Insurance Agency Technology in 2017:

Database management, commissions processing,

and digital marketing

brought to you by:

2Insurance Tech: Data management, commissions processing, and digital marketing

Start organizing, automating & growing your agency right now!

AgencyBloc helps life and health insurance agencies grow their business by organizing

and automating their operations using a combination of an industry-specific CRM, commissions processing, and integrated

marketing automation.

What is

In This eBook...

Insurance agencies are increasingly turning to technology to better run their operations. Every insurance agency is different; what works for one agency may not work for another. However, agencies can learn a lot from seeing what others are using when it comes to technology.

In this eBook, you’ll learn what other agencies are utilizing or planning to use when it comes to database management, commissions processing, and digital marketing.

Section 1: Database Management .................................. 5What are Agencies Using? ......................... 6What are Agencies Planning to Use? ....... 8Agencies’ #1 Challenge ........................... 11

Section 2: Commissions Processing .............................. 15

What are Agencies Using? ....................... 16Identifying Missed Commissions ........... 18Projecting Commissions ......................... 21

Section 3: Digital Marketing ................................ 23What are Agencies Using? ....................... 24Identifying Touchpoints .......................... 27Projecting Commissions ......................... 21

Section 4: Check out AgencyBloc .......................... 29Schedule a demo of AgencyBloc ................ 30

3Insurance Tech: Data management, commissions processing, and digital marketing

What are Agencies Doing in 2017?Each new year is an opportunity for insurance agencies to look back and reflect on the previous year and consider where improvements could be made. In 2017, agencies will be looking at the technology they’re currently using to help them run their operations more smoothly.

Insurance agencies are complex businesses that depend on a variety of technology to service their clients, sell to prospects, pay out commissions, and continually market their agency. To determine what agencies used in 2016 and what they intend to change or maintain in 2017, we conducted a 23 question survey that asked questions regarding the technology agencies are using for database management, commissions processing, and digital marketing.

Respondents were a combination of 1-2 man shops to 20+ employee agencies who market to individuals, groups, employees through worksite/voluntary products, and seniors. These agencies sell health insurance, life insurance, security based products, P&C, annuities, voluntary products, long term care, disability, and more. 53% of the agencies split commissions out to other agents within their business.

In this eBook, we’ll look at what insurance agencies are currently using for technology and what they intend to change in 2017.

4Insurance Tech: Data management, commissions processing, and digital marketing

Section 1:

Database Management

What are Agencies Currently Using?46% of insurance agencies are currently using an insurance-specific agency management system (AMS) to manage their book-of-business.

6Insurance Tech: Data management, commissions processing, and digital marketing

What does your insurance agency use to manage its book-of-business?

46%

29%

14%

11%Insurance-specific agency management system (AMS)

Customer relationship management software (CRM)

Paper files

Excel spreadsheets

Using a CRM to manage their agency follows with 29%. You might be wondering what the difference is between an AMS and a CRM. An agency management system (AMS) is a SaaS (software as a service) technology that insurance agencies use to organize their book-of-business and more effectively run their operations. Though an AMS is often said to be synonymous with a CRM (customer relationship management system), insurance agencies should be careful to take that opinion. An AMS includes CRM capabilities, absolutely. But, a good AMS has many more capabilities that go beyond

the customer/client relationship. Beyond tracking clients, a worthwhile AMS can also:

• Track agents, policies, and carriers• Process commissions• Automate workflow• Communicate with clients and prospects via email

marketing• Monitor the productivity and growth of your agency

Many agencies who adopt a CRM find that timely customization is needed to make the technology work for them whereas an insurance-specific AMS is built to suit the needs of the agency. For instance, AgencyBloc is an AMS built specifically for life and health insurance agencies, so it was built with those needs in mind. In fact, 44% of insurance agencies felt a significant increase in productivity when implementing an AMS.

