech Solutions
At Heffernan Network, we don’t want you to put off adopting the tech tools that could improve your insurance agency efficiency just because you don’t know which ones to use. That’s why we give our partner agencies access to pre-vetted, cutting-edge solutions, including:
- HIB Marketplace. This is a full-service digital insurance wholesaler. In addition to rapid quotes, you’ll gain access to coverage recommendations, broker assistance, and instant invoicing.
- This platform simplifies and streamlines the insurance application process using smart form technology, resulting in a “Turbo-Tax like experience.”
- Applied Pay. This digital payment platform gives policyholders an easy way to pay their premiums online. In addition to boosting satisfaction, this convenient option may prevent late or missed payments.
- This account platform provides end-to-end automation to reduce the workload of broker accounting teams by up to 90%.
As part of our ongoing dedication to helping agencies operate more efficiently, we also partner with companies that support new broker technologies, including BrokerTech Ventures and Viewpoint. Learn more about how Heffernan Network can help your agency.
