Posted by
Abhinav Dave
on
4/29/2010 at 11:30 AM
Though cost cutting and operational efficiency are top priorities for insurers, these companies should embrace strategies for business growth as well. Organizations need to position themselves to expand their product reach and improve business growth through widespread distribution channels. But expansion brings increased expenses and high volumes of transactions that insurers may not have dealt with in the past.
As companies grow in size, they usually experience operational and administrative complexities. These challenges could include adding more agents to a network, the consolidation of multiple compensation systems, regulatory changes or changing territories.
Implementing enterprise-wide compensation management technology is a forward-moving initiative that may smooth out complexities, eliminate unwanted expenses and accommodate increasing workloads.
A scalable compensation management system is a must for growth-oriented insurers. Solutions that utilize service oriented architecture (SOA), web services and other advanced technologies allow large organizations with high volume demands to meet their increasing workload. Deploying these web based and scalable systems helps in easing the operational complexity and keeping pace with expansion.
There is a growing demand for solutions that are robust in functionality, yet remain flexible, adaptable and scalable. One of our recent projects involving Insphere Insurance Solutions is a great example of the power of these types of solutions in action.
It was a complex installation involving the integration of VUE Compensation Management with over ten other technology systems. The successful integration of VUE Compensation Management showcases the solution’s flexibility, adaptability and scalability for diverse insurance business structures. It’s a point of pride that VUE Compensation Management is at the core of Insphere Insurance Solutions’ innovative technology platform.
“It was essential for us to select a solution that would meet our current needs and be flexible enough to adapt to our evolving requirements as well. The VUE Software suite offered solutions that seemed tailor-made to fit our business model.”
- Phillip J. Hildebrand, President and CEO, Insphere Insurance Solutions
Be the first to rate this post
- Currently 0/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Posted by
Stephanie Castro
on
4/21/2010 at 8:49 AM
A study by Deep Customer Connections on agents for property and casualty carriers paints a clear picture on the current technology trends for this industry. The report reaffirms the fact that agents can achieve a higher level of success in their profession with adequate help from technology tools.
Though the P&C industry is faring better than other insurance segments at the moment, many carriers are missing opportunities to increase profits by cutting operational costs. Many P&C carriers are still relying on homegrown or legacy systems for policy administration and their internal processes. This decreases administrative productivity and also limits the extent to which agents can improve their performance.
An excerpt from an Insurance Networking News article that focused on the report:
Currently, agents are frustrated by many technology issues that cost them significant time in tasks—often clerical and repetitive in nature—and diminish their capacity to sell and service business, notes the report’s summary.
In order to sustain profitability and remain competitive in the face of the current tight market, carriers need to streamline their processes by identifying the right mix of technology tools. They need to consider the various needs of agents that can propel their overall performance along with administrative requirements.
Carriers need to treat this overhaul as an opportunity to identify the most suitable technology that can accommodate future business expansions and growth. Lagging behind on technology will take its toll through increased carrier expenses. And when cost-cutting and operational efficiency are foremost requirements, carriers cannot afford to find themselves in this situation.
P&C carriers need to consider some of these facts while evaluating technology.
|
Problems with Aging Technology
|
Advantages of the Right Technology
|
|
For Agents
- Significant time spent on clerical and repetitive tasks
- Inability to integrate with agency management system
- Lack of ability to access precise data in real-time
For Carriers
- Lack of flexibility to sustain business growth
- High costs to support and enhance legacy systems
- Data integrity issues
|
For Agents
- Acceleration of the sales process
- Superior collaboration among the channel and with the carrier
- Real-time transaction capacity for integrating with agency management systems
- Ready access to information and reliability of performance
For Carriers
- Greater focus on business process
- Faster product administration
- Producer loyalty and retention
- Extreme flexibility and scalability to accommodate future growth
and more...
|
With in-depth expertise in the insurance segment, VUE Software offers a range of insurance-specific technology products that allow carriers to improve overall producer loyalty and productivity. If you are interested to learn how you can overcome your concerns with VUE Software, you can register for a free product tour.
Currently rated 5.0 by 1 people
- Currently 5/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Posted by
Abhinav Dave
on
4/14/2010 at 8:47 AM
We’ve talked on our blog about how a great carrier-producer relationship can become a game changer. Similarly, a strong and mutually beneficial partnership with software vendors can bring drastic results for carriers in the long run.
A recent report by Celent1 states that the most valued vendor partnerships are “long-term, strategic engagements in which a vendor is leveraged to bring in new expertise, add both technology and domain knowledge to the business, and is relied on as a true partner.”
When evaluating new tools to improve processes and operational efficiency, carriers should look for vendors that bring home more than just technical expertise. Vendors who can create a comfort zone for carriers with coordinated communication throughout the partnership and genuine business domain knowledge are the most sought after for value-driven partnerships.
Every insurance segment, be it Life, P&C, Health or Managing General Agencies, typically involves complex administrative processes. Today, with the proliferation of highly-skilled insurance-specific technology vendors, insurance companies need not turn to a vendor that doesn’t fully ‘get’ the complexities of their business. Insurers are free to pursue value-driven partnerships with vendors who understand their respective industry’s workflows, business rules and regulatory compliance measures. This not only ensures the smooth exchange of requirements but also delivers a solution that is in line with the company’s existing business model.
With complexities and individual differences among insurance companies, it’s important for technology solutions to be flexible and adaptable, instead of forcing companies to work around their technology or to adapt their processes to fit the way their technology works.
From requirements to deployment, to post-implementation follow-up, vendors need to play a proactive role to make things easy for carriers. Selecting a software vendor that possesses industry expertise and follows defined processes will allow insurance companies across verticals to realize high-value vendor relationships and maximum ROI.
1 Insurance Networking News. “Analyst Firm Profiles 34 Insurance IT Service Providers.” April 9, 2010.
Be the first to rate this post
- Currently 0/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Posted by
Joseph Westlake
on
4/7/2010 at 8:05 AM
The competition in the health insurance industry is growing tighter as the market continues to provide ample options of policies for customers to choose from. Competition will only intensify, especially once the new health insurance mandate takes effect.
It is essential for healthcare insurers to embrace sophisticated customer follow-up practices that ensure customer retention and higher conversion rates. Since brokers and agents are on the front line of customer interaction, insurers need to implement cutting edge tools that motivate producers to perform their best, so they can achieve both their individual quotas and company targets. Insurers’ overall business growth heavily depends on the internal processes that support customer service.
When carriers revamp their internal process, providing producers with access to critical data in one place can be a major differentiator. Be it subscriber accounts data, commission break-down on a mix of products, or producer performance details to evaluate goal attainment – data is critical for precise decision-making and customer responsiveness.
Insurers can maximize their returns by investing in a flexible incentive compensation management technology integrated with CRM and producer portals.
With such a system in place, producers can:
Carriers can:
The integration of the VUE Software suite of products with Microsoft Dynamics CRM delivers a powerful solution that allows health carriers achieve these results and more. You can register here for a free product tour to learn more about how the solution impacts your company’s bottom line.
Be the first to rate this post
- Currently 0/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5