TECHNOLOGY
Human Touch from page 17
Contrary view
Ruplinger has a markedly different view , stating he sees it as part of his role at Ash Brokerage to continuously push the business boundaries and challenge long-held assumptions within the insurance industry . “ At Ash Brokerage ,” he told me , “ we fundamentally disagree with the assumption that increases in technology efficiencies will decrease personal service . On the contrary , we believe great technology enables us to provide better , more prescriptive service . We focus on serving our advisors where , when , and how they prefer .”
Hoesly ’ s comments about the carriers are a reminder that this is a business where there are many stakeholders involved at many different levels . And the service quality of one often reflects upon the service perception of all . With that in mind , I asked about what they ’ d each like to see other stakeholders in the business do in the area of technology to help business grow ?
Brotherton stated , “ The increased use of electronic signatures during the pandemic is something that should continue and expand . Many carriers have stopped requiring as many ‘ wet ’ signatures and started to allow applications and service forms to be electronically signed using DocuSign . Electronic signatures allow for less paperwork , less back-and-forth , and just make sense during a pandemic and the 21st century .”
“ We fundamentally disagree with the assumption that technology efficiencies will decrease personal service ... great technology enables us to provide better , more prescriptive service .”
Todd Ruplinger
Taking the relationship seriously
For Hoesly , this question revolves around the partnership between the advisor and the carrier . “ I would like the carriers to take our partnership with them seriously . Most agents are trying to help their clients and keep the business on the books . Yet many carriers will not release information , even to the writing agent , if they haven ’ t recently placed new business with them . Even with a client-written letter of authorization , most carriers will only respect a one-time phone call with both the client and agent on the phone . This kind of procedure makes it difficult to provide lifetime service to a client on products that we recommended .
“ Additionally ,” she continued , “ some carriers have begun charging a client for inforce illustrations if they request more than one in a year . Often , situations come up where the client needs to know ‘ what if ’ on a policy , and making them pay for that answer sends a bad message to the client . I fear that clients are becoming more and more estranged from the carriers as the carriers make it more difficult for the client to get answers .”
Hoesly also addressed the problem of premium notices . “ We have also found a greatly increased recurrence of lost premium notices . I don ’ t know if the cause is bad mail delivery , the ongoing push to go paperless , or the fact that in many states companies don ’ t have to legally send out premium notices . Whatever the cause , the effect is that more policies are unintentionally lapsing , and our ability to track whether a premium is late or unpaid is restricted by our access to the data through the carrier .
What ’ s best for the business
Ruplinger addressed the question about stakeholders , stating , “ We are pushing our carriers to improve data integrations for the whole eco-cycle of business — quoting , submitting , underwriting , case status , and in-force . We are also developing more partner integration to make protection more organic to an advisor ’ s regular activities , such as integrating with financial planning software .”
Beals feels , from the carrier ’ s perspective , that a solid track record is important . “ My advice ,” she said , “ is to trust the technology and automation available from leading insurance carriers that have proven track records of delivering customer value and continuous improvement . Avoid ‘ work arounds ’ and trying to recreate older workflows and processes . Embrace current offerings to bring your practice and customers the benefits available through technology improvements .”
“ Avoid ‘ work arounds ’ and trying to recreate older workflows and processes . Embrace current offerings to bring your practice and customers the benefits available through technology improvements .”
Pam Beals
18 Perspectives Q3 2021