This put up is a part of a sequence sponsored by AgentSync.
We discuss loads on this weblog in regards to the bother with knowledge silos, the ache of handbook knowledge entry (and re-entry), and the way irritating it’s for producers, staff, and enterprise companions to always take care of these points.
In case our prior arguments haven’t been convincing, I wish to let you know a narrative that would seem, on the floor, to don’t have anything to do with insurance coverage or your insurance coverage enterprise. Simply humor me for a minute although, and I feel you’ll perceive the way it relates.
Virtually two years in the past, I moved homes. By no means a enjoyable endeavor, however I’ve moved at the least a dozen occasions in my life and it’s by no means been this unhealthy. It wasn’t the truth that the shifting truck bumped into our powerline and knocked out the web for per week. Nor was it that our new neighbors quickly proved to be busybodies who’d voice their each criticism about garden upkeep to the county authorities.
It was the mail. The change of handle types to be precise.
The issue is twofold:
First, we moved to a rural space the place the Postal Service doesn’t ship mail to the bodily home handle. If one thing doesn’t have our P.O. Field quantity on it, neglect about it. As a result of the put up workplace doesn’t have a straightforward, fast, and automatic means for our handle to be linked to our field quantity, the workers simply flat-out refuse to do the work of redirecting our mail into our field.
This implies something addressed to the house itself will get returned to the sender as undeliverable. In the event you attempt to think about the variety of vital issues we don’t obtain as a result of somebody had our bodily handle and never our P.O. Field, multiply it by 100 and also you may be shut.
Second, regardless of submitting change of handle types (and sure, together with itemizing the P.O. Field quantity) with everybody from the Postal Service, to the IRS, to the state division of income, to the division of motor autos, to the county treasurer, county tax assessor’s workplace, and extra, mail remains to be despatched to our previous handle – or generally despatched to our new handle however with out the field quantity, that means it’s equally undeliverable.
Final time I acquired a chunk of mail that lastly made it to me because of the very variety new householders of my earlier residence, I known as the federal government entity to right the handle (once more). I used to be actually at my wit’s finish with the poor girl on the telephone who needed to take heed to me rant about all of the occasions, and all of the locations, I’ve already stuffed out my new handle during the last 18 months.
“How is it attainable that you simply nonetheless have the unsuitable handle for me?” I begged to know.
“I’m sorry. It’s simply, the programs aren’t linked.”
It was at this level I noticed there was a really massive disconnect between my expectations as a client and the technological capabilities of each authorities company I’ve to work together with as a citizen.
Are you beginning to see the similarities between my story of woe and what your workers, producers, or insurance coverage distribution companions could also be going by? Simply to be tremendous clear, let’s break it down:
Guide-only processes: It’s attainable that the folks in command of producer license compliance at your group are tasked with some crazy-manual processes. Like cross referencing between paper paperwork, spreadsheets, and web sites. It’s attainable that they should re-check issues frequently as a result of there’s no real-time approach to immediately confirm a producer’s license standing.
All of this implies it’s attainable, similar to my native postal staff, that they merely opt-out of doing a little handbook work, or let issues slide, or simply don’t have time of their day to get to it. Even when everyone seems to be taking the time to diligently work by these handbook processes, they’re nonetheless error-prone, so that you seemingly find yourself with less-than-ideal ranges of accuracy. Just like the time somebody transposed the numbers for my P.O. Field and unintentionally gave another person a field of reside wasp larvae meant to regulate the fly inhabitants on my farm.
A number of, disparate programs: In the event you’re an insurance coverage service that contracts with many various businesses (or different intermediaries), or an insurance coverage company or MGA/MGU that contracts with a number of totally different producers, it’s virtually assured that somebody alongside your insurance coverage distribution channel is coming into the identical info into multiple place. In truth, they’re most likely coming into the identical info into greater than two or three locations. Not solely is that this irritating for everybody concerned, however it may possibly result in errors and oversights that might put your group into compliance scorching water.
No single supply of fact: Think about the frustration of a licensed producer who’s making an attempt to replace or right some piece of data. Possibly it’s a brand new non-resident state license, or perhaps they only handed a licensing examination for a brand new line of authority. What number of totally different locations have they got to enter this info? Relying on what it’s, they may should go to your organization’s human assets info system (HRIS), your company administration system (AMS), your buyer relationship administration system (CRM), your incentive compensation administration system (ICM), their state division of insurance coverage, and different regulatory our bodies – simply to call just a few! And, since we don’t know what we don’t know, they’ll proceed to play whack-a-mole with incorrect info for so long as it takes for every location housing that info to floor.
Now, think about, if that’s how it’s for one single producer, what it should be like for anybody within the distribution channel who’s tasked with managing info for a number of producers. Do you will have a headache but?
To sum it up, the value you pay for sticking with handbook, labor-intensive processes could embrace:
- Information that’s old-fashioned as quickly as you examine it
- Annoyed staff, producers, and distribution companions
- Threat of compliance and regulatory mishaps
- Dropping the very best folks to a company that makes their jobs simple and painless
The nice information is that AgentSync may also help get rid of these points in your insurance coverage group and its companions. On my finish, I’ve acquired no selection however to fill out types for the umpteenth time and pray that the day will come when everybody who wants my handle has the appropriate one. You don’t understand how a lot I’d give to have an answer at my fingertips that might make this drawback disappear faster than my ever-shortening endurance.
So, for all of the individuals who don’t have an answer to the issues of knowledge silos, handbook processes, and outdated expertise wherever these could creep up in life, don’t you owe it to your self to take a look at AgentSync?