Not surprisingly, Excel spreadsheets (11%) and paper files (15%) are dwindling in use. Both can be huge productivity drains for agencies because they tend to be disorganized and time-consuming to maintain. They are also incredibly error-prone; 88% of Excel spreadsheets contain errors. That sounds crazy, but it also isn’t hard to imagine when you think about how easy it is to accidentally delete a cell or mistype something in. Or, they’re simply outdated when they aren’t continually updated. Check out our blog, 7 Reasons You Shouldn’t Use Excel to Manage Your Book-of-Business, to learn more.

7Insurance Tech: Data management, commissions processing, and digital marketing

What are Agencies Planning to Use?Because most agencies are now using an AMS, it’s not a surprise to learn that most agencies are planning to stay with the same system they’re currently using. However, what’s exciting is that our survey showed 15% are planning to adopt an AMS for the first time.

Whether you’re planning to use the same system or intend to switch or adopt the technology for the first time, considering your needs and being sure the software is going to meet them is always important.

We have identified 5 steps to choosing the AMS that’s right for you:

1. Identify your goals2. Identify your needs3. Consider your budget4. Make a decision5. Manage change in your agency

Identify Your GoalsBefore you can even begin looking at software solutions, you must identify the problem you’d like to solve. If there wasn’t a problem, you wouldn’t be looking for a software solution, right?

To solve your current problem or situation, you should identify some goals you’re hoping the AMS will help you reach. These goals will be driven by the current issues your agency is facing (either with your current CRM/AMS or lack of one), and they should also be driven by your growth aspirations.

8Insurance Tech: Data management, commissions processing, and digital marketing

Examples of goals insurance agencies might be looking at would be improving client service, decreasing commissions processing time, or automating communication with clients and prospects.

Identify Your NeedsEach agency has its own specific needs, and before you overwhelm yourself with the CRM/AMS choices, identify your needs. Don’t worry about wants at this stage—those will arise as you search to discover what’s out there.

So, depending on what goals you identified and how you’re currently running, you’re going to need certain functionality. First, you’re going to need the features that currently allow you to run your business, like effectively tracking clients and prospects. Then, you’re looking beyond to your goals. If your goal was to automate communication with clients and prospects, you’re going to need the AMS to have email and automated workflow capabilities.

Consider Your BudgetWhen it comes to purchasing and setting up an AMS/CRM, there are a few things you need to consider: any hidden costs, the “Actual Cost”, and any required vendor contracts. Each AMS/CRM vendor is different, but there are a few steps you can take to be sure you’re not blind-sided when you receive your first invoice.

Ask the vendor about any volume discounts or tiered pricing they offer, setup fees, and fees for training or support. Also, be sure you don’t “over-purchase”. Typically there will be a base plan with add-ons that have additional costs for certain

9Insurance Tech: Data management, commissions processing, and digital marketing

features/modules. Be sure you don’t purchase a system that has a bunch of features you’ll never use.

Make a DecisionThis might seem pretty straight-forward, but we’re talking about how you’re making the decision here. Include your team in this step in order to create buy-in. When you’ve narrowed your selections down, have a meeting and present this information to the other decision-makers:

• Your goals & subsequent needs• The budget you planned & why it changed or did not

change• The 2-3 AMS/CRM systems you’ve narrowed it down to

and why (list specific features and how you think they’ll meet your needs)

• How you’ve decided to make the decision (vote, debate, discussion, etc.)

Manage Change in Your AgencyChange is scary. You must manage the change process until your team feels comfortable with the new technology.

To effectively manage the process: • Present the new system in a similar way as step #4 (make

a decision), showing how the new system will meet your needs & help you reach your goals

• Roll out the new system to each department separately• Assign someone as the AMS/CRM expert who other team

members can go to for guidance• Hold a review with the entire team after a few months of

using the new system to discuss any concerns

10Insurance Tech: Data management, commissions processing, and digital marketing

Understand the human element involved in this change and lead your team to success by showing everyone how the new system will benefit each department. To learn more, check out our eBook, Managing Change: Handling Evolving Technology in the Insurance Industry.

