Digital Insurance examines the impact of digital transformation on insurance agents. For more:
Once working from home became the new norm in 2020, agents and brokers were pressed to quickly implement and learn digital tools in order to stay connected with their clients. Despite pandemic-based restrictions being lifted, many of the solutions and conveniences born from remote work have stuck; automated and digital processes like online policy management, quoting tools and claims processing are seemingly here to stay for good. As the industry continues to evolve, carriers will have to continuously adjust their approach in supporting agent channels to help eliminate technology-related frustrations and stay digitally up-to-date.
Martina Conlon, Head of Property and Casualty Insurance at Aite-Novarica Group, shares that implementing digital solutions that streamline processes can be beneficial for agents.
"I think that quite a few carriers are supporting their agents in providing them with the technology that can be deployed to their customers," she says. "Some insurers offer technology like APIs, portlets or website components to allow agents to provide digital capabilities directly to their prospects and customers, such as online quote and policy inquiry. Additionally, some insurers go further and provide online social media content, online appetite guides, lead generation and online loss control education to help the agents grow their brand and capture the best business."
Conlon says that as digital transformation continues on the carrier side, the new kinds of digital technologies that are being deployed will find their way over to the agent channel as well with encouragement from their partners.
"I think, going forward, we'll see insurers continue to support the agents in their ability to deliver technology-enabled capabilities to their customers. And so things like helping them build out their websites that are helping them adopt newer technology and reporting… helping them roll out more AI enabled capabilities, those types of things, as they start to make a big impact on our industry. I think agents are the very focal point in our industry right now…" Conlon states. "It is a major priority in order to enable your agents to sell more policies, be more effective and service their customers better. And it really is in the best interest of the insurers to equip the agents to be able to do that."
The communication imperative
Direct communication between carriers and agents is crucial, according to Grange's Dana Halicki, vice president of Customer and Agent Experience. Halicki says, "We have direct access to a lot of our agents, and our agents have direct access to myself and other senior leaders at Grange, through various forums, whether it's town halls or small focus group type sessions with agents. Prioritizing those interactions is really important for carriers because it gives you the opportunity to listen to what's on the agent's mind, what's working for them, what's not, and then adjust."
Halicki emphasizes the importance of listening and communicating directly with agents – especially in times of transition and implementing new technologies, such as when agents were initially sent to work from home at the start of the pandemic.
"We've got a lot of good tools within the industry and research groups… But as a carrier, I think there's also a role to be played where you take that and then you spend some time with your agents," Halicki shares. "Having that direct interaction with agents is one of the things that enables us to be successful as we roll out new things. Not just kind of pushing new stuff on agents, but developing new tools, almost with them.
Grange actively communicates with agents on such topics through its agency councils, where the carrier receives direct communication and feedback from agents on issues affecting the agency system.
"In those interactions, we're talking not only with agency principals, but also with the individuals within the agency who are actually doing the tasks that are getting automated or leveraging the digital capabilities," Halicki explains. "Getting the direct feedback from those users is really important to make sure that you're addressing concerns that they have and challenges that they have with adopting the technology in a more direct way to help them."
Adding agents in the remote-work era
The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America's (IIABA) Chris Cline, executive director of the Agents Council for Technology, shares that the pandemic also made waves in the way that carriers recruit and find talent. Hiring processes, specifically for remote and hybrid positions, have contributed to the digital transformation of insurance, and thus, carriers have adjusted their approach to both recruitment and the support of the day-to-day activities of their remote workers.
"The challenge [of remote work] is consistent processes and workflows, and auditing against those, and so flexibility, work style, work arrangement and work location, or maybe even work hours all come in to play… we're still talking about businesses that have to operate with compliance driving a lot of things they do. Agencies have E&O considerations they've got to manage against, now they have cyber obligations and data privacy obligations," explains Cline. "This all poses very real challenges, and opportunities when considering how to bring a company or agency culture to life in meaningful ways for employees, balancing a much more diverse workforce, and making sure all are working in ways that best protect the business and customers."
Cline adds, "All this really does bring us back to the decades old concept of people, process and technology. All three are critical considerations in healthy organizations and now, potentially more so, as we look at how to best integrate new technology out of pure need and in support of unique business strategies. Even with the rapid acceleration and adoption of technology, we must be keenly aware of the impact to our team and customers, as well as the processes needed to support them."
