The independent agency channel’s market share is down to 30% in personal lines. As recently as three years ago, most agents weren’t interested in online business—they thought those consumers were tire kickers. Now, 75% of the market is doing research online. While maybe we should have started earlier, there was not the groundswell of agents saying we needed to do something.

-       Independent agent Tom Minkler, CAP Board member, in Dec. 8, 2011 IA Magazine article.

Minkler’s quote captures most independent agents’ initial reluctance to embrace online insurance marketing.  The question is, will enough agents come to the digital trough before it’s too late?

History is rife with examples of industries and companies that failed because they adapted to change too slowly.  Look at poor Kodak, which has now filed for bankruptcy because it didn’t adopt digital technology quickly enough.

We’re not saying independent agents should drop the firm handshake, the phone call, the business card and the rotary breakfasts – all tried-and-true marketing methods – but it’s becoming pretty obvious that agencies need to do something to connect with the online insurance shopper.  We also think that innovations like CAP’s upcoming consumer portal and/or Boston Software’s Online Consumer Quotes (OCQ) product will free agents to focus on providing the right kind of value (service and advice based on active customer engagement.)

What do you think?  What would it take to convince your agency to take advantage of innovations like the CAP consumer portal and/or our OCQ product ?   Are you already doing digital marketing?  How is it working?

Please, leave a comment by clicking the little “Comments” link on the bottom of this post (at first it will say “No comments,” then it will show the number of comments posted.)  It might take a little while for your comments to appear (we have to moderate them to make sure you’re not a Viagra salesperson or a “Nigerian prince” in need of a money transfer), but we think this will spur a great discussion!  Thanks.

“You sure don’t look 25, but your unlaminated, out-of-state driver’s license is proof enough for me.”

Like a mother nagging a recalcitrant eight-year-old to eat his vegetables, we often repeat ourselves about what agents should do.  You’re probably sick of us badgering you. 

I mean, how many times can you hear “Make sure you enter accurate information in WinRater if you want to get an accurate quote”?  But we can’t help it if we care too much (sniff) and just want you to grow up healthy and rickets-free, like your big brother.

So we’re mushing the vegetables up and hiding them in your brownies.  In this case, we’re mushing some Auto Quoting Tips into everyone’s love of “The Simpsons,” which is currently celebrating its 500th episode.

•   RMV data:  the #1 cause of quote discrepancies (or as Homer once said “Boy…everyone is stupid except me.”)

“Some days, we don’t let the line move at all. We call those weekdays.”
-          Marge Simpson’s sisters, on their jobs at the RMV.

Yes, WinRater will provide an auto quote even if you’re as lazy as Homer Simpson and enter only partial RMV information, like a partial VIN or only the SDIP points.  (See Homer explain his work ethic to daughter Lisa).

But you have to keep in mind that carriers use the RMV data you entered in WinRater to create their own risk profiles and tiers — and this of course affects premiums.

 If the RMV data you enter in WinRater is incomplete or invalid (especially for SDIP values, Date First Licensed, Annual Miles, Accidents/Violations and VIN), then don’t be surprised if you get a different premium when the carrier issues the policy.  D’oh!

•  Out-of-state drivers (who needs ‘em?)

“You sure don’t look 25, but your unlaminated, out-of-state driver’s license is proof enough for me.”

-          Man to Bart Simpson on his fake ID.

To get an accurate quote (in WinRater MA Auto or any carrier rating system) for insureds who have out-of-state experience, you need to precisely enter specific information.   Two required fields are Private Passenger First License Date (the date the insured was first licensed – this could be any date) and Current License Date (the date that the insured was licensed in MA).

•  Quote Effective date

Always double check your Quote Effective Date.  When you begin a new quote, WinRater defaults to today’s date as the effective date. 

Please be aware of this, because carrier web rating systems can quote rates from the carrier’s Mesozoic-era filings.  Speaking of ancient history, watch Homer evolve from a single-celled organism into a couch potato.

If you are including all the above information and still feel you are getting an inaccurate quote, please contact us.  We can help!

