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Competitive Edge: Consider these 3 things
We get it. Really, we do: In the insurance profession you face all kinds of complications, from collecting sensitive customer information to negotiating policies. The stakes are high, but budgets only get you so far. And the industry changes constantly.
There’s certainly a lot to juggle.
That's why making an informed decision about the tools your agency uses every day is critical to staying productive and profitable.
So, what does this mean for you?
Let's take a quick look at three common roadblocks to insurance productivity—and how you can overcome them with the right set of tools.
- Capturing and converting the right data
Most insurance agencies are drowning in data, yet extracting the exact information you need can be surprisingly overwhelming.
The reason is simple: Even though the world is generating 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day, only 0.5% of it is ever analyzed. As a result, many businesses are shrouded in a cloud of customer information with few insights they can actually act on. It’s a problem that plagues companies across industries, and insurance is no exception.
Yet according to PwC, data analytics is the key to insurance productivity. Gaining access to the right insights not only helps with insurance agency automation, but can also go a long way in quantifying the pain points that cause customers to leave. Insurance companies that have learned to maximize their data have lower acquisition costs and higher levels of customer satisfaction.
The faster and more efficiently you can capture customer data and transform it into actions, the better positioned you’ll be to increase employee productivity and overall profitability. Consider using an online form builder for collecting the exact information you need—and then turning it into the right processes.
- Keeping security breaches at bay
One of the biggest challenges faced by insurance agencies? Cybersecurity. Insurance companies have been the source for some of the largest data breaches to date. And unfortunately, many still rely on legacy systems that may or may not be equipped with the latest technologies.
As those systems are updated with features and functions designed to help prevent against threats, there are often unintended consequences for productivity. Even the most well-intentioned security measures can stop important workflows in their tracks and cause productivity to plummet—particularly if it means limiting access to the data and documentation agents need.
By relying on a third-party platform designed to help companies meet even the strictest insurance standards and regulations, you can free agents to focus on getting things done—without having to work around tricky security procedures and policies.
For health insurance companies, that means collecting electronic signatures and creating digital documents in ways that won’t increase your risk of HIPAA noncompliance fees and fines.
Of course, security risks aren’t a threat to healthcare agencies alone. Insurance companies across all verticals, from home and auto to life and liability, can benefit from advanced data encryption, audit trails, and other ongoing security features designed to help companies maximize efficiency while decreasing risk.
- Streamlining important processes
It's not just what employees do that influences business outcomes, but how they get that work done. This is where insurance agency automation comes in. The easier it is for brokers and agents to communicate and collaborate, the better positioned you’ll be to onboard new customers and address important issues.
 Kathryn Loheide is SVP of Marketing at Formstack, where she leads customer acquisition and growth, while creating brand advocates among customers, partners, and employees. She has extensive experience in B2B SaaS, stemming from her previous endeavors leading successful global marketing and branding strategies at ExactTarget (Salesforce), Cheetah Digital, and Octiv. [email protected]
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