Life InsurTech Growth From Producer Licensing Automation To Life Fulfillment Platforms

Originally by: Broker World Magazine

By: Ken Leibow

 

I attend multiple industry conferences every year, focusing on both life insurance and technology. These events provide opportunities for solution providers to showcase their products and services through exhibitions, speaking engagements, and sponsorships. Among the exhibitors I’ve come to know over the past two years, AgentSync stands out. They offer a cutting-edge insurance infrastructure that effectively connects carriers, distributors, and agents. I’ve consistently heard positive feedback about their solutions for streamlining the onboarding process of carriers, distributors, and producers for licensing and appointments. My aim is to introduce another solution that enhances efficiency and reduces costs within the life insurance sector.

 

During my recent visit to the Life and Annuity Conference in Salt Lake City, UT, organized by LIMRA, LOMA, ACLI, and the Society of Actuaries, I had the opportunity to explore various booths. At the Zinnia booth I learned about an exciting development: Zinnia had recently acquired Policygenius. Formerly known as Se2, Zinnia is a prominent company specializing in life and annuity technology and digital services. Policygenius, on the other hand, has demonstrated astute decision making by focusing on innovative InsurTech solutions for both back-office and front-office operations. As an industry influencer, I am particularly interested in understanding their new platform, Policygenius Pro. To gain insights into the platform’s features and the advantages it offers to distribution, I reached out to my contact at Policygenius for further clarification.

 

I want to conclude this article about the growth and evolution of technology. I know many advancements originated from COVID, but AI and the next generation who are needing life Insurance is a big driver. This is why I keep saying there is a hybrid approach.

 

Managing producer licensing (the right way) is time-consuming and expensive

For all but the smallest of insurance agencies and brokerages, managing state-by-state and LOB-by-LOB producer licensing is a hassle you know all too well. Tasks that were simple when you only had one or two agents working in a single state turn into complicated and time-sucking jobs as your insurance business grows.

 

Managing appointments, license validation, signatures, onboarding, renewals, tracking continuing education credits, off-boarding producers—and more—are some of the challenges that undoubtedly consume more of your agents’ and other staff’s time than anyone would like.

 

Time equals money, particularly for revenue-generating roles like producers. If it takes too long to get producers onboarded and legally ready to sell, the business suffers and the producers themselves aren’t happy. At a time when experienced insurance producers are retiring from the workforce and those still around have their choice of brokerages to work with, it’s no question that they’ll choose the organizations that provide the easiest, fastest, and most modern onboarding experience.

 

Then there’s the cost of human error. Not only are manual, repetitive tasks a poor use of everyone’s time, they’re also subject to mistakes. Even what seem like small typos or oversights can end up getting your agency or brokerage into regulatory hot water or an E&O claim—both of which can get costly in dollars and in reputation.

 

Automating compliance with modern technology saves money

Now, imagine you could wave a magic wand and simply rest assured that every producer has a valid license and the necessary carrier appointments while your administrative and operational staff have all the information they need to onboard producers and manage license renewals—without a paper chase.

 

Automating producer license management with the right tech solution can make this dream come true.

 

For insurance brokerages looking to remove the cost, time, and hassle from producer license management, AgentSync offers a new breed of compliance management solutions. Just a few of the ways it helps reduce costs for agencies and brokerages include:

 

• Minimizing human touch in the producer onboarding and license management process: Producers enter their own information once and it’s populated everywhere it needs to be without repeat entry.
• Real-time integration with NIPR, the industry’s single source of truth: On a daily basis data is pulled, synced, and pre-populated where available, to remove even more manual entry. Your team is also alerted if there’s a concern about any producer’s status.
• Ongoing compliance checks avoid accidental non-compliance: Onboarding isn’t the only time you need to make sure producers are compliant. Automatic checkpoints, for example, at the time of a sale and before a commission is paid, can save your brokerage from unintentional compliance issues.
• Freeing staff from the impossible task of keeping up with changing regulations: With insurance regulated on a state level, additional federal regulations, and new LOB-specific rules popping up all the time, a system with these regulations baked in eliminates any chance of missing a law that impacts your producer force’s compliance.

 

AgentSync provides a software-as-a-service that does all of this and more. At its core is the belief that compliance should never be an obstacle to growth. In fact, compliance should be so simple that you’re free to focus on every other aspect of your business while knowing your producers are right with their licensure, appointments, renewals, and more.

 

“Individual brokers are still the future of insurance, and your bottom line depends on getting them going and then getting out of their way,” said Niji Sabharwal, CEO and co-founder of AgentSync. “Making compliance an automatic background function delivers revenue, reduces risk, and makes it easier than ever to excel at your business.” Learn more about AgentSync at https://agentsync.io.

 

Policygenius Pro platform increases term life production

 

Policygenius Pro is a turnkey life insurance fulfillment platform that allows financial professionals and independent agents to offload the administrative burden of term life insurance fulfillment while staying in the loop every step of the way.

 

As an innovator in the life insurance space, Policygenius built an online insurance marketplace that combines cutting-edge technology with the expertise of real licensed agents to help consumers get the insurance coverage they need without the headache. Since the founding of the company, Policygenius has grown to be the largest producer of term life insurance in the country. Building on their custom-built CRM system, superior insurance products, and unique carrier integrations that have powered Policygenius’ success. Policygenius Pro launched in 2022.

 

To date, the platform has helped partners increase their term life production five-fold and reduced the time they spend on a term life insurance application by up to 88 percent. By leveraging Policygenius Pro, financial institutions can grow their term life offerings for their clients while offloading the cumbersome backend work that comes with term life fulfillment.

 

With Policygenius Pro, financial professionals can refer their clients for coverage in less than 60 seconds through an advisor portal or a co-branded landing page. The portal features two referral pathways: A simple drop ticket process and a refer with quotes option. The built-in quoting option allows advisors to review real-time quotes with their clients and explore options across product offerings, including fully underwritten and accelerated policies.

 

From there, a team of experienced non-commissioned agents guide the client through the application process from quotes all the way through to their in force policy. This includes scheduling any medical exams, completing the application paperwork, and collecting any medical records or requirements during underwriting. The referring advisor is kept informed throughout the process through a real-time case reporting feature and can jump in at any point in the process to check in with their client.

 

You can visit Policygenius Pro at https://pro.policygenius.com.

 

Significant growth in life insurance technology

Life insurance technology is experiencing significant growth and innovation in recent years, driven by various factors that have reshaped the industry landscape. There are many key reasons behind the rapid expansion of life insurance technology. The growth of life insurance technology can be attributed to its ability to streamline processes, improve customer engagement, leverage data analytics, offer personalized products, enhance distribution channels, and integrate with complementary ecosystems. As technology continues to evolve, the life insurance industry is poised for further transformation—delivering greater convenience, efficiency, and value to policyholders.

 

Technological advancements are transforming the sales process for life insurance, driven by the preferences of Millennials and Gen X. While these generations gravitate towards online interactions, they still value the guidance of insurance professionals. As a result, the industry is adapting by combining digital convenience with the expertise of agents. The hybrid approach allows customers to utilize online tools for research and policy selection while ensuring access to knowledgeable professionals or personalized advice. The goal is to create a seamless customer journey that meets the evolving needs of tech-savvy consumers, providing convenience and expertise in equal measure.