When it comes to forging an instant connection with customers,independent insurance agents who expect theirbusiness to grow and thrive know that having the righttechnology in place is paramount.

"The forward-thinking agent doesn't see [digitization andautomation] as a threat," says Michael Howe, senior vice presidentof product management at AppliedSystems, a University Park, Illinois-based insurancetechnology-consulting firm that provides insurance agency portals."They see it as a way to strengthen their relationship with thecustomer."

Even longtime agents with ingrained business processes and loyalclients who may presumably not be interested in high-tech bells andwhistles now have little choice in the matter of tech-driveninnovation. Today's consumers demand speed and control, and thoseagencies that best manage consumers' evolvingtastes possess the advantage of being attractive to prospectivebuyers.

Use technology wisely

No longer is the question when or how many tech tools to adopt,but whether the technology an agency currently has in place makesagents' jobs easier and customers happier, all while producing fresh leads faster.

The reality, according to experts, is that there is no "perfect"tech strategy to meet every agency's needs. Still, there areseveral best practices when it comes to making the most oftechnology to grow your business.

Here are five pressing technology challenges facing today'sindependent agents and some possible solutions:

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No. 1: Build a truly useful agency portal

Insurance technology experts characterize the ideal agencyportal as one that suits the way business happens in the "real"world. It should be role-based, keyed into the way agents do theirjobs, and provide quick customer data and policy information foreveryone in the supply chain from customers to claims agents.

Chapin Frazee, senior vice president with InfinitySoftware Development, Inc., of Tallahassee, Fla., characterizesthe perfect agency portal as a "digital expression of the businessthat agency is trying to be." Building such a tool requires athorough understanding of business goals, costs, sales andmarketing, customers, constraints and the technology return oninvestment.

"The ultimate agency portal isn't going to be static," he says."It's going to adapt and evolve as rapidly as the agency itrepresents."

Tech review tips

Here are some of the questions Frazee suggests should beaddressed during an agency's tech review:

• Who are our customers?

• What devices are they using?

• What browsers are they using?

• What do we expect the adoption rate to be?

• What do they want to do?

• What do we want them to do?

• How much of the policy production, administration, and claimsmanagement process do we want to expose?

• How adaptable do we want the customer experience to be?

• What carrier requirements do we have to reconcile?

• What legacy technology will the portal interact with?

• What resources do we have in-house to maintain, update andenhance the portal as our products and business changes?

• What's our budget?

"Based on the answers to these questions," Frazee says, "theultimate independent agency web portal could vary extremely fromone agency to the next. In some cases, an agency might want aninsured to be able to print certificates of insurance, or ID cards,or manage claims, or request policy changes. Other agencies mightwant to require agent involvement in some of these transactions andtherefore not make them available to customers in theirportal."

Checklist for ideal agency web portal

When it comes to online functionality, Brent S. Rineck, chiefinformation officer for San Mateo, Calif.-based ABD Insurance &Financial Services Inc., has this checklist for the idealagency web portal. Customers, he says should be readily ableto:

• View/print policy information.

• Print a summary of the entire package.

• Print auto ID cards.

• Upload and download documents securely.

• View certificates.

• Request policy changes.

• Add holders to certificates.

• View policy renewal status.

• View specialty content (cyber risk, occupational health,clinical trials).

• Submit renewal applications.

• Submit notice of a new claim.

Experts concur that greater collaboration with carriers will bekey to enabling independent agents to continue to compete."Carriers have really, really good portal technology," says JohnSarich, vice president of strategy at VUE Software,based in Coconut Creek, Fla., a firm that specializes in innovatingand automating business processes for the insurance industry. "Thatportal technology has to be opened up to let agents do lots ofthings. In the future, carriers will become information brokers totheir ecosystem, which is made up of agents and claims adjustersand so on. All of those people have a vested interest in growingthe business."

'Focus on the end goal'

Of course, independent agents battle the headaches that comefrom each insurance company employing different policy tools, andthe fact that none of these tools work together. "Carriers need towork together to provide some sort of platform where an agent canget multiple quotes without needing to process three different (on-and off-line) experiences," says Curt Stevenson, chief digitalofficer for Duck Creek Technologies, the providerof P&C insurance software and services based in Bolivar,Mo.

