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Expanding into new states often means regulatory headaches as new agents are appointed. A Web-based solution helped one health carrier ease the process.

Dealing with state regulators is one of the least exciting aspects of the insurance business, but when a young insurer wants to grow by adding new markets for its product, the regulatory challenges can be fierce. Imerica Life and Health Insurance, a health insurance specialist, found the prospect of appointing agentsas many as 1,000 in a statedaunting when the growth plan called for expansion to between 30 and 40 states.

The way you appoint agents can vary from state to state, says Michael G. Hankinson, founder, COO, secretary, and general counsel for Imerica. It can be very onerous and time-consuming in terms of processing appointments manually. We hope to market in somewhere between 30 and 40 states when were fully ramped, which should be in the next 12 to 24 months.

Imerica was looking for a solution that would enable the carrier to conduct the appointment process in a completely paperless environment. After researching the market, Imerica came across nomoreforms, and the solutions vendor was able to provide Imerica with an end-to-end, Web-based, paperless process at a price Hankinson describes as more than affordable considering the body count the carrier would have needed if it had to conduct the appointment process manually.

Imerica has a distribution channel where it appoints an ultimate wholesaler in each statecalled partner master general agents (PMGAs). They are general agents who have exclusivity for our product line in their state. The reason we call them partners is we ask them to put some skin in the game and invest in our company, as well, explains Hankinson. Its kind of a check and balance so that we make sure they send us the kind of business were interested in.

The partners go out and, through either subgeneral agents or their own sourcing, find producing agents and get them interested in getting an appointment with Imerica. That appointment goes to the state insurance office, according to Hankinson.

Almost all state insurance departments now are equipped to process appointment forms digitally, he adds. Nomoreforms fronts the cost of the appointment feenot every state charges a feebut nomoreforms will pay that fee, and then well work out the reimbursement. Ive worked in insurance companies for many years where we had to do this all manually, and it was a bear. In some cases, you were worried because some states require approval of the appointment before you can process a piece of business. This enables you to process business concurrent with the appointment process.

Jennifer Seitz, vice president of marketing and communication for Imerica, claims one of the key factors in the carriers decision for choosing [nomoreforms] was the team members. The partnership they offered us gave us the feeling that not only did they understand the business, but they understood our business, she says. They really worked very hard to make sure it was an easy implementation for us and even customized a few things to make our process easier. The decision path was very clear.

Imerica has found the process to be very fluid and fast, reports Hankinson. The recruitment process [for agents] takes a little while when you are the new kid on the block. With nomoreforms, the appointment process is no longer an obstacle. Its such an easy way of doing business. When you did [appointments] in the paper world, it clogged the system and slowed down commerce. Here, its going to be directly proportionate to whether agents or consumers are interested in our product.

Imerica initially contacted nomoreforms about a year ago. For us to get to final implementation of the program, it probably took about five months, he notes. Ill attribute a lot of that time to us because we were in our growth stage. We didnt have people fully dedicated to it on a day-to-day basis. If we were starting over and doing it today, it probably would be half that time.

Ultimately, Hankinson believes there is going to be a huge return on investment. Were just launching, so its too early to do some number crunching on it, he says. We think its going to be a great ROI. Robert Regis Hyle

Case File
The Problem
Carrier needed quick, paperless solution for the appointment of agents
in new markets.

The company
Imerica Life and Health Insurance
Web Site: www.imerica.com

The solution
nomoreforms
Web Site: www.nomoreforms.com

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