Association Technology Update No. 3:
IMPORTANT NEWS FOR BROKERS WRITING PERSONAL LINES
with Aviva & Economical Mutual,

Dear Member Broker,

The construction of automated integration that will change how you work in your brokerage is continuing over the summer months. Insurers and broker management system vendors are testing now in a demo environment, in preparation for live implementations.

The new integration will allow brokers to work more effectively, with less time wasted on unnecessary, error-prone repetition, and so create an opportunity to rethink brokerage processes to better serve insurance customers.

Here is the background: A group of Insurers and broker management system vendors (Aviva, Economical Mutual, Custom Software Solutions, and Keal Technology), together with brokers associations and CSIO, are completing initial testing of the proof of concept for real-time, automated transaction processing.

Requests initiated by brokers – for quotes, new policies, and endorsements - are relayed electronically to Insurers, accepted and integrated, and the response returned to the broker immediately, without individual logins or extra keying into the Insurer’s system.

The automation eliminates delays and redundant data entry and so reduces waste and errors. Ultimately, customers benefit, with improved service, better accuracy, and the liberation of broker resources for more direct customer interaction.

Key principles behind the development include:

- Transactions start and end in your BMS, with a real-time response from carrier
- Process concludes without manual intervention or portal connections, or carrier-specific
customizations in the broker’s system
- Communication does not pause for individual passwords
- Data transmitted strictly follows CSIO XML standards

While the current work is preparatory to carrier installations of the Guidewire’s PolicyCenter, going forward the same process and principles can be deployed by any Insurer whose system is built to accept, digest and respond to standard CSIO messages sent by a broker. It also lays the groundwork for online information access by clients, via brokerage systems.

How Can My Brokerage Leverage this Opportunity?

Part of brokerage preparation is implementing data best practices, to ensure that the information you trade with Insurers is as consistent and as accurate as possible, to reduce errors and friction, and ensure transactions are processed successfully.

On a larger scale, however, this is an occasion to examine the overall processes within the office, to identify and improve process bottlenecks and outdated practices.

It is a useful investment of time to analyze in detail the steps for all your new business and policy change processes, from beginning through to the very end. Consider the différences that may exist for each Insurer that you work with. Every brokerage is unique and has its own mix of clients and companies.

Most important is considering the customer’s experience: Ask yourself, at every point, what is the ultimate impact for the client? Is there a benefit? Is it even necessary? Where are the touchpoints, and where could value be added? Where does process slow down? Where and why do things change hands?

Various tools are available, ranging from complex software or low-tech sticky notes, including workshops either on-line or in-person, to help with the analysis. Consultants, from your BMS vendor or independents, who see your operations with fresh perspectives, can also be helpful.

Once your processes are mapped out, there may be some obvious changes to make. But in light of the imminent availability of straight-through automation, consider the effect of eliminating all steps related to Insurer portal data entry. Without the need to re-key data, processes can certainly be abbreviated, and some hand-offs may be eliminated entirely. Your
timelines for reviewing incoming information, and responding to clients, will change.

The liberated time can be re-invested; every brokerage will be able to make their own unique
business decisions to specifically plan growth and improved customer service. New campaigns,expanded lines of business, cross-selling or more in-depth discussions about insured’s evolving needs to explore available options, are just a few of the possibilities.

To maximize the benefits of eliminating inefficient processes, encourage all your Insurers to
incorporate these new standards for automation into their own systems. Talk to your BMS
provider about system update timelines, as well, to be prepared.

For the Insurers already committed, preliminary work and testing will continue through
summer, 2017. Subsequently, individual Insurers will then proceed with their own
implementations and roll out functionality to brokers.