Commercial Lines Download – It’s Time for Another Look
The time is finally here to reap the same benefits with commercial lines download as you have for years with personal lines download!
If you’re a commercial lines agent or broker and are looking for a way to improve your processing efficiency, then now’s the time to take a look at download. You may have tried it in the past and found the accuracy lacking, but that’s no longer the case.
Commercial Lines Download (CLDL) enables you to benefit from real time activity via TransactNOW, such as billing, claims, and policy view inquiry, right from your agency management system; it increases accuracy on certificates, auto ID cards, claims and any other forms prefill and completion. The keys to successfully implementing CLDL are in understanding the data fields, using ACORD standards properly as it relates to the fields on your agency management system, and by testing with each of your carriers.
NetVU Recommends
For Agents/Agencies:
- To adopt and use CLDL wherever possible.
- To provide constructive feedback to carriers and vendors on your satisfaction with CLDL. It is very important for CLDL’s success that carriers and vendors know if their download is not as effective as it could be, and specifically what is needed to improve.
- To consider starting with small commercial line and Busines Owners policies.
- To ask your carriers to get certified for download if they aren’t already, or to expand the lines of business they can download if they don’t offer a full commercial lines suite. The more carriers an agency can download with, the more streamlined their workflows are, and the more time and money your agency saves as a result! . Click here to review Vertafore’s Connectivity partners.
- To get everyone in your agency involved and excited about CLDL, and to empower your staff. Get buy in from the principle to the CSRs and understand the benefits of download in your agency for everyone.
- To help drive the success of the Real Time and CLDL campaign.
Through the creation and adoption of an industry-wide minimum data set, the guess work has been taken out of what data the agents require and where they expect to find it. In fact, the industry saw a 14% increase in CLDL activity in 2010 as a result of our industry wide efforts. In addition, there has been considerable education around techniques to preserve data that is already there and prohibit it from being overwritten in the download. Agencies can further enhance the download adoption in their agencies by using the download as a trigger for re-evaluating their internal process, procedure, and workflows and getting folks involved.
Synchronization of data between agents and companies is paramount to efficiently and profitably servicing commercial lines customers. CLDL is the number two priority in NetVU’s 2011 Playbook and the industry, right behind Real Time adoption. As such, a good deal of NetVU’s educational resources are behind helping you understand and demystify the details involved in CLDL.
Two upcoming NetVU webinars will focus on this topic: Making Download Work for You – Part 1 (2/16/11) and Part 2 (3/16/11). If you are unavailable for these courses or don’t want to wait to get started, e-mail Melissa@netvu.org for the recorded version.
Additional education resources like the ACORD Commercial Lines Policy Detail Download-Agency Start-Up Guide can be found at www.acord.org/augie; see Tools & Resources link. Check out the Get Real Time website for webinars and other materials such as the start up guide, implementation guide, savings calculator, etc. Recorded Webinars
And of course, you should plan on attending the 2011 NetVU Conference in Orlando, FL to benefit from face-to-face sessions on download and networking opportunities with your colleagues that are already successfully implementing CLDL.
Here is a sampling of the courses offered this year at NetVU Conference:
AMS360 Track –
- 3102 CLDL:Carriers & Agents
- 4203 Round Table: Connectivity & Download 1
- 4203 Round Table: Connectivity & Download 2
Industry Solutions Track –
- 4180 – CL: New Download Tools for Your Agency
- 4380 – Beyond PL and CLDL
- 5280 – Real Time: Getting it Done
If you have any questions or hesitation about download, one of the best places to post those questions and get to over 15,000 of your agency colleagues is NetVU’s Community. Join the conversation today!
With all these resources available, there’s no stopping you!
Hurry and Register! EarlyBird Discount Ends January 31!
Come experience NetVU’s first-ever immersion course. This is a sophisticated series of educational opportunities to become certified by level of expertise, job function, and system. After completing this certification, the SSA will be able to fully support the various users of your Sagitta system, and will be recognized as such when contacting Vertafore Support and given special consideration. This is an event you don’t want to miss.
Register NOW to get the EarlyBird rates for this groundbreaking new class, to be held February 21-25, 2011, at NetVU National Training Center in Irving, Texas.
Avoiding the Producer—CSR Tug of War
Quick Tips for Creating Synergy
The age-old battle between which department is more essential to agency success—sales or service—is a pointless question. Both are critical, one simply cannot exist without the other. As an agency owner, you know this, but your producers and CSRs are in a constant tug of war – why?