To see a full list of Auto and Home rating tips, click here.  And look for an upcoming post on how to make sure you’re getting an accurate WinRater Home quote.  Happy rating!

Here’s something good for your digital marketing efforts!  Try this simple, surefire (well, mostly surefire), free way to move your agency name higher up on Google local search results pages.  Any business can do this, whether or not it has a website.

“What the heck is she talking about?” you might be saying.  OK, let’s say the average person is looking for Personal Lines insurance. This consumer would probably go to Google (www.google.com) and type in the word “insurance,” his or her town’s name, and possibly “MA,” then hit Enter to search.

Now try it yourself, using your agency’s town (e.g. type in the words “insurance Holliston MA”).  Does your agency appear near or on the top of the first page of the search results?  Does it appear at all?  If you answered “no,” then online shoppers are going to have a hard time finding your agency.

Good news though — by simply “claiming” your agency’s free Google Place, you can move your agency name way up in this list.

To test the theory that claiming your Google Place is simple, Charlie enlisted Boston Software’s least computer-savvy employee (seriously, I’m clueless) to claim the company’s Google Place.  I thought I saw him smirking as I left his office.

Anyway, here’s my report:

First, I did Google searches of “Needham MA software” and “software Needham MA” to see where Boston Software appeared on the list of local results before we claimed our local listing.  On the first screen of results, there was nothing for Boston Software.  Nada.  It was like we didn’t exist.

I scrolled down the pages of results, looking for our name, then got bored looking and stopped.    Clearly, anything would be an improvement at this point.

How I claimed Boston Software’s Google Place

Starting time:  Friday, December 9, 12:20 p.m.  To begin claiming Boston Software’s Google Place, I went to http://www.google.com/places.  So far, so good.  Since I didn’t already have an account, I had to create one. To do this, I only had to enter my  work email address and a couple of other pieces of information.

A screen asked me to enter Boston Software’s phone number to see whether Google Maps already had an address for us.  I complied, and a map indicating our location appeared, along with Boston Software’s name.

I clicked “Edit” to edit our listing.  I added our city (Needham), website address (www.bostonsoftware.com), and a two-sentence description of our business.  Next I selected a business category:  Software.  I also was allowed to add my own category, “insurance rating software.”

Other, optional areas to fill in were Service Areas & Location Settings, Hours of Operation and Payment Options.  You also can include photos or videos.  Under “Additional Details” I added “Products:  WinRater SinglePoint and Online Consumer Quotes.”

I clicked the “submit” button, and saw a message saying “Google is now calling your business phone to give you a PIN.”  Time:  12:55 p.m.

It helps if your business doesn’t have an automated answering system

This is where things got a little hairy.  Boston Software’s telephone is answered by an automated system that asks callers to press a certain digit depending on what they need.  Since the phone call from Google was also automated, we weren’t able to receive it.  (If your business doesn’t have automated call answering, you don’t have to worry about this.)
My Google account screen then told me that Google was sending us a postcard with our PIN on it and that it would take a few weeks.  After the holidays, I followed up with Google Help, and it turns out our account had been activated (not sure how, without the PIN, but who am I to question success?)

So why were we still not showing up?

However, we still weren’t showing up when I did my local search (software Needham MA).  I asked the Google Help person about this, and he said it can take several weeks for a newly verified listing to appear in some search queries. In addition, he said, the ranking of listings in searches by business type or category (e.g., “Dry Cleaners New York City”) is determined by algorithms “and is not something that we can influence.”

Algorithms?  Now my head was spinning.  Divide by 12, carry the 6, multiply by C3P0…
Fortunately, he shared with me an explanatory link:
http://www.google.com/support/places/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=7091

Success!

So I waited a few weeks and tried again, typing “software Needham MA”.  Aha!  There we were, the third listing, with a map!  I took a screenshot (above) to prove it (my computer skills are improving). 

And, in a search of “rating software Needham MA,” we appeared first!  Take that, competitor-I-don’t-want-to-name-because-I-don’t-want-to-give-you-any-business-and-who-aren’t-even-in-Needham-but-sometimes-show-up-ahead-of-us-in-local-searches-anyway-probably-because-you-pay-for-it!