In the meantime, "Focus on the end goal, which is findingtechnology that enables the consumer throughout the entire lifecycle of their policy," says Laird Rixford, president of Insurance TechnologiesCorporation, Carrollton, Texas, and a longtime techentrepreneur and consultant. Regardless of the agency technologyyou embrace, he adds, "If you're not serving your policyholders andproviding great support, you're not going to survive, becausethey're not going to refer you."

Rixford also encourages independent agencies to pay closeattention to their sales-and-marketing structures and consider howtechnology can better drive those functions: "A support portalshould really be secondary to making sure that an agency hasperfected its sales and marketing."

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No. 2: Keep customers smiling with multichannelcommunications

There's one entity that perfectly characterizes the onlineexperience that today's consumers demand: Amazon. "Consumer-izing"your agency, Stevenson says, means employing tools that enableagents to cater to clients who can "pick up their phones and in 10seconds order paper towels and have them delivered to theirhouse."

While the independent agent is always the best point of contactfor the most up-to-date policy information and services, insurancetechnology specialists argue that there are those consumers whodon't necessarily crave a personal touch.

Those clients prefer the fastest possible path to the information theyneed, whether that's through a website with online chat ordownloadable documents, or a branded mobile app, says MattJosefowicz, president and CEO of Novarica. He argues that meeting the demands oftoday's consumers is not just about appeasing millennials.

24/7 customer service and access

"Consumers of all generations these days are doing business atall hours and need quick answers to their questions. They areincreasingly likely to try and text or email [agents] while they'redoing other things," Josefowicz says. Being an independent agentthese days, he adds, "means competing with companies providing 24/7customer service and access. The agents who adopt this approach tocustomer service, outreach and business development will be moresuccessful."

Agencies must embrace and strategize around multichannelcommunications. "Each customer has a preferred method ofcommunication," says Rineck. "Insurance programs constantly change,so insureds need to stay in contact with their agents/brokers. Thatcontact can be a phone call, email, social media message, letter oronline request. Offering these options allows customers to choosethe method that suits them best."

Be mobile-friendly

The fatal flaw an agency can make in today's business landscapeis failing to recognize the dominance of mobile commerce andcommunications.

"Ensure all aspects of their websites are mobile-enabled," saysRon Berg, executive director of the Minneapolis-based AgentsCouncil forTechnology. "Offer ease-of-user services via their websites andweb portals such as eSignature, web-based quoting, online chatassistance, easy payment options, online applications, video andeducational libraries."

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No. 3: Maximize data analytics for strategic sales andmarketing

Tech experts agree: Today's successful insurance agencies thrive ondata and the insights it provides.

The digital age has ushered in a wealth of information aboutagency clientele and prospects, but independent agents often lackeasy access to the types of data they need most.

"The ultimate goal for any agent is to have a 360-degree view oftheir customer at all times," says Lisa Woodley, vice president ofcustomer experience and channels for the financial servicesdivision of NTT DATA, an international IT services company basedin Woodbridge, N.J. "Sometimes that idea gets translated into everypiece of information you could ever have, which becomes noise. Toomuch information can be as bad as no information."

Are you getting the info you need most?

The takeaway: Independent agencies need to regularly evaluatewhether their agency and customer management systems are deliveringthe information they need most.

For VUE Software's John Sarich, that key data is what enablesagents to differentiate themselves in a competitive field. "Theindependent agent has an information gap," he says. "They don'tunderstand how to differentiate themselves, how to use socialmedia, or how to transition from a B2B to B2C business."

No. 4: Lead by example

Too often independent agencies only look to update their technology when a vendor increasesits fees or a new employee pushes for a particular upgrade. Itshould not require that proverbial kick in the pants before anagency evaluates its systems.

Infinity Software's Frazee says: "Agency leadership should beable to answer: What am I trying to accomplish through an agencyportal? Once the answer to that question is clear, they shouldapply a process to clearly express the requirements that meet thegoals and reconcile the constraints of the agency."

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No. 5: Spend wisely

For many agencies, the pressing challenge is a financialone.

"The reality is — and this is what's got to get fixed — thecarrier out there has thousands of IT workers and all kinds oftechnology and they're really savvy," says Sarich. "The agent, onthe other hand, is your key business partner and provides level-onesupport, but has absolutely horrible technology."