What is Your Insurance Agency’s #1 Challenge?When asked, “What is your agency’s #1 challenge?”, respondents overwhelmingly responded with lead generation (49%).

11Insurance Tech: Data management, commissions processing, and digital marketing

What is your insurance agency’s #1 challenge?

49%

20%

13%

12%Lead generation

Growth/revenue monitoring

Client servicing

Commissions processing

Client retention

6%

Lead generation is a concern for any business in any industry. Knowing where to put your marketing dollars and knowing how and when to speak to prospects can be tricky. It can also prove to be difficult when you don’t have the right technology supporting your efforts.

We’ll talk more in-depth about digital marketing later, but having a website with a lead form is extremely important. This is an easy way for prospects to reach out to you quickly. The important thing here is how quickly you respond to them. After all, 50% of sales go to the first person who calls, so you need the technology that will enable you to do that.

With an AMS that has built-in lead forms, you’re able to see immediately when a form is filled out and reach out immediately. In AgencyBloc, you can even automate an email to go to the prospect right after they fill out the form assuring them you’ll be reaching out soon.

AgencyBloc also has lead vendor integrations that help your agency create an incoming stream of leads into your business depending on your needs. AgencyBloc integrates with NextGen Leads and ProspectZone, both well-known lead providers in the insurance industry.

Finally, you need a productive way to track prospects throughout their sales cycle. The ability to automate some of the communication you have with prospects as well as automate reminders to yourself to be sure you follow-up is vital. You have a lot to do and without the right technology, prospects can definitely slip through the cracks.

Growth and revenue monitoring was selected as the #1 challenge by 20% of respondents. Again, this is all about how you manage your data. Consider an AMS that has real-time analytics and extensive reporting so you’re always able to get at the data you need. In AgencyBloc, Dashboard Analytics display for all areas of your business so you’re able to accurately assess the performance of your business.

12Insurance Tech: Data management, commissions processing, and digital marketing

13Insurance Tech: Data management, commissions processing, and digital marketing

Groups & Policies by Lead Source Graph in AgencyBloc

Top Commissions Received by Agent Graph in AgencyBloc

As for an enhanced client experience and improving retention, it’s all about communication and timely service. AgencyBloc’s Automated Workflow helps in this area by allowing you to reach out proactively for things like renewal reminders. Plus, the organization and updated data within the AMS helps you answer client questions quickly with all of the information you need in one area.

Lastly, some agencies expressed that they struggle with commissions processing. Let’s dive deeper into that area in the next section.

14Insurance Tech: Data management, commissions processing, and digital marketing

Automated Workflow Examples in AgencyBloc

Section 2:

Commissions Processing

What are Agencies Using to Process Commissions?Most insurance agencies responded that they use an AMS to process and track their commissions followed by Excel spreadsheets. Agencies benefit from an AMS that has built-in commissions capabilities because having the data all in one system means it can work together cohesively.

16Insurance Tech: Data management, commissions processing, and digital marketing

What does your insurance agency use to process and/or track commissions?

36%

28%

27%

9%

Insurance-specific agency management system (AMS)

Excel spreadsheets

“I don’t process or track commissions.”

Commissions-specific software

AgencyBloc helps agencies process commissions faster, effectively track commissions for agents, and project commissions into the future. Commissions processing within AgencyBloc is a streamlined process. The graph on the next page illustrates the concept.

Once your clients, their policies, and your rate tables are set up, AgencyBloc saves you from manually processing commissions. For instance, if your agency is receiving electronic commission statements, we can build import maps for quickly importing that information into AgencyBloc. When these files are uploaded, AgencyBloc will match the information to the policies you have set up and automatically calculate commissions.

This process can prove to be difficult in Excel spreadsheets for several reasons. Like we discussed, Excel spreadsheets are error-prone, the manual process can be extremely time-consuming, you end up with an ineffective audit trail, and you’re only allowed restricted analyzation.

