Simplify AI For Underwriting And Focus On Sales Tools For Advisors
By Ken Leibow
There are many benefits to using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in underwriting life insurance. This is a growing trend weaving AI into the fabric of underwriting decision engines and workbench technology. So it’s time to take the next step to remove tech people from the process and make it possible for the underwriting experts and business side to take control using no-code solutions. AI is also expanding in sales and digital marketing in general. However, because insurance is sold and not bought, the focus is to provide advisors with easy access to sales and lead tracking tools using a dashboard user experience. Also, there should be focus on specific sales tools that “visually” help the advisor explain the benefits of the product. This will ultimately close more business.
Personalization: Insurtech’s Secret Sauce for Life Underwriting
The insurance industry is stuck in a sort of technological amber. Many companies have taken their offerings online while others use software solutions such as Slack, MS Teams, Google Suite, or others to encourage collegiality and efficiencies, but underwriters are still relegated to their desks for hours reading applications and supporting documentation to approve or deny coverage based on the data provided. It’s slow and boring, but it has to be done to keep the company afloat.
Eugene Shafronsky is the head of strategy at thinktum™, an Insurtech enabler. His background in underwriting and deep understanding of the state of the industry means he knows the technology at play and how it can all work together to everyone’s advantage. “Underwriters are vital to the insurance business. We believe though that, in the future, most underwriting will be done using technology.” He adds, “This doesn’t remove underwriters from the process, but human brains—while complex, and highly capable—need rest from repetitive or routine processes. A solution such as thinktum’s liz life suite can free up underwriters to do more challenging and rewarding tasks such as designing new insurance products or contributing to the company’s bottom line in more creative ways.”
Personalization is why Shafronsky is so bullish on their technology suite. “We see many companies trying to make the application process faster, but faster is not enough. And focusing on outdated static models of yes/no answers is also not enough, because then you lose the most important aspect—accuracy. By using our approach, personalization can be applied to every application and the approach is intuitive, you can achieve much greater accuracy and better detail on risk assessment. And, if you think about it, creating a personalized approach can also actually make it faster as a byproduct.
“We see, most commonly, a lack of flexibility by companies to make the change technologically. And pure no-code is the solution. Our no-code suite uses a graphic canvas that allows non-developers to move boxes, drag and drop, and connect them in different ways, then set up specific rules that are predefined to create any flow they want. This significantly shortens implementation and optimization times. Think of it as the WordPress of AI. It’s all about the interface in front and robust technology in behind.” Learn more about thinktum’s pure no-code liz life suite at https://www.thinktum.ai.
Simplify the Life Sales Experience for Advisors
In a world where artificial intelligence and machine learning seem to dominate media headlines, it has become a common misconception that technology is out to replace human interaction. But Finaeo believes the opposite to be true: “Applying for life insurance is an inherently complex process, and we believe that the value of advisor relationships—with their knowledge, trust, empathy, and support—cannot be replaced by machines. Our goal is simple: We want to see a world where insurance is accessible to everyone, and we believe that can be achieved by putting the right technology in the hands of advisors who care.”
Finaeo is an all-in-one, turn-key, life insurance sales software on a mission to bridge the digital divide between carriers, agencies, advisors and clients. Founded in 2016 in Toronto, Finaeo began their journey by partnering with life insurance agencies across Canada to empower their advisors with a more efficient means of doing business. By early 2020, Finaeo had helped advisors to place over $1billion in coverage for Canadian families. And in 2021, with demand increasing, they launched into the USA—operating as a tech partner with IMOs and BGAs across all 50 states.
The core of Finaeo’s solution is simple: Automate remedial tasks in the sales process and instantly provide product recommendations, giving advisors more time to build client relationships and provide expert advice. They offer an end-to-end system where advisors can build websites, digitally onboard clients, need-assess, maintain records, as well as search, quote, compare and apply from their extensive marketplace of over 30 carriers and 500 products.
As clients demand more asynchronous interaction with their insurance providers, Finaeo is uniquely positioned to partner with BGAs to enhance their digital identities and expand reach. To learn more about Finaeo for your BGA visit http://www.finaeo.com or contact Kyle Langstaff, director of business development at kyle.langstaff@finaeo.com.
Sell more Disability Insurance with a Presentation Sales Tool
Many BGAs, GAs, IMOs, etc. across the country have a similar question on their mind, “How do we get more advisors selling more DI plans?” This is a question that’s been on the top of many BGA’s minds for the past two decades. Another way to phrase this question might be, “How do we provide advisors with client specific DI presentation tools to help them better position, sell, and close far more of the DI illustrations we provide them?” When you look at the core elements to having a highly effective income protection (DI) conversation with clients, advisors must be able to quickly position the need, demonstrate the client’s problem, present new plan solutions in an easy-to-understand way, and put premium into perspective.
The vast majority of advisors are trying to accomplish a version of this by using DI illustrations, statistics sheets, and general non-client-specific marketing materials. These items clearly have their role but, when it really comes down to it, advisors typically experience a wave of objections from clients using these types of tools and presentation approach, which makes most advisors simply struggle with or avoid this critical topic of risk mitigation with their clients.
OneProtection’s DI presentation software is a tool that helps advisors take this friction off the table by allowing them to present the income protection story to their clients in a simple yet visually powerful way. This drastically improves the advisors ability to mitigate or even eliminate the most common client objections while simultaneously increasing their closing percentages and case sizes. This is music to a BGA’s ears because the more advisors they have selling more DI plans through them the better. Everyone wins.
Even though OneProtection’s DI Software is not specifically designed for the BGA per se, it is designed for the advisors and insurance professionals who are doing their business with them. Through OneProtection’s BGA Affiliation program, they are able to strategically partner with BGAs across the country with joint marketing efforts to help advisors across the country drastically grow their DI sales production. To learn more about OneProtection visit https://www.oneprotection.tech.
Orginally posted at Broker World Magazine