Maximizing Revenue: Unlocking the Power of Faster Underwriting for Brokers
The insurance industry is currently undergoing large-scale and rapid-pace change. There was a time when agencies would track down relevant data sets by hand, analyze and assess risk manually and build client quotes with little more than a spreadsheet and calculator. The embrace of automation and new technologies was slow in a field that has traditionally been conservative by nature.
Increasingly, however, those are the old ways. Producers have begun to realize the value of tech in their professions, particularly in carrying out the underwriting process. Time-consuming, labor-intensive tasks that were once inherent to insurance underwriting are now being handled by digital technologies, high-powered processors and artificial intelligence.
In the insurance industry, speed is a competitive differentiator – a critical tool for driving revenue and cultivating more business. Soon enough, it will be essential for survival.
Why Faster Underwriting Matters
Automation and AI-powered tech advances in the insurance industry don’t simply promote speed for speed’s sake. They streamline workflows, reduce human errors and allow for more complex calculations that lead to sharper policy quotes – which mitigates risk on the agency side.
Technology-enabled gains in speed also empower insurers to build much faster quotes, increasing client satisfaction and conversion rates to provide agencies with a competitive edge. The less time producers are tied up with the labor of underwriting, the more time they have to spend pursuing leads, learning clients’ needs and providing a personal touch that wins more business.
The Insurance Industry’s Transformative Tech
How, specifically, has technological progress benefited insurance agencies and professionals? Here are a few game-changers:
Bots, online quotes and electronic applications. These are the basics – critical tech tools that, frankly, all insurers should already be using. Bots are a useful customer service touchpoint that can serve as an advanced FAQ page for clients. Online quotes and e-applications are must-haves to compete in today’s insurance market for the attention of busy, digitally savvy customers.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. A well-structured CRM system helps producers to organize and manage client information, as well as track important details such as customer interactions, policy data and renewal dates.
Automation. The manual inputs that once consumed massive amounts of labor resources are now accomplished swiftly, and with no human error, by automation tools: data entry, policy issuance, claims processing and more.
Data analytics and predictive modeling. With the benefit of digital data, AI and deep learning, insurers can now access and process more information about customer behaviors and market conditions, while developing ever-more complex projections that help them more accurately assess risk.
Comparative ratings systems. A valuable tool for brokers, comparative ratings systems allow for the quick comparison of coverage options, premiums and policy information between carriers.
How Insurance Tech Translates to Revenue
Can an insurance carrier make a go of it in the industry without employing all, or even some, of these technologies? Technically, yes. But soon, it will likely be impossible to remain competitive with the insurers that do embrace technology, the equivalent of trying to run a NASCAR race on a mountain bike.
New insurance technologies save untold amounts of time (check out our recent blog about the impact technology is making on the insurance business) – the most important resource producers have. With the benefit of a faster underwriting process, insurers can better cater to client needs with personalized attention and solutions, beat competitors to the punch and free up more time to pursue new sales opportunities. It all translates to improved customer service and increased revenue.
Visit our producer page to learn more and see how you can ensure a faster underwriting process for your customers.