Anyway, try a local search for insurance in your town.  Do you see your agency listed?  To make your listing more prominent, just go to http://www.google.com/places to claim your place for free.  I’m proof it can be done.

Heads up! The next time you run SoftSync and get the latest WinRater update, you will also get two of the latest ACORD forms:   the ACORD New Business Applications for Homeowners and Umbrella Insurance.

Please note these forms:

•  are noticeably longer than the previous ACORD forms — the HO App is now five pages (instead of three pages);
•  replace the previous ACORD forms in WinRater — the WinRater FormViewer can only maintain a single version of a form;
• do not have the free-form Remarks section that the previous forms have.  The “Endorsement” section, where endorsements were listed in order, is no longer ther.  Instead, ACORD has made more “hardcoded” fields for specific endorsements and created 4 small fields for additional coverages.  The good news is we have enhanced the WinRater FormViewer so that the endorsement data you entered in WinRater will pre-fill directly on the App.

This change may inconvenience some agents who are used to the previous forms, but unfortunately, this is truly out of our control. (ACORD handles the layout and content of forms, based on input from agents and carriers.) Please let us know if there is any way we can help — we’ll do the best we can.

The Massachusetts legislature recently held a hearing on proposed distracted driving laws.  Many, though not all, of the proposed bills focus on banning drivers from using handheld devices while driving.

This got me thinking:  is it really the hand use that’s distracting?  What about the conversation itself?

I mean, how can you truly pay attention to the road, traffic and possible pedestrians when you’re deep in conversation about why Tom Brady is more elite than Eli Manning (or in my case, whether Heidi and Seal should try to work things out.)

Actually, any phone conversation that goes beyond, “Can you please pick up some milk?” can break a driver’s concentration.  So maybe drivers should only be allowed to use cellphones (hands-free, of course) to answer “yes” or “no” questions.

But, come to think of it, even conversations with other people in the car can be really distracting.  Ever been in a relationship and had the old “we need to talk” bomb dropped on you while driving?  Seriously, people, there’s an appropriate time and place for these discussions.  (For instance, one of my friend’s old beaus expressly invited her to the ironically named – and now defunct — Happy Haddock restaurant in Medford to drop the proverbial axe.  Now that’s thoughtful.  Or at least a little safer.)

OK, no conversations involving your love life while driving. And what about the mom whipping her head around to screech, “Do you want me to pull this car over right now?” Bad news.  So misbehaving kids in cars are out.

Wait.  The radio could also be distracting (especially when audience-participation songs like “YMCA” come on.)  They really should probably ban car radios too.

But then what about the good-looking babe (or hunk) strutting down the sidewalk?  How many fender-benders are caused by ogling drivers – especially in spring when everyone is walking around practically naked?  (Conversely, does the presence of unattractive pedestrians enhance ones road concentration?)

OK, so no cell phones, no passengers, no radio and no hot pedestrians while driving.  I guess I could live with that.

But as I’m driving to work, I’m still thinking about Heidi and Seal.  Really, how can it be over when they seemed so perfect together and have such cute kids and renewed their vows every year and had those Halloween parties and he probably sang her “Kiss From A Rose” every morning over coffee and—whoa.  I just missed my turn.

At this time, the real-time connection between WinRater/SinglePoint and PRAC’s web rating engine can only handle drivers with an active MA driver’s license.

If you enter an Out of State License in WinRater, an incorrect driver class may be assigned resulting in an inaccurate PRAC quote.

This issue does not affect any other MA Auto carriers.

We recommend that you continue to enter all the information in WinRater as you normally would when quoting Out of State drivers; however, for PRAC policies be sure to Submit the quote to PRAC Web Agent system and review on their site to make sure the correct driver class has been assigned.

This issue was just brought to our attention — we are actively working on it with PRAC.

Please contact Phyllis Panico at 781.449.8585 or phyllis@bostonsoftware.com with questions.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, by now you’ve definitely heard about Project CAP (Consumer Agent Portal).  Last week, both CAP and MAIA announced that the industry website promised in the project’s Phase 1 has gone live.

