New Year’s Resolutions, Download Myths, Implementation and Success
By: Carl Schlotman, CPCU, CIC, Past NetVU Chairman of the Board
New Year’s Resolutions are part of the start of
a new year. What did you wish for …?
Lose weight, earn more money, not work so much, make your time count? Carl Schlotman, President, CAI Insurance in
Cincinnati, Ohio wished for all those things last year when his goal was to
implement Commercial lines download with at least four of his companies by the
end of the year.
Armed with guidelines from ACORD, ACT, AUGIE,
NetVU and Vertafore, Carl had a significant amount of data at his disposal that
gave the who, what, when and how. Carl followed the suggestions and had a
frontline team involved in implementation and decisions. The critical decision he made was that
commercial lines download was to be an “all in” effort embraced and supported
by the entire office. Regular meetings and updates on how the download was
progressing were mandatory.
Carl found truth in the download myth that
download is not created equal with all agencies. Data exchange between carriers
and agencies offer the same benefits from one agency to another. The
differences come from proper agency setup and implementation. Company setups in
the agency management system directly affect the data flow to the agency. Reviewing and interpreting download reports
gives an agency the information needed to realize success or better understand limitations
of data downloaded to the management system.
To achieve success with download, your carrier
MUST adhere to the ACORD download standards in place. These standards establish
the proper protocol for the data a carrier sends to an agency and the data is
received within the agency's management system. Vertafore, through the ACORD
download certification process, confirms that each carrier adheres to the ACORD
standards and provides a secondary level of certification requirements. During
the certification process, any known limitations are documented and listed on
the carrier download sheets available within the MyVertafore portal.
Typically, an agency has defined guidelines
that outline the amount of data and client detail that MUST be entered and retained
to service an account. By implementing consistent workflows and procedures, an
agency can establish data retention guidelines that meet legal requirements
imposed by state regulations. This is another key to making download work most
effectively.
Carl found that implementing download was much
like a scavenger hunt that uncovered surprises and challenges along the way. Thankfully,
with the help of the commercial lines download implementation guidelines found
at http://www.getreal.org and his network
of Vertafore users, Carl's challenge with processing, implementing and finding
workflows that work for HIS agency, was simplified. Many answers to download and other management
system questions can be found on NetVU's NCOM, at Chapter meetings, during
PowerUsers, and at NetVU Conference.
The change in Carl's office culture to one that
thinks about, and leverages, the value of policy data use and accessibility was
an added benefit. His office lost the
weight associated with data entry processing when they realized they could
trust the company data that was directly input, via download, into their
system.
Downloaded data also allowed CAI Insurance to
achieve their other goals of working less and earning more money. Carl’s office
staff has found that they can check a renewal policy, in AMS360, for changes in
coverage, forms and premiums within minutes rather than it taking hours. His
office staff has continued to work the same hours but the minutes saved by
download add up to hours they use to provide value-added services to their
agency customers.
Join Carl, and many other successful agencies,
and give Commercial Download another try today.
Here are a few resources to help you get started.
Register now for an upcoming Download Webinar
AMS360 - Making Download Work for You - Part 1
Come away with the knowledge and tools to build your download plan for your
agency. With this class, go beyond the tools and information to make download
work to your advantage, and come away with the ability to build a written
download plan for your agency regardless of whether you are NEW to download or
REVISITING for a check-up.
Wednesday,
January 15, 10:30 a.m. Central – Register Now
Wednesday,
April 16, 10:30 a.m. Central – Register Now
Wednesday,
July 16, 10:30 a.m. Central – Register Now
Wednesday,
September 17, 10:30 a.m. Central – Register Now
Wednesday,
November 12, 10:30 a.m. Central – Register Now
AMS360 - Making Download Work for You - Part 2
Come back to Part 2 - where you'll learn how to include the information found
in the download reports in your written plan, and ask any questions that have
come up during your review of download in your agency and your implementation
of your agency's written plan.
Wednesday,
February 19, 10:30 a.m. – Register Now
Wednesday,
June 18, 10:30 a.m. Central – Register Now
Wednesday,
August 20, 10:30 a.m. Central – Register Now
Wednesday,
October 22, 10:30 a.m. Central – Register Now
Wednesday,
December 10, 10:30 a.m. Central – Register Now
Please provide feedback if you are having challenges
with CLDL…Please spend less than ten minutes each time you come across
something to help us save you HOURS later!
Keep this link to use the next time you
think of an opportunity.
Check out the
AUGIE Download Time Saving Calculator to see how much your agency can save by
doing Commercial Download. You can also obtain the AUGIE
CL DL Agency Guide.
Check the Vertafore Carrier Partner
Lists to see if your carriers are certified on your management
system.
Real Time/Download Campaign - Broad segments of the industry have
come together and have taken the unprecedented step of forming the
Real-Time/Download Campaign to promote agents’ ease of doing business.
The participating agents, brokers, carriers, vendors, user groups, and associations
have seen how Real Time and Download are benefiting agency workflows, customer
service, and bottom lines, and they want to see more agencies gain these
advantages. You can find the latest articles and reports at www.getrealtime.org.