PowerUsers Conference: What's In It For U and Your Agency?

September 11-12, 2011 - Marriott Marquis - Atlanta, GA

With customized and up-to-date education and networking, you will learn about tools to help maximize your system investment. Below is the class schedule*: 

 

AMS360 Users  This year's theme is Moving/Reaching OUTSIDE the BOX and topics included: Sunday - 10 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. Microsoft SharePoint  Virtual Connectivity  What's Here and What's Coming in AMS360  AMS360-Turbo Charging Your Agency  Monday - 8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m.  General Session & Key Note Office 2010 & E-mail Getting Reports from AMS360 using SQL Advanced Excel E-signature Passport to the Future AMS360

Sagitta Users This year's theme is "The Future Sagitta" topics included: Sunday – 10 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.  The Future of Universe Universe Features Breaking News - Sagitta 8.1 is in the House! Passport to the Future - An Interactive Discussion  Monday - 8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m.  General Session & Keynote E-forms New ACORD Standard Disaster Recovery for Sagitta Reporting - Business Intelligence vs. Operational   Word integration and/or alternatives Engage Demo

 *schedule is subject to change  

This year PowerUsers starts on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. Register NOW!   

Quantum Award Finalist Cincinnati Insurance Incorporates ACORD Standards to Bring Efficiencies to Quoting and Policy Issuance

A fully integrated workflow that leverages ACORD industry standards is what distinguished The Cincinnati Insurance Companies (CIC) as a 2011 NetVU Quantum Award finalist – Regional Category. Through the implementation of Real Time rating, Cincinnati is able to bring its agency force significant cost and time savings.

 

Before Real Time rating, agents would enter all quote and application information directly in CIC’s policy system. The average entry time for agents was six minutes or more depending on the complexity of the policy. As a result of Cincinnati’s Real Time rating workflow, the data entry time was reduced to 30 seconds or less with zero additional data entry for all successful quotes. That drop in workflow represents a 91.7 percent improvement over the manual process.

 

In addition, this Real Time process on submissions has resulted in a success rate of about 84 percent (including those returned with quote numbers) with only 16 percent requiring changes to the agency management system or comparative rater before the data can be accepted by Cincinnati’s system.

 

In one example, a Cincinnati agent submits approximately 50 quotes per day using Real Time rating. With a savings of 5.5 minutes with each submission vs. manual entry, this one agency’s account representatives are saving more than 4.5 hours per day and over 100 hours per month.

 

As for policy issuance, once the quote is successfully received from Cincinnati’s Real Time rating, approximately 1.5 minutes are required to issue the policy. Cincinnati is seeing an average increase of 54 percent of Real Time transactions month to month.

 

From a business point of view, the use of ACORD standards makes it feasible for Cincinnati, with a single system, to offer its independent agencies a multitude of processing input options to best suit their individual workflow preferences – whether it be their Vertafore system or one of several comparative rating environments. The flexibility and variety this offers has provided an easy to support, more efficient workflow environment helping to enhance the already strong relationship between  Cincinnati and NetVU users.

Do you know a company that has made quantum advances in 2011 – submit your nomination today.  Applications are due Wednesday, November 30. 

 

  

Work Comp Risks Rise as Workers' Mobility Grows

Far too frequently we hear news stories of terrible car accidents that resulted from a driver being distracted by their cell phone. That’s what’s at the core of 34 states banning the use of text messaging for all drivers (http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/cellphone_laws.html); nine states, D.C. and the Virgin Islands prohibit all drivers from using handheld cell phones while driving; and some states such as Maine, New Hampshire and Utah consider cell phone use as part of the larger “distracted driver” issue.

 

This is not new. Distracted drivers have been a deadly problem since the first time a wheel was used on a wagon as a means of conveyance. What’s different today is much of the reason for the distraction is work related. As each of us is asked to do more with less, we are forced to leverage every opportunity to get work done and if that means taking a conference call while driving down the road or responding to an email that can’t wait until we stop, then that’s what we have to do.

 

The exposure comes into play when the distraction is work related and a loss occurs. While it may seem clear the employee shouldn’t have been conducting business in such a manner, without a defined and clearly communicated company policy on the use of mobile devices, especially those provided by the employer, the company could be facing significant liabilities.

 

While there isn’t much in the way of case law yet on determining the compensability of these types of claims, there will be. For insurance agencies themselves, an awareness of what’s being asked of their producers as they visit clients and prospects, should be upper most in the minds of the principals. Take steps necessary to minimize your exposure, as well as lowering the risk of injury or worse. And put a policy in place, making sure all of your staff knows it.

 

On the flip side, agents should also recognize the niche market this exposure represents. Are you aware of what the specific regulations are in the states in which you do business? Have you discussed this exposure with your commercial clients? That trucking business or bus company, what about the dry cleaner that makes deliveries? What about that corporation whose executives all have Blackberries and iPads and are expected to be on call all the time? Do they know the potential loss they could incur and what a proper assessment by you could save them?

 

So, on the one hand, don’t be the cobbler whose children go barefoot. Make sure you heed your own advice and then market some timely and valuable advice to your clients on an exposure they may not have realized they had.

 

 

Want to Improve Your Sales?

 

By: Adam DeGraide, CEO and Founder, Astonish Results

 

If a genie were to grant independent insurance agents one wish, what would they wish for?  MORE SALES of course!  That should be the answer for any business. But since there is no lamp and no genie, how does an agency go about improving their sales? 