And later this year, CAP will launch Phase 2:  a Consumer Portal where consumers can get real-time, comparative auto insurance quotes (thanks to vendors like us) and find agents in their area.  As we see it, CAP’s Portal will be better than the direct writers’ websites, because it will offer consumers access to:

1. multiple carriers – consumers can enter their risk info in one website and get quotes from various carriers serving a specific city or state;

2. independent agents’ unique brand of expertise – The fact is that while consumers want the convenience of price shopping online, they also want to get counseling and personalized service from a trusted agent.

And it’s not just us saying this.  We know online consumers want comparative quotes; many, many studies confirm this.  Here’s another one:  according to Google Insights for Search data, searches for “auto insurance quotes” (plural) have steadily increased since 2006, while searches for “auto insurance quote” (singular) and in the Auto Insurance category in general have declined or stayed the same.

And according to the latest PIA Partnership research results, personal lines insurance customers are looking for “expert advice and counseling,” “personalized attention and interaction,” and “excellent ‘relationship based’ customer service.”

We at Boston Software are excited about this effort to help independent writers take back Personal Lines.  We expect to be part of the CAP Portal, delivering MA auto and home quotes, and we’ve been working with CAP to make this happen.

In the meantime, check out CAP’s industry site, and prepare to kick some direct-writer butt.

Massachusetts agencies using our SinglePoint OCQ (Online Consumer Quotes) are entering Year 2 of their grand experiment:  using a digital marketing strategy to lure online insurance shoppers into requesting quotes directly from the agencies’ websites.

All signs are encouraging, with participating agencies calculating 15,000+ quotes through OCQ on their websites in 2011.  And at MAIA’s 2011 Big Event, we demo-ed the future of OCQ:  online shoppers getting “live”, real-time carrier quotes from agency websites.

Ever since we introduced OCQ, agent interest has been high.  Many agents have implemented OCQ, while others haven’t.

The difference between these agents?  According to SinglePoint Product Manager Tonya Pickett, “I think agents using OCQ have recognized that to survive, they need to find ways to compete with the ‘bigwigs’ who offer insurance quotes online.  They’ve identified their competition and are putting in the time and money to ride the waves.”

Tonya explains that agents using OCQ are proactively creating web marketing campaigns, reaching out to their current customer bases, and getting increased exposure for their agencies.  By offering online quote requests and integrating OCQ with WinRater, Tonya says, participating agents are saving their CSRs time while generating new business.

What about you?  Will you spend 2012 on the digital sidelines, letting a few agents capture all those online shoppers, or will you take the leap into the insurance future?

To learn more about how OCQ can help your agency, contact Tonya at 781-449-8585 x230 or at tonya@bostonsoftware.com.

Even great things can use an occasional upgrade (computers, spouses, etc.), and WinRater is no exception.  In early to mid-February, BSC plans to roll out its Spring 2012 upgrade to WinRater.

The stars of this upgraded version (which is – don’t worry — included in your annual licensing fee) will be two long-awaited and hotly anticipated new features:

• Comparison/Proposal Center, which will allow you to:

– run comparative quotes for a customer’s various lines of business on one screen;

– create customized savings charts and proposal letters for each customer.

• Report Center, which helps you keep your finger on the pulse of your agency.  This feature allows you to run a variety of reports on business quoted and written, based on date ranges, coverages, CSRs and more.

We’ve completed pilot testing on both these features and are incorporating final improvements our testers suggested.

But that’s not all…the Spring 2012 upgrade also will include:

• A feature that will allow you to manage your own SinglePoint settings;
• Additional workflow tips and hints right within WinRater.

So keep an eye out for a Softsync email from us, and get ready for some good stuff.

We’re always preaching about how WinRater streamlines your quote-to-issue workflow. To help you really make the leap from “pretty fast” to “faster than a speeding bullet,” we have three words for you:
“integration, integration, integration.”

By making sure your WinRater is integrated with all your other systems, you’ll eliminate the need for cumbersome rekeying and increase your efficiency by 1,000 percent (Charlie’s somewhat unscientific claim.) Hey, you don’t have to do it, but you can bet the agency down the street is.

