Agent App-titude

Fifth-generation agent Ryan Parry would astonish his forebears with how he produces insurance business and manages accounts. In the time it took his great-great grandfather to say goodbye to a potential homeowners insurance customer and walk a couple of blocks back to his office, Parry has measured the prospect’s house, photographed it, made notations on the pictures, estimated the exposures and calculated the premium—all using a single device.

A tablet is as important to a producer these days as a good handicap was to Parry’s great-great grandpa. Despite their inherent business value, mobile tools were initially coined “rogue technology” and “shadow IT,” because employers were generally unaware their employees were using apps. Concerns mounted about potential breaches exposing proprietary company information and personally identifiable customer and employee data, like credit card and social security numbers. Those fears were temporarily left behind in the shadow of increased productivity.

But now, as more producers gravitate toward new app options that are growing exponentially each day, the old concerns about “shadow IT” are reemerging—along with challenges for agency workflow management.

“There is a danger of the rogue producer overusing apps and putting private information out there in the cloud that could introduce risks to the organization,” explains Martina Conlon, principal at Novarica, a New York-based insurance technology advisory firm. “These apps also may not be in line with other business processes and agency strategy. This is a problem for principals, who want business process consistency and expect total transparency.”

Integration is Key

Ed Higgins, the former CEO and now vice president of Thousand Islands Agency in Clayton, N.Y., carries a tablet containing an ever-expanding array of sophisticated apps. Ironically, his 37-year-old son Brendan couldn’t see tablets’ value to the agency when they came on the scene. “Brendan and I were at this conference and I had the tablet with me, and he said, ‘Dad, I just don’t get it—I know you think a tablet is cool, but you can’t do anything with it on the agency management system,’ ” Higgins says. “I replied, ‘Just you wait.’ ”

Minutes later, father and son walked into the venue’s demo hall, where Applied Systems was preparing to make an announcement. The vendor’s CEO introduced the attendees to a new mobile app called MobileProducer, which would provide a wide range of agency- and customer-related information to producers on the fly—assuming they owned a tablet.

In part, vendors like Vertafore and Applied Systems have met the need for app back-end integration, responding with new tools like Producer Advantage and MobileProducer, respectively. These mobile apps empower agents in the field with immediate access to diverse client, policy and sales information—all integrated with their back-end management systems.

Agents applaud these new mobile tools, but there will always be new apps beyond these systems enticing producers with their ease and utility. A case in point is Parry, who uses several apps like MobileProducer and Measures, which links to the camera in his tablet to measure a building’s square footage.

“I email the photo of the property to myself and then draw on it or scribble notes on it using another app called Notability,” says Parry, owner of William B. Parry & Son, Ltd. in Langhorne, Pa. “Then I forward the photo and notes to the CSR at the agency to do the replacement cost estimating work in real time.”

Agencies will have to continually address the workflow issues created by apps, knowing that one product suite will never have all the answers. “Technology developers are constantly pushing mobile apps out to support agents and other salespeople in the field with better communication, productivity and collaboration features,” Conlon says. “We’ve really just seen the tip of the iceberg.”

There’s an App for That

Apps have also fundamentally changed the business of selling in the industry. “Lead generation used to be golf and writing down information on a cocktail napkin, then digging the napkin out of your pocket at the agency and hoping it’s readable,” says Angela Adams, president of Angela Adams Consulting Services Inc., in Charleston, S.C. “Now, what agents are digging out of their pockets and purses are smartphones and tablets. Thanks to mobility, producers have evolved into these uber-salespeople handling more and more functions, particularly as CSRs themselves become less clerical.”

That means a producer is able to handle a much larger book than before—while simultaneously being able to devote more time to selling. George Robertson, a technology advisor to independent agencies and a second-generation agent, has trained countless agencies on how to move beyond a world of spreadsheets into a world of apps. At the same time, he drinks his own Kool-Aid, leveraging more apps than he can remember. “I’m, well, app-happy,” says Robertson.

These are just a few apps bringing a smile to Robertson’s face and those of his consulting clients:

• Zillow, which shows the relative range of house prices in a certain area.
• Waze, to check traffic conditions to and from prospects and clients—a vital app since producers are “on the road all the time,” he says.
• Evernote, which helps him remember stuff by synchronizing all his notes, web clips, files, lists, images and more.
• Dragon Dictation, which records his verbal musings and conversations and turns it all into editable text—hands-free.
• MagicPlan, which allows him to snap and map the floor plan of a house or commercial building: “Gone are the days of measuring tape for agents,” he says.
• CamScanner, to take photographs of relevant insurance documents to bring into the agency’s back-end management system.
• Carfax, for vehicle history reports.
• E-signature, to sign digital documents with a finger click.
• Acord One, to access Acord forms in the field.
• Skype, for communicating with clients and co-workers in a more personal manner than a phone call.

“I can’t imagine doing business any other way in my own agency,” says Robertson, referring to Rockingham Insurance in Eden, N.C. “When I talk up these mobile features to clients, they soon feel the same way.”

Parry is particularly fond of Applied Systems’ CSR24 app, which helps him put the agency’s best foot forward with a customer, digitally speaking. “I can showcase [the agency to] a client in an online atmosphere, giving demos with the app,” he says. “It gives me the ability to personalize the servicing experience. Last week, I used it in the networking group of 40 local businesspeople that I belong to, showing them how it issued certificates, delivered policies and looked up vehicle certificates. They were pretty awestruck.”

Agents like Angela Treutel Zeringue, president of SouthGroup Insurance-Gulf Coast in Biloxi, Miss., also rely on a wealth of apps to provide tailored and superior service to clients, as well as improve and hasten the underwriting process.

But like the other agents, she has not measured the return on investment (ROI) in the mobile apps on her tablet. Not that she has any doubts. “We know they save time and generate more sales, but we’re too busy selling to stop and calculate the ROI,” she says.

Parry’s great-great grandfather probably felt the same way about his green fees.

Russ Banham is an IA contributor.

SIDEBAR: Personal Productivity Apps

Jay Byrnes, president of Dayville, Conn.-based Byrnes Agency, affectionately refers to the mobile tools he uses “toys”—perhaps a reference to the early apps for fun and games.

“A great collaborative mobile toy we use here is Lync, which enables instant messaging through Skype,” he says. “Another is Keepass, which helps us deal with the nightmare of multiple passwords. And LogMeIn (Ignition), I use that one a lot. It’s a bit expensive, but it gets me to my desktop wherever I may be in the world.” —R.B.