Distribution Channels

• Insurance Agencies Attribute Technology to Fiscal Growth

  By Staff Writer  |  June 14, 2013

  A recent survey conducted by Vertafore found that 77 percent of insurance agencies directly attribute their fiscal growth during 2012-2013 to the use of technology.

• Personal Lines Customers Still Prefer to Buy from Agents: Accenture Survey

  By Staff Writer  |  April 23, 2013

  U.S. consumers are turning to digital sources for insurance quotes and other information, but still prefer personal contact with agents when purchasing insurance products, according to an Accenture survey of more than 4,000 U.S. automobile and home insurance customers.

• 

  How Well are Insurers and Agents Connected?

  By Deb Smallwood  |  January 30, 2013

  The industry has been working on insurer/agent electronic linkage since the mid-1980s, trying to manage the complexity of numerous systems in the agents’ offices that need to talk to many different insurance systems. In order to examine the state of connectivity and explore how insurers and agents are directing their...

• 

  Finding the Right Tech Combination for Insurer-Agency Relationships

  By Robert Regis Hyle, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  January 18, 2013

  Eventually, the connection between insurance carriers and the independent agents that sell their products will become simpler, but until the two sides agree on what’s best for each of them—individually and collectively—there remains a level of complexity in distribution management, according to Deb Smallwood, founder of Strategy meets Action (SMA)....

• IVANS Launches Enhanced Insurance Carrier Exchange

  By Staff Writer  |  October 30, 2012

  The website will provide seamless management of agency-carrier communications.

• 

  Survey: Agents Choose ACUITY as Top P&C Performer for Ease of Placing Business

  By Staff Writer  |  October 16, 2012

  In a survey conducted by research and consulting firm Deep Customer Connections about carriers’ performance, 99 percent of independent agents and brokers polled reported that ease of doing business is critical in their choice of carriers—and to that end, ACUITY tops their list.

• Brovada Brings Agent Connectivity Solution to the U.S.

  By Staff Writer  |  October 10, 2012

  Brovada Technologies, a provider of insurance agent-carrier connectivity solutions, announces the U.S. launch of the company's NexCenter agency upload software, as well as three strategic partnerships with prominent agency management system companies in the U.S.

• Agencyport, MFX Reach Distribution Agreement

  By Staff Writer  |  August 30, 2012

  In an effort to expand distribution channels and provide customers with an even broader solution-set, Agencyport Software, a provider of software and services to the global insurance and reinsurance industries, announce a distribution agreement withMFXchange Holdings, Inc., under which this supplier of software and services to the property and casualty...

• 

  Take It Easy: Three Tips for Ease of Doing Business

  By Robert Regis Hyle, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  August 28, 2012

  The September issue of Tech Decisions will include an article I wrote about the carrier/agency relationship and the term those two sides love to debate: ease of doing business. Most carriers and agencies have their own idea how that word “ease” actually applies to what they are doing, but after...

• 

  What Lies Ahead for Personal Lines Agents?

  By Robert Regis Hyle, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  July 24, 2012

  I don’t want to revive the old discussion about whether insurance agents are a dying breed, but it would be foolish to ignore the changes in the industry—particularly for personal lines agents—and what the future holds for them.

• Medical Malpractice’s Pair of Pain Points

  By Bonnie Cavanaugh  |  July 23, 2012

  Medical Malpractice insurers are struggling against a dwindling client base, a soft market, burgeoning jury awards and new federal health-care regulations as they try to retain current business and attract new clients.

• 

  Being There: 2 Key Technology Tools Make Remote Work Possible

  By Frank Sentner  |  July 18, 2012

  The first of a two-part article on the growth of remote networking and how agents can make it work for them.

• 

  Personal-Lines Insurers Can Thrive in a Multichannel World

  By Sam J. Friedman  |  July 12, 2012

  Auto and home insurers might have a tough road ahead of them when it comes to expanding market share organically, but there are growth strategies they could pursue to capitalize on the evolving needs of today’s increasingly tech-savvy personal-lines consumers.

• Esurance Discounts Personal Auto Policies for Texas Drivers Using Facebook

  By Staff Writer  |  July 10, 2012

  Esurance, the direct-to-consumer personal auto insurer, is offering drivers inTexasa 10 percent discount on their car insurance for “liking” Esurance on Facebook.

• 

  Four Key Steps for Carriers to Digitally Empower Their Agents

  By Erik Sandquist  |  June 18, 2012

  Consumers’ desire to incorporate digital channels as part of their buying process is causing a shift in the role of agents and brokers, still the primary channel for insurance distribution.

• Applied to Release Epic Management System in 2013 to Include Canadian Market

  By Staff Writer  |  June 12, 2012

  Insurance software company Applied Systems announces it will release Epic 7, the upcoming version of Applied’s agency and brokerage management system, in the first quarter of 2013.