17Insurance Tech: Data management, commissions processing, and digital marketing

AgencyBloc Commissions Processing

According to Gartner, Inc., when companies move from Excel Spreadsheets to commission-based software, they reduce errors by over 90%. To learn more, check out our blog, 4 Reasons You Shouldn’t Use Excel Spreadsheets to Process Commissions.

In our survey, 27% of agencies reported that they aren’t processing or tracking commissions. Even if you aren’t splitting commissions out, you should still strongly consider tracking your commissions coming in for two reasons: to identify missing commissions and to begin projecting commissions.

Identifying Missed Commissions63% of insurance agencies say they are regularly looking for missed commission payments from carriers.

18Insurance Tech: Data management, commissions processing, and digital marketing

Does your agency regularly look for missed commissions from carriers?

62%

20%

18%

Yes

No, but I would if I had the technology to do it

No, I don’t see a reason for doing that

Of the 37% that aren’t actively searching for missed commissions, about half say they don’t see a reason to and the other half say they would if they had the technology to do so. In fact, agencies said identifying missed commissions from carriers is their #1 challenge when it comes to commissions processing.

Though it’s unintentional, carriers can and do miss commission payments for several reasons. A couple examples are:

• They’re 2-3 months behind on their payments, so it’ll appear in your books that you haven’t gotten paid yet. Most agencies don’t worry for the first few months, but if you’re tracking it closely, you’ll know when you might have a deeper problem.

• One of your clients canceled his/her policy and didn’t notify your agency. That will appear to you as a “missed” payment from the carrier and will cause you to investigate the situation.

So, tracking your commissions and regularly looking for missing commission payments is important. If you have the right technology, it doesn’t have to be time-consuming or difficult.

For example, AgencyBloc will look for commission payments not received by statement date or by bill from date that you can view by running a report or viewing on a per policy basis. The image on the next page shows a policy example in AgencyBloc that shows missing commissions on the policy. It also displays actual vs. expected commissions and projected commissions for that policy. Within AgencyBloc’s Dashboard Analytics are also graphs on commission data.

19Insurance Tech: Data management, commissions processing, and digital marketing

20Insurance Tech: Data management, commissions processing, and digital marketing

AgencyBloc Commissions Tab of Policy Example

AgencyBloc Projected Commission Graphs

Projecting Commissions47% of insurance agencies are currently projecting commissions and using those projections to analyze revenue, 42% said they don’t currently see a reason for doing that, and 11% said they would if they had the technology to do so.

21Insurance Tech: Data management, commissions processing, and digital marketing

Does your insurance agency project commissions?

47%

42%

11%Yes, we project commissions

No, we don’t see a reason to

No, but we would if we had the technology

What’s the real benefit of projecting commissions? Agencies project revenue and examine commissions received against expected in order to better address situations like:

• Hiring support staff—when will the agency need to and financially be able to hire more staff?

• Expanding or maintaining current client base—how much does an agent need to sell to reach their financial goal?

22Insurance Tech: Data management, commissions processing, and digital marketing

• Deciding which products to sell—what products bring the agency substantial revenue? Does the agency need to expand into other areas of business?

• Identifying new sales opportunities—how will expanding into a new market or simply selling more of the current products affect revenue?

• Finding missed or inaccurate commissions—are there discrepancies between what the agency expected to receive and what was actually received? How does that affect future plans?

Overall, the ability to project commissions helps agencies confirm they are receiving accurate payments on what they have sold, plan better for future events, and be more proactive in its operations.

In AgencyBloc, an agency can use “Projection Tables” to plan the commissions it expects to receive and to chart their growth path. With this data, you can see a quick overview of any missed commissions, any difference in actual vs. projected commissions, and future yearly projections. You can also see a more “bird’s eye” view of your commissions data, as shown in the graph on page 20.

Next, let’s jump into what insurance agencies are planning to do with their marketing efforts in 2017.