The good news? Frequently evaluating an agency's technology canprevent unnecessary spending on tools that don't actually helpfurther the agency's business.

Ask customers what they want

Michael Freilich is well-versed in what those cutting-edgeagency technologies look like. A principal with A.T. Kearney inthe Financial Institutions Practice in Chicago, Freilich is focusedon distribution strategy, front-office transformation and directsales.

"Having the discussion with the independent agent is not thehard part," Freilich says. "The hard part is, once the capabilityhas been built, how do you drive adoption and change behaviors sothat gross differentiation can be achieved?"

A portal that best serves its customers is one that has thefeatures and functions the customers want, Frazee says. "Todetermine what they want, ask them. If what they want fits withinyour constraints, give it to them."

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Taking advantage of the 'buy button'

No discussion of agency technology challenges would be completewithout addressing the idea of instituting the BuyButton, which would empower independent agents to take back thebinding ability that existed in the years of manual rating, beforethe era of online quoting. Once upon a time, the customer came intoan independent agent's office, completed an application, made adown payment and left the office with a policy number and ID Cards." The agent was in control," says Mike Becker, executive vicepresident and CEO of the National Association of Professional InsuranceAgents (PIA). "The sales process began and ended in the agent'ssystem."

Now, independent agents must exit the agency platform and accessmultiple carrier platforms. "This takes too much time," Beckercontinues. "Different carriers have different questions. Directcomparisons are more difficult. These inefficiencies can prompt thecustomer to walk and the agent loses the sale."

In comparison, direct writers operate in one system. Theyadvertise a quick and convenient process, Becker notes: "15 minutesto save 15 percent." New aggregators such as Lemonade are offeringthe same process, and agents are at a competitive disadvantage.

Ability to bind coverage online

Becker stresses that the Buy Button is not a campaign aboutselling insurance online; it is not a product. It is aboutindependent agents regaining the ability to bind coverage onlinethrough the filtering of various carriers' forms and limits, set inadvance by the agent. This process would be used in conjunctionwith a comparative rater. Streamlining the process in this waywould empower agents to bind coverage in real time for prospects orclients that call on the phone, walk into the agency, meet, orvisit online. This concept will apply to mobile technology foragents to use when meeting with prospects or clients offsite,giving them the same binding ability when they are out of theoffice.

In order to continue to succeed, independent agents need to goback to the future and be able to bind policies quickly andefficiently, without leaving their agency systems," Becker said."Agents must be able to deliver what customers want and have cometo expect — right away, not later. Anything less is notenough."

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Customers want to click & buy. But should they?

Consumer tastes are driving businesses of all types, includinginsurance, to rush to market with a quick-quote, "buy now" onlineexperience.

"On the one hand it's what consumers are asking for, so you wantto be able to provide it," says Curt Stevenson, chief digitalofficer at Duck Creek Technologies. "On the other hand, it'srisky."

Stevenson characterizes this risk as one that puts consumers incharge of an uncertain destiny. Consider the consumer who buys anonline auto policy on the same day as securing a new car, then getsinto an accident the next day only to discover that the particularcircumstances involved in their crash are not covered by theirquick-quote policy.

VUE Software's John Sarich favors the analogy of the homeimprovement do-it-yourselfer. "What we know about thedo-it-yourself insurance buyer, much like the do-it-yourselfplumber, is you find out that you've bitten off more than you canchew.

"A lot of companies are trying to open up new business on theinternet," Sarich continues. "What's lost in all that is thatinsurance is a financial business based on underwriting andknow-how. That know-how is the key reason why you don't want to bewriting business over the Internet."

Balance personalized service with 'on-demand' services

Some say that having a "buy now" that's tied to independentagent services can empower those agents to bind coverage in realtime for prospects or clients that call on the phone, walk into theagency, meet, or visit online. It's a way of making sure thatmobile technology helps agents keep and secure business.

Others argue that a fully functional agency portal can helpwell-educated insurance customers get past the desire forbig-box-type buying experience.

"The portal allows the agency to balance personalized servicewith critical 'on-demand' services outside of agency responsehours," says Ron Berg, executive director of the Agents Council for Technology, based inMinneapolis, Minn. "This demonstrates to the customers that theagency understands the modern customer's preferences, but continuesto be the trusted advisor they need to protect their lives."