LexisNexis Risk Solutions announces the acquisition of the Sales Portal, from MarshBerry, an insurance consulting and M&A advisory firm. The portal is a sales management automation tool that will be offered by the LexisNexis Insurance Exchange.

The portal expands the functionality of a producer's desktop and the propensity for new business production by automating three aspects of the sales process: lead management, pipeline management, and stewardship/service timelines. The insurance brokerages currently utilizing the sales portal write more than $1 billion in aggregate commission income.

"We were already familiar with the Insurance Exchange and the value it represents," says John Wepler, president, MarshBerry. "The acquisition by the LexisNexis Insurance Exchange was strategic given the desire to evolve the two solutions. This is a natural fit with the Insurance Exchange as it provides an opportunity to enhance relationships between agents, brokers and carriers by guiding the sales process in the most efficient manner possible."

For brokers and agents already using the Insurance Exchange, the portal adds sales management capabilities and delivers best practices in new business development and account retention. The Web-based technology allows agencies and brokers to track producer sales activity and manage service commitments relative to customer accounts. The platform maintains on-going client service throughout, via its internal tracking and compliance mechanism combined with external communications and reporting.

"MarshBerry used its knowledge to design the Sales Portal to mirror best practices new business workflow," says Peter Lynch, president, LexisNexis Insurance Exchange. "This acquisition will allow us to extend the ability of the Insurance Exchange to provide important, integrated functionality to agents and brokers, allowing them access to their CRM data within the exchange and streamlining their workflow and processes as a result. The Sales Portal reaffirms our commitment to offering solutions that provide maximum benefit across the insurance industry and bring industry closer through goal alignment, data flow and knowledge transfer."