Section 3:

Digital Marketing

What are Agencies Using for Digital Marketing?79% of insurance agencies are currently using digital marketing techniques to market their agency. When asked what tools they’re using, the majority are utilizing a combination of a website, social media, and email.

24Insurance Tech: Data management, commissions processing, and digital marketing

What tools does your insurance agency use in your marketing efforts?

This is a great move made by insurance agencies because “the average person now spends more time online than with TV and all other media (newspapers, magazines, etc.) combined.” That’s why having an online presence on a website is so crucial. And, 78% of salespeople are now using social media to outsell their peers, so maintaining social profiles is equally as important.

To learn more about online marketing in the insurance world, check out our eBook, A Brief Guide to Successful Relationships With the Modern Insurance Consumer.

Only 27% of agencies in our survey indicated they’re utilizing marketing automation, and they could definitely be missing out. Marketing automation is beneficial for busy insurance agents who still want to make a lasting impact on their prospects. Agencies who are using marketing automation use it for everything from client communication to lead generation.

25Insurance Tech: Data management, commissions processing, and digital marketing

For what reasons does your agency use marketing automation?

Through the use of automated emails and scheduled calls, you can make your prospect feel like they’re your #1 priority. Learn more about how marketing automation could benefit your agency in AgencyBloc’s Tour section.

As for 2017, only 1% of agencies indicated they planned to decrease their use of marketing automation, so it’s worth looking into.

26Insurance Tech: Data management, commissions processing, and digital marketing

What is your agency’s intention for use of automation in 2017?

47%42%

1%

Increase use

Continue doing the same thing

Decrease use

Identifying TouchpointsWhen asked what they’re struggling with most when it comes to digital marketing, most agencies answered with either lead generation or identifying touchpoints with clients (when it’s appropriate to reach out).

27Insurance Tech: Data management, commissions processing, and digital marketing

First, revisit the section earlier in this eBook where we discussed a few ideas for lead generation. Remember that insurance agencies identified that as their overall #1 concern when it comes to their business.

Let’s dive into the client communication struggle now. We know that understanding how to keep a constant stream of communication open with clients without thinking you’re bugging them can be difficult to gauge.

What does your agency struggle with most when it comes to digital marketing?

30%

13%

11%

8%

Identifying touchpoints with clients

Automating emails

Agent communication

Website

Social media

7%Lead generation

Other

23%

8%

We suggest identifying important events like a policy renewals, birthdays, or carrier change information and automating these messages to your clients. Though phone calls and in-person meetings are still necessary for a positive relationship, automation can help you keep the communication lines open without much effort on your part. To learn more about the touchpoints you should be automating, check out our blog, The 6 Processes Your Insurance Agency Should Be Automating.

What Does This All Mean for Your Agency?Every insurance agency is different, so what works for one agency for database management, commissions processing, and digital marketing won’t automatically work for yours. However, the important piece to take from this is that insurance agencies are increasingly turning to technology to better run their operations.

Many agencies are looking into industry-specific agency management systems (AMS) that allow them to manage their book-of-business, process and track commissions, and maintain communication with prospects and clients, all in one. AgencyBloc is an AMS that does just that. Check out the resources on the next couple pages to see if AgencyBloc might be the right fit for your insurance agency.

28Insurance Tech: Data management, commissions processing, and digital marketing

29Insurance Tech: Data management, commissions processing, and digital marketing

AgencyBloc is exactly the tool I was looking for, and the support and guidance is absolutely what I need. This is an amazing group of people that know their business and understand and get my needs. —Susan, Health Insurance In Kansas City

Learn more in our overview video:

See AgencyBloc for YourselfAgencyBloc is an agency management system that helps life and health insurance agencies grow their business with an industry-specific CRM, commissions processing, and integrated business and marketing automation.

30Insurance Tech: Data management, commissions processing, and digital marketing

Ready to see if AgencyBloc could work for your insurance agency?

Sign up for a live, one-on-one demo of AgencyBloc.

You’ll be able to discuss your agency’s specific needs and see the software in action.