What to look for in insurance software for brokers

As technology continues to improve the lives of insurance brokers, you will see no shortage of solutions available. These solutions assist brokers with benefits placement, quoting, collaboration, renewals, or other essential aspects of a broker’s day-to-day role. 

Some software options for brokers are niche and improve specific elements like quoting or RFPs, while others provide an all-in-one solution.

If you're in the market for new insurance software, you may find it challenging to ascertain what features are the most important to look for. Read on for the five most important things to consider when choosing new software.

1. Improving visibility in the quoting process

Most technology on the market claims to improve the quoting process - and, as a pivotal component of brokers’ roles, this is for good reason. Solutions that increase visibility into the quoting process improve broker efficiency and effectiveness by saving you time and energy.

The top insurance software on the market no longer requires you to sift through spreadsheets, tirelessly looking for information to highlight or transfer into a different management workflow. New insurance software offers not only improved quoting capabilities, but also side-by-side comparisons so that you can make the best decisions for your clients quickly and effortlessly from a birds’ eye view

2. Simplifying collaboration

Successful benefits placement requires significant collaboration, both internally and externally, and ineffective communication can slow things down, wasting time and money.

When choosing a solution, consider options that allow you to keep most - or all - of your important communication in one place. Collaborative tools can add to the digital clutter if they require you to continue communicating via text, phone, chat programs, email, or documents outside of the platform. 

Some of the top solutions also offer a digital trail that organizes communications neatly while making historical information easy to find. As you encounter renewals for the next policy year or perform policy audits, the ability to quickly reference historical communication that has been documented in one place can create a significant time savings for you and your clients. Not to mention reducing implementation errors that can be costly and tedious to correct. 

3. Reducing administrative work

Most technology on the market these days tout that they can simplify administrative work and “give you time back in your day” to focus on value-added tasks. However, keep in mind that this nearly ubiquitous value proposition won’t always live up to your expectations with every solution.

Most insurance software will at least somewhat improve documentation and record keeping of your clients in the form of a CRM or repository. You’ll likely be able to keep historical records, search through accounts quickly, and review quick comparisons of information. 

But to ensure that the insurance software you’re considering will be a valuable solution for you, evaluate whether or not it’s simplifying the administrative tasks you want to simplify. If the platform you choose becomes something you must monitor, or causes your team to upend entire workflows, it could add to the administrative work. And, not all technology is created equal; some solutions may build in significant automation while others build it as an afterthought.

4. Speeding up renewals and placements

Consider solutions that do more than just store RFPs as static documents. Look for a solution that goes one step further, such as  procuring RFPs automatically for you and building out renewals quickly. Streamlining these important and time-intensive aspects of a broker’s responsibilities leaves time for business-building tasks that typically get left on the back burner.

Some of the most sophisticated solutions, such as a Benefits Placement System, even offer the ability to place business with a single click. This time savings can mean you have additional resources for strengthening client and carrier relationships in more strategic and meaningful ways.

5. Providing actionable insights and data

Data and insights can make all the difference in your role when you’re looking to learn and improve. Seek out technology that can display impactful data points: information that will make your role more effective and help you grow your book of business

Top software solutions will offer market activity data that help you strategically manage carrier relationships to improve client outcomes. This will help you with revenue planning and forecasting throughout the marketing season, and strengthen your negotiation position to drive conversations with carrier partners for improved compensation agreements. 

With a real-time view of how the opportunities are distributed, you can empower your team to make marketing decisions that achieve company revenue goals and more.

Find an all-in-one solution

ThreeFlow, the very first Benefits Placement System, meets all of the previously mentioned requirements, and more. Founded by experts who came from the insurance industry, it is a purpose-built solution that improves benefits placement for both brokers and carriers, so you’ll experience:

• More visibility into the quoting process
• Simplified and improved collaboration
• Administrative efficiencies
• Faster renewals and one-click placements
• Actionable data and insights 

Additionally, you’ll have a dedicated onboarding and implementation team to get you started on the right foot and set your team up for success.

If you are looking for an all-in-one insurance software for brokers, talk to our team to get started.