 

When it comes to digital marketing, there’s no pill or quick fix. Digital marketing is a blended strategy comprised of a lot of moving parts, all of which are designed to help increase opportunities and ultimately improve sales. Your website is just one piece of the pie.  Other strategies like blogging, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Paid Search (PPC), social media, and link-building also help generate additional traffic, and opportunities to your agency. But the number one way to help improve your sales is simply training. 

 

Speaking to the agency owners now; how often do you step back and evaluate your people and process? When was the last time you listened to inbound phone calls to evaluate your people and how effective they are at getting email addresses, rounding out, or asking for referrals?  When was the last time you sat with them and told them exactly what you expected from them?  When was the last time you provided your producers and CSR’s with sales talk tracks, objection sheets, and a list of agency values, benefits, and unique advantages?  If you answered “never” to any of these simple questions, WHY haven’t you? If you are just trusting and hoping your people are saying and doing the right thing all the time, we have a saying here at Astonish:  Hope is NOT a strategy.  If your people are not trained in sales and don’t have the ability to capitalize on every opportunity that comes to your agency, you are literally leaving money on the table.

 

The first step is to identify who in your agency is ultimately responsible for the sales in your organization. Without that, fingers will be pointed in all directions and sales will never improve.  Someone MUST take ownership of this role and provide direction, training, and accountability for the execution of your agency’s sales initiative. The next step is making sure everyone in your agency is fully equipped and trained to handle every opportunity that comes through your door.

 

The fact is websites don’t sell insurance, people do.  But websites and other digital marketing tools can sure help increase opportunities.  How you handle those opportunities is how you improve your sales. 

 

  

CNA Small Business Introduces Cutting-Edge Enhanced Real Time Quoting 

With a commitment to cutting-edge agency automation solutions, CNA has recently unveiled its Enhanced Real Time Quoting solution.

 

Enhanced Real Time Quoting will enable you to upload information directly from your Vertafore system and obtain bindable full quotes for CNA Connect^®, Workers’ Compensation and Commercial Automobile — providing you with efficient, accurate data, while saving valuable time. 

• It’s FASTER — Race through with accurate, client-ready quotes, with more speed than ever before!
• It’s EASIER — Update customer data in real time and generate a proposal letter with the click of a button.
• It’s BINDABLE — It’s not just an -estimate. Receive a full quote each time you complete a real time submission.

Remarket renewals in less time, eliminate the need to rekey customer data and reduce your transaction costs all with CNA’s new Real Time Quoting solution. It’s the next generation of agency integration, available now!

 

For more information about our new Real Time Quoting solution, take the quick demo for a spin and register for a free webinar.

 

One or more of the CNA companies provide the products and/or services described. The information is intended to present a general overview for illustrative purposes only. It is not intended to constitute a binding contract. Please remember that only the relevant insurance policy can provide the actual terms, coverages, amounts, conditions and exclusions for an insured. All products and services may not be available in all states and may be subject to change without notice. CNA is a registered trademark of CNA Financial Corporation. Copyright © 2011 CNA. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

NetVU Joins the Industry in Mourning Passing of Maureen Wall Bentley

Maureen Wall Bentley, executive vice president, brand strategy of Aartrijk, died peacefully on July 9, 2011, after a recurrence of cancer. She was 47.

 

Maureen’s passing is especially sad for NetVU because she played such an integral role in NetVU’s rebranding strategy. “Maureen’s expertise, creativity, professionalism and sense of humor helped make what could have been a very difficult process far easier. We will always consider her part of the NetVU family; she will be missed,” said Brady Polansky, president & CEO, NetVU.

 

Read complete announcement.

 

  

Smith Honored by Insurance Networking News 

The Insurance Networking News 6th annual listing of “Women in Insurance Leadership” recognized Cyndy Smith, vice president, Director of Technology, Haylor, Freyer & Coon. She was acknowledged as a Notable Achiever, who has “successfully driven significant project and/or process improvements within their companies,” read the announcement.

 

With a dozen years volunteering on various NetVU committees, Cyndy is currently serving on the board of directors, in 2005 she was presented with the NetVU James M. Gibson Service Award and just received the Louie E. Woodbury Jr. Leadership Award at the 2011 NetVU Conference. In addition to her work with NetVU, Cyndy is also co-chair of the Real Time/Download Campaign (http://getrealtime.org), and is a member of both AUGIE and ACT.

 

Please join us in congratulating Cyndy on yet, one more well-deserved industry honor.

 

  

Go Opposite If You Want to Get Ahead

A recent article by Jeff Yates, executive director of the IIABA’s Agents Council on Technology (ACT), picks up on, what might be perceived as a contrarian point of view voiced by Futurist Daniel Burrus, author of the best-selling book “Flash Foresight.” In the book, Burrus suggests that you should “Go opposite in order to see opportunities that previously have been invisible to you.”

 

Yates takes this advice and applies it to the current struggle in the personal lines market. As direct writers of auto insurance focus on price, independent agents should “go opposite” and “start to show online consumers that there is a better way to think about and buy auto insurance,” Yates advises.

 

Yates goes on to say the technology is available to “enable independent agents to enter the online shopping and quoting space effectively. They have access to real-time quoting through their comparative raters and agency management systems so they can finally quote personal lines prospects efficiently. The efficiency of these real-time tools has been an essential predicate to independent agents’ being able to compete in today’s personal lines market place.”

 

Concluding his article, Yates says, “I believe the latest consumer research confirms the significant opportunity independent agents have to offer insurance consumers a better alternative for auto insurance than the direct carriers are currently providing them….”

 

NetVU couldn’t agree more. For our users, now is a great time to take back personal lines.

 

Read the complete article, Independent Agents: Taking Back Personal Lines.