It’s simple, they are different, very different. These differences create business synergy—new customers are found and signed then provided a service level that keeps them coming back for more. But, your producers and CSRs need to develop internal team synergy. Keep in mind that people are not always going to agree on everything or anything, but good team members can at least understand one another.
A few quick tips:
Most CSRs yearn for calmer, more patient producers. This may seem an impossible dream, but with some direction and insight from management, it can be realized. Key to achieving these goals is a deeper understanding of why different people respond as they do and insight on how to trigger desired actions.
Most successful producers are assertive, antsy, competitive go-getters who’ll admit to having difficulties waiting for anyone or anything. It’s this drive to push forward that enables them to rebound from turndowns and close tough prospects, but this same drive can also make ambitious producers seem bossy and demanding in the eyes of some CSRs—or anyone who’s innately passive and guarded.
Encourage CSRs to appease impatient producers with frequent updates on the status of ongoing problems with clients or prospects. And lend support to your CSRs by personally reminding any overly ambitious producers that to avoid mistakes and oversights a thorough review of a client’s specifics must be made, and doing so takes time.
Producers seldom provide specifics when giving directions, relaying information and answering questions. These are big-picture-oriented individuals—their need to focus on results dominates their world and makes them uninterested in fine points.
However, CSRs need to know the particulars. They simply can’t afford to take chances, make assumptions, or be wrong. Remind your producers to offer CSRs ample guidance, clarification and direction. Service personnel will be better able to cover a producer’s back or avert a possible client-related crisis if they have a clear understanding of situations and objectives.
For more targeted advice, tips and insight, attend the NetVU Conference Executive Briefing session: Complementary But Different: Helping Producers and CSRs Avoid a Tug of War on Saturday, April 30 at 3:15 p.m. Facilitated by Omnia Group CEO, Valerie Harwell, CIC, CRM.
ACT Webinars Continue to Be a Hit with Agents
The Agents Council for Technology is a great source for education and the convenience of its webinars does not go unnoticed by the hundreds of agents that participate. ACT’s newest webinar, “Implementing an Effective Information Security Program in your Agency,” held recently had more than 400 attendees and already dozens of others have viewed the recorded archive.
The webinar, whether live or recorded got uniformly positive reviews. One agent commented in a follow up e-mail: "Great webinar today. I look forward to the recorded version as well to share with others here in my office." Another agent said: "Thank you for such a professional, well-organized webinar. This was very helpful!" Indeed, Steve Aronson (NetVU Industry Relations Committee member) and Tom Joyce did a wonderful job as our presenters and we plan to do an encore live webinar in a couple of months.
The links to this webinar’s recording and to the document are at www.iiaba.net/act at the "Security & Privacy" quick link in the gray shaded area on the left of the page.
In addition, the subject of Real Time/Download continues to gather interest. The newly revised presentation, “Save Time & Increase Profits with Real Time,” had an increase attendance of about 30%. It featured demos and panel discussions. Karen Youngman and John Heinsz were the presenters.
The link to this webinar can be found at www.getrealtime.org at the “Real Time Webinars” quick link under “Presentations.”
See more ACT articles, reports, upcoming and recorded webinars, and events.
FREE WHITE PAPER - "Insurance & Disaster Recovery: A Vital Partnership"
Your agency is more than a business that needs to be protected; it's an essential source to your clients in case of disaster. That's why NetVU recommends agencies have a comprehensive disaster plan, and why we endorse Agility Recovery as a provider of disaster recovery services for our members.
Download the whitepaper here. Please visit the special Agility/NetVU Web page we have set up for our users to download a white paper Agility has created on disaster recovery basics specific to insurance agents – "Insurance & Disaster Recovery: A Vital Partnership." Or call (866) 364-9696, ext.3 for more information.
Agility is a former division of GE with 21 years experience, and special expertise serving the insurance industry. In fact, more than 1,500 insurance agencies across North America already are Agility members.
Agility responds to disasters of all shapes and sizes. Whether it's a major natural disaster or something as small as a water main break, they'll deliver satellite communications for phone and Internet, power generators, computers, servers and work space for essential staff. So you can go to work helping your clients recover. And NetVU users get a specially negotiated rate of $275/month; that's $20/month lower than the standard ReadySuite membership.
NetVU is excited to offer this service to Vertafore users and hope you will take advantage of this valuable member benefit.