How Modern Agent Portals & Digital Support Presents Competitive Carrier Opportunity
The relationship between insurance carriers and the independent agents who represent them and sell policies on their behalf is critical. But these agents are often appointed with dozens of different carriers, providing them with ample choices for where they place their clients’ business.
Carriers, of course, have ways to incentivize agents to place a larger portion of their book of business with them. They can offer more competitive rates, better bonus and commission structures, or a superior experience making them easier to do business with. However, some of these are more viable than others.
Companies don’t want to relax underwriting guidelines, particularly in today’s hard market, and increasing bonus and commission payouts eat at a carrier’s bottom line. It’s the experience carriers provide to their agents that can truly set them apart from the competition.
A recent survey conducted by Glia with more than 500 P&C agents found that ease of doing business (77%) only narrowly trails price (79%) as the top factor in where agents choose to place their business. This presents a huge opportunity for carriers to differentiate themselves on experience, so how can carriers make it easier for agents to do business with them and become their preferred carrier?
Why Intuitive, Easy-to-use Agent Portals are the Answer
The research referenced above found that agents spend the bulk of their time navigating carrier portals, and most are accessing more than five per week, further complicating the experience. Not only are agents comparing experiences between portals, the sheer number they have to use makes it hard to effectively learn how to navigate these systems.
The more intuitive and easy-to-use these portals are, the more likely it is that an agent will want to bring more business to that carrier. The Glia study found that the portals used today aren’t user friendly, with common issues including being unable to complete tasks within the portal and difficulty reaching support without leaving the system.
This leads to more phone calls to support, and in turn, growing frustration among agents who may look to work with carriers with a better digital experience. Agents will gravitate towards portals that address these issues and provide easier experiences.
Digital Communication Becoming Preferred Support Method for Agents
Agents, particularly younger ones who are in the growth phase of their careers and will be responsible for bringing in the majority of new business moving forward, have different communication preferences than previous generations of agents.
When asked how they’d prefer to interact with carriers, agents below the age of 45 rated chat (69%) as their preferred channel, topping more traditional support channels like phone and email.
With 79% of agents on a carrier’s portal when they need support, why force them to navigate away from the carrier’s digital experience to place a phone call or send an email? Digital support channels like chat and video provide the ability for agents to get real-time support from underwriters and account managers, making for a more efficient and satisfying experience.
With today’s most innovative digital customer service platforms allowing for agents to engage in any channel with a click of a button, carriers can develop stronger relationships with their agents by meeting them in their preferred channel for support. Even for carriers with more antiquated portal experiences, meeting agents’ digital support expectations can prove pivotal for garnering more business.
Implications of a Better Portal & Support Experience for Your Organization
The agent-carrier relationship is more digital now than ever. Agents spend most of their time trying to self-serve in carrier portals, and yet they report needing assistance with underwriting, checking a claim status, and submitting a claim more than half the time.
With many carriers offering phone and email as their only ways of support for agents, they’re missing the mark by ignoring how agents prefer to receive support.
By investing in the front-end experience provided to agents, and making real-time support possible through the agent portal by adding digital customer service channels, carriers have a real opportunity to rise above the rest in terms of experience—and capture more bookshare from their appointed agents.