LexisNexis Risk Solutions announces the acquisition of the SalesPortal, from MarshBerry, an insurance consulting and M&Aadvisory firm. The portal is a sales management automation toolthat will be offered by the LexisNexis Insurance Exchange.

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

"We were already familiar with the Insurance Exchange and thevalue it represents," says John Wepler, president, MarshBerry. "Theacquisition by the LexisNexis Insurance Exchange was strategicgiven the desire to evolve the two solutions. This is a natural fitwith the Insurance Exchange as it provides an opportunity toenhance relationships between agents, brokers and carriers byguiding the sales process in the most efficient mannerpossible."

For brokers and agents already using the Insurance Exchange, theportal adds sales management capabilities and delivers bestpractices in new business development and account retention. TheWeb-based technology allows agencies and brokers to track producersales activity and manage service commitments relative to customeraccounts. The platform maintains on-going client servicethroughout, via its internal tracking and compliance mechanismcombined with external communications and reporting.

"MarshBerry used its knowledge to design the Sales Portal tomirror best practices new business workflow," says Peter Lynch,president, LexisNexis Insurance Exchange. "This acquisition willallow us to extend the ability of the Insurance Exchange to provideimportant, integrated functionality to agents and brokers, allowingthem access to their CRM data within the exchange and streamliningtheir workflow and processes as a result. The Sales Portalreaffirms our commitment to offering solutions that provide maximumbenefit across the insurance industry and bring industry closerthrough goal alignment, data flow and knowledge transfer."