Insurance agency management systems offer an array of essential functions that can be integrated with all departments of the organization. Before comparing the different insurance software features and functionalities, businesses must do their homework and research for identifying what will deliver the best return on investment. When gathering the requirements, they must ask these questions:
- What are the business goals, and how can the insurance software help in reaching them?
- What are the existing challenges, and what problems does the software need to resolve?
- Will the new agency software replace the existing system or integrate with it?
Let’s explore the five core features and capabilities of an advanced insurance software.
Features Every Insurance Agency Management System Must Have
The presence of a host of insurance management systems in the market does not make it easy to pick the one that is right for your agency. Here are some key features that are a must-have in insurance agency management systems.
Client Database
Insurance agency management systems should have a module for customer database management. The database acts as a repository for storing and organizing relevant client data and interactions. It enables insurers to access sales, marketing and customer servicing information from a unified location. This feature also helps in streamlining search, storage, sharing and access. The database stores the personal details of clients, lead sources, points of contact, purchase history, preferences and past interactions.
The database can be used for uncovering the needs and preferences of customers, identifying hot leads and gauging performance. The reports created by the insurance software are also stored in the database.
The client database module adds flexibility, reliability and scalability to the business. It enables businesses to manage large sets of user information, structure contacts and interaction history and help transform communications into long-term relationships.
In some insurance management systems, the database can be tailored to help insurers obtain valuable information in no time. This information includes name, contact details, email addresses, date of last interaction, etc.
See also: Insurance Technology Trends for 2022
Document Management
The document management module helps businesses in capturing, storing, tracking and sharing electronic documentation. The documents may consist of claims forms, policies, certificates of insurance, letters, accident reports, contracts and insurance loss adjustment documents. The module enables relevant users to access the documents from a unified system, without having to manually sift through files or toggle between windows.
Nowadays, insurance agency management systems offer secure document management functionalities so businesses don’t have to scan and share documents manually. The module can be customized, and different levels of access can be provided according to the team and department. Here are some features of the document management module:
- Check-in and check-out for coordinating the real-time editing of documents and ensuring one individual’s edits do not overwrite the other’s.
- File versioning to track and manage different versions or drafts of a file and capture the changes made to it over time.
- Document rollback or revert for replacing the present document content with the content of its previous version.
- Audit trail for obtaining the comprehensive history or log of all activities being conducted on the document during its lifetime.
- Annotation and stamps for reviews, approvals and more.
Cross-Platform Support
A number of agency management systems are browser-based. However, cross-platform compatibility goes beyond internet browsers. As a majority of modern insurance software systems sync with other enterprise tools and software, the synchronization feature should support the other platforms and servers. Cross-platform support is also crucial because a majority of modern insurance agencies run their devices on different operating systems.
Hence, the insurance management system must be able to work seamlessly on different operating systems such as Windows, macOS and even Linux. This is where businesses can consider switching to cloud-based systems from on-premise software. Cloud-based solutions offer mobility and cross-platform support. They also update automatically, ensuring that the business users are always working on the latest version with seamless access to cross-platform and cross-departmental features such as mobile applications, web portals, etc.
Task Management
For optimizing the business operations and enabling the employees to focus on customers, insurance agencies can leverage the power of automation. The insurance business involves a number of repetitive and time-consuming tasks. Doing such tasks manually not only hurts productivity and employee satisfaction but also damages the customer experience. Therefore, businesses must opt for an insurance agency management system with automation capabilities and task management features. It helps managers in prioritizing, managing and assigning tasks based on the schedule, availability and skills of the employees. They can create and assign time-bound tasks using the software itself.
The employees no longer have to attend to processes that can be streamlined or automated by insurance software. This change can increase efficiency, and the employees will be able to focus better on boosting sales or attracting customers. Moreover, by ensuring all tasks are completed on time and consistently, insurers can boost customer satisfaction.
Analytics Tools
The value of data depends on how well it can be refined into something actionable. While insurance businesses have access to volumes of data, they may not have the right tools to transform the data into valuable insights. Insurance agency management systems with business analytics capabilities can enable businesses to access data-based reports and analyses.
Data analytics and real-time reporting can help insurance agencies get a better understanding of current trends and predict customer behavior and the individual habits of employees for better crafting the development programs or personalizing product offerings. These tools offer custom insights into common business processes. The reports help in turning operational data into a complete story and enable insurers to make better decisions to drive growth and improve ROI.
Final Words
This wraps up the guide for identifying the best insurance software. Use the above pointers as a blueprint that you can add to (or subtract) depending on your agency requirements. Even though every insurance agency is different, they all want growth. Ensure that you plan well in advance so that your insurance agency management software can handle growth without becoming a liability.
