AgencyPort:Insights from Our Agent TourNovember 10, 20091

Webinar AgendaAbout the Agent Insight TourWhat we heard from agentsProblemsGeneralBy Technology (e.g. agent portals, upload, etc.)By Market (e.g. Personal, Commercial, Specialty lines)SolutionsBy technology and by marketWhat else the market can doWhat we're doingHow you can learn moreQ&A2

About the Agent Insight TourSurvey66 Agencies visited15 PL, 9 CL, 42 mixed2,900 miles14 StatesME, MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD, VA, NC, GA, MS, FLFindingsDaily updates were posted to, and are still available on, the AgencyPort blog at http://www.agencyport.com/tourPublished a 20-page report at http://www.agencyport.com/AIT-Report

Survey

66 Agencies visited

15 PL, 9 CL, 42 mixed

2,900 miles

14 States

ME, MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD, VA, NC, GA, MS, FL

Findings

Daily updates were posted to, and are still available on, the AgencyPort blog at http://www.agencyport.com/tour

Published a 20-page report at http://www.agencyport.com/AIT-Report

What We Heard From AgentsOpinions were across the spectrumThere’s not one ‘right’ answer to servicing your agency channel with technology Priorities:ProductPricingEase of Doing Business“it was so much easier 32 years ago. In those days, all of the products were essentially the same. Agents could deduce the ‘right’ carrier for their client and then quickly calculate a price using a pencil. The process was straight forward and streamlined.”

What We Heard from Agents: Ease of Doing Business5The battlefield among carriers with strong product and price Carriers with highly available, easy to use, high performing websites which offer agents full featured policy processing/customer servicing capability win.Easy, right?

What We Heard From Agents: Agent PortalsCarrier differentiation can lead to agent painNon-standard, non-ACORD oriented data collectionRollout at the agency level to CSR’s is critical for success and adoption. Mixed agent experience across companies and productsTie high quality traditional service to the web systemDon’t underestimate the importance of the ongoing agent/underwriter workflow for risks that can not be bound in the system

What We Heard From Agents: Agent PortalsKeep it “Slick, quick, and easy!”Provide for easy customer up-sellMake it fast and easy for an Agent to sell auto to a homeowners customerProvide a good looking quote letter (especially in commercial lines)Keep Agents up to date on the status of their submissions

What We Heard From Agents: InterfaceComparative Rating is hot in Personal Lines, but a non-factor in Commercial and Specialty LinesUpload/Bridging is messyMixed successToo hard (too many dialog boxes, transitional sites)Too SlowPoorly MarketedLow Quality Experience CommonYou never have a second chance to make a first impression8“It takes me longer to boot up TransactNow than to key in enough data into a carrier website to get a quote”

Problems in Large Commercial & SpecialtyMore a messy art than a scienceAn inefficient morass of paperwork, re-keying, faxes and phone callsThe predominant means of quoting and issuing remains email and PDFs9

Solutions10

Solution: Online EndorsementsWe heard about one carrier with a “winning” practice. They were able to give agents a premium for each endorsement—even allowing them to perform “what if” scenarios. There are challenges in calculating the pro-rated premium, but this online “what if” tool amazed the agents we met.11

Solutions: Better Agent PortalsAsk the fewest number of questions possibleAs much pre-filled, third-party data (e.g. Choicepoint, MVR, vehicle data, driver info, etc.)The ability to pre-fill city, state, and county based on entering of zip codeView the entire Motor Vehicle Report onlineAccess to electronic copies of the policyMore transparency on where an agent’s submission stands in the queue and what will the response to me be when something is referred? 12

Solutions: Never do this in Agent PortalsForce an agent to try to map ACORD or ISO to carrier specific codesProhibit agents from archiving or saving quotesOffer unintelligible error codesOver e-mail. All agents really need is the commission summary emails and any notice of a policy form change13

Solutions for Personal LinesOpportunity to be the leader in the High Value PL arenaCurrently stands out as lacking automationMust play with Comparative Raters in General MarketWinning solution: a workflow with two transactions:Upload with Quick Quote and Eligibility - includes company unique questions to enable accurate quote, but not too many to lose “quick” nature of the transactionStreamlined post-quote transaction to bind and issue the policyMust move quicklyOpportunity to win and differentiate with agents nowAgent expectation is highFunctionality vs. ease/speed

Solutions For Comm’l Lines & SpecialtyOnline presence required to compete with small commercialQuick quote/eligibility a mustWell-designed interface transactions will differentiateFlexibility to participate with emerging distribution modelsCommercial ExchangesAggregator modelsSpecialty Lines/MGA distributionStill time to shine with breadth of transaction types across multiple lines of businessWinning model will be the carrier with the broadest offering and the most flexible/agile agent portal Empowering the business to be proactive, not reactive

Solutions: Face-to-Face InteractionBe familiar with the systems agents use Roll out new technology to agents individuallySeveral agents said they preferred WebEX to in-person roll-outs, saying they took up less me and were more convenient.16

Solutions: What else the market can do17Dial up the dialogueWe’re fully committed to getting off the sideline and making stuff happen. As a first step, we’ll be at the table at ACT, AUGIE, the Big I, and the CIAB. Anyone want to pull up a chair?Call industry leaders to actionAgencyPort is on the hunt for visionary leaders at carriers, agencies and trade associations to help champion these ideas and to offer ways that AgencyPort can help implement them.

What We’re DoingBig StuffDocument-based workflowPDF UploadCompany-Powered Consumer self service through Agent’s websiteLittle StuffNow easier to implement format masks in AgencyPortal18

Q&AHave a question? We’ve got some folks who were on the tour here w/us, now’s your chance!Email webinar@agencyport.comFind these slides online: http://www.agencyport.com/blogThe AIT Blog: http://www.agencyport.com/tourVideos from the AIT: http://www.youtube.com/agencyport19