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Despite pandemic, home office boom, and global digitalization of pretty much everything, one thing remains the same – customers want to buy insurance from a human.
Although self-service portals are rising in popularity, still in 2022 90% of P&C premiums were owned by agents, brokers, and insurance agencies.
Equipping your employees with cutting-edge technology to speed up their work is not an option anymore – it's inevitable. And it's for two main reasons:
- It will speed up their work and make them bring more value within the same timeframe.
- Your competition will do it without second thoughts.
It's mandatory to find a comprehensive solution for your business growth in the insurance industry.
Insurance Agents Are The Cornerstone of Insurance Business
There is a digital revolution in the insurance sector. That's a fact. According to a report by Polish Chamber of Insurance, main trends in insurance are:
- Collaboration between intermediaries and insurance organizations
- Implementation of omnichannel strategies and document digitization
- Automation of processes within the insurance industry
- Growing significance of artificial intelligence (AI) in insurance software
- Expansion of self-service options for customers
- Utilization of external data sources and ecosystems.
People say that AI will replace human workers. But the truth is, that the first to replace human workers will be human workers utilizing AI in their work.
Insurance intermediaries, leveraging AI and Big Data, can perform market analyses and rely heavily on social networks, video calls, and websites, especially when insurance companies lack direct online sales channels. The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the shift to remote selling, setting new standards likely to continue. Intermediaries typically combine client visits with technology provided by insurance companies, including cloud computing and insurance CRM software, to access client documents remotely.
Despite all the revolution insurance agents still account for 53,3% Net Written Premium in all P&C lines and 75,4% in Commercial Lines. Also, independent agents and affiliated agencies combine for 90% of business in life individual market share.
Digital Transformation In The Insurance Industry Goes With Challenges
According to McKinsey on average 1,8 hours daily and 9,3 hours weekly are wasted on searching information. It's like 20% of their payroll goes down the drain.
Research conducted by Nationwide discovered that:
- 80% of insurance agents find digital integration challenging.
- 76% of agents are concerned about rising costs.
- 72% of agents face difficulties in acquiring resources to learn about new tools.
- 53% of agents believe digital tools offer the advantage of 24/7 access to an agent, a sentiment echoed by 52% of consumers.
- 52% of agents feel digital tools enhance customer service, with 45% of consumers agreeing.
- 51% of agents consider digital tools effective in customer retention.
It's crucial to take care of your agents' digital onboarding, so that they can serve your customers more efficiently.
Agents Are Important For Insurance Customers
Aforementioned study by Nationwide in 2021 (after the pandemic) shows that 88% of insurance purchasers still want to have an agent to call and consult, and 57% of them want to have an agent close by. 87% of consumers say an agent plays a critical role to the customer experience.
Study by PwG revealed that 80% of customers prefer contacting a real human instead of a chatbot.
In another study, 86% of customers favor interactions with human agents, and 71% stated they are less inclined to engage with a brand lacking human customer service representatives.
Equipping your agents with tools that can help them find information fast, reach out to the client with a personalized offer, and ensure positive customer experience, might be a game changer.
Top 3 Tools For Insurance Agents and Insurance Brokers
Insurance CRM Software
The insurance software helps in effectively managing customer relationships, which is foundational for achieving success for insurance professionals, MGA's, insurance broking business, and insurance agencies, especially when handling multiple insurance companies. It enables agents to cater to rising customer expectations by providing personalized services and understanding customer needs deeply while improving client communication.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) facilitates the collection, storage, and analysis of customer information, which aids in identifying profitable customers, enhancing customer loyalty, and increasing sales through targeted marketing and cross-selling opportunities.
Read more: The Best CRM for Insurance Agents in 2024
Moreover, insurance CRM supports the efficient use of technology in sales management, allowing for flexibility in customer interactions and ensuring the successful implementation of insurance CRM strategies. These insurance software capabilities lead to improved customer satisfaction, retention, and ultimately, increased profitability for insurance companies.
An all-around insurance CRM system can help insurance professionals take care of both their clients through the entirety of sales pipeline and their businesses operations. Grand View Research shared information, that 91% of companies with 10+ employees use a insurance software.
The Insurance Software: Agent Portal
The Decerto's Agent Portal is a cloud-based program designed to streamline interactions between insurance agents and their sales processes by offering a comprehensive overview of client portfolios, maintaining customer loyalty, and enhancing leads management.
It facilitates efficient insurance agency management within the industry, supporting renewals management and enabling agents to retain clients through various features like automatic e-mails and SMS.
The insurance software also supports agency management by allowing configuration of hierarchies and permissions for better performance tracking and task management.
Benefits of the Decerto's Agent Portal Solution for insurance company:
- Enhanced Efficiency and Productivity: Agents can access a centralized platform that simplifies sales activities, document management, and customer management.
- Better Client Relationships: Features like real-time data access and automated notifications help agents maintain close relationships with clients.
- Streamlined Sales Process: The platform supports remote and hybrid sales methods, allowing agents to tailor offers to client needs quickly.
- Cost Reduction: By automating and streamlining processes, the portal reduces operational costs.
- Improved Agency Management: Advanced filtering, searching functionalities, and the ability to manage hierarchies and permissions enable efficient management.
- Omnichannel Experience: Offers a seamless experience across channels, ensuring a consistent customer journey.
- Increased Sales and Retention: Tools for capturing, tracking, and converting leads, as well as features for client retention, contribute to higher sales and loyalty.
These insurance solutions found recognition among the biggest players in the insurance business like Allianz, Generali, and Talanx Group (Warta).
Omnichannel Communication Tools
Modern insurance customers want and expect an omnichannel presence from insurance carriers. Especially since other industries (like banking) are offering a more profound presence, communicating with their customers 10 to 20 times more often.
According to Juniper Research Report, chatbots are saving 862 million working hours in banking industry, which is equivalent of $7,3 billion worth of time. In insurance, the global chatbots market was worth $467 million in 2022, and is projected to reach $4,5 billion by 2032.
A tool that can connect multiple communication channels might be worth a lot.
Insurance Agency Management Software – Summary
The insurance sector's shift towards digitalization requires equipping agents with advanced technology to stay competitive and meet customer expectations. Despite digital advances, customers still significantly prefer human interactions for insurance services, highlighting the importance of agents. Agents face challenges in adopting digital tools but benefit from enhanced accessibility, customer service, and retention. Essential technologies for agents include insurance CRM software, agent portals, and omnichannel communication tools to modernize processes and improve customer experiences.
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