So let WinRater do the heavy lifting for you. In addition to well-rested, energized fingertips, you’ll have extra time to do what you do best: sell.

There are lots of ways to integrate WinRater and automate your workflow. Here are our top three:

1. Integrate your WinRater with your Agency Management System. When you do this, you are essentially building a “bridge” between your Management System and WinRater . This bridge lets you seamlessly transfer client and policy information between the two systems.

Here’s an example of how integrating will save you time:

You need to remarket to a client. In the past, you would have had to retype all the client/policy information from your Management System into WinRater. You know, all the driver information, vehicle information (heck, just typing the VIN is about as easy as sequencing DNA), coverages, and more.

Fortunately, you now have integrated the two systems.

Instead of retyping, you simply use the “bridge” to send the information from your Management System to WinRater; the quote information will feed directly into your WinRater screen. Voilà! You are ready to remarket to your client.
.
WinRater integrates with the following agency management systems:

(AFW) AMS for Windows
AMS Prime
AMS 360
Applied
Instar
SIS Partner XE
Special Agent

Just go to http://www.bostonsoftware.com/integration.php and follow the setup instructions to install an integration bridge. Your fingers will thank you. (If you have trouble installing the bridge, please call Terry at 781-449-8585 and select Option 3, or email him at terry@bostonsoftware.com.)

2. Stop rekeying client’s Homeowner info for SinglePoint RealTime carriers.
Using real-time rating tools for personal lines saves agencies an estimated 68 minutes per employee day, according to a recent Real Time/Download Campaign survey. Many (but not enough) Massachusetts agents already are saving time and keystrokes by SinglePoint/Real-Time submitting their Auto business.

But did you know you can do the same with your clients’ Homeowners information? Instead of retyping Homeowners client and dwelling information and coverages, let WinRater’s SinglePoint/RealTime technology do the work for you! All you need to do is:

• Be sure you have valid SinglePoint credentials and that you have completed all HO client information.
• On the Premium Summary Screen, highlight the carrier to which you want to submit the business.
• On the bottom of the page, click the “Submit” button.
• A SinglePoint submissions application page will show on your screen. Click the green “Up” arrow at the top of the screen.
• Depending on your SinglePoint credentials, you may see a SinglePoint screen that tells you whether your attempt has been successful. When you see the “successful” notice, click on the carrier’s name (e.g., “Peerless”) on the screen. This will take you to the carrier’s website.
• Log in to the carrier’s website.
• Go to the quote-managing area of the website to review and edit your quote for issuance.

3. Run credit reports faster by integrating WinRater with the ChoicePoint website (or carrier websites.)

As you know, a good number of Homeowners carriers require agents to run insurance credit scores as part of their renewal and eligibility requirements. That terrible screech you hear is your workflow grinding to a halt as you have to visit the ChoicePoint website (or carrier websites), navigate their systems, re-enter data and more.

Did you know WinRater can do it for you with a click of a button? Our WinRater-ChoicePoint RealTime connection lets you pull credit reports directly within the WinRater Home Rating Software, while rating the policy. And WinRater instantly will verify the risk’s eligibility. Oh yeah. So don’t miss out – lots of agents are doing this already.

What you need to do: (you only need to redo this when your ChoicePoint password changes):

• As you are working on a Homeowners quote in WinRater, go to the Credit Scores tab. The names of Choicepoint-enabled carriers (link to http://www.winrater.com/integration.php) will appear in black; the rest will appear in gray. (If you want any non-enabled carriers to become enabled, just contact the carriers’ marketing reps.)
• Click the box next to each enabled carrier with which you would like to use ChoicePoint (you can select as many as you want at once).
• Click the “Retrieve” button.
• You’ll now see a client screen (for a more accurate score, you may want to input the client’s DOB and social security number here).
• A screen will appear asking for your credentials. Enter your valid ChoicePoint credentials (User ID and Password).
• Click OK. The customer’s credit score will display. (We recommend you print the report, because WinRater is unable to store it.

Starting with the next time you select a carrier or carriers, WinRater will automatically enter your ChoicePoint UserID and Password. It’s that easy.

So what are you waiting for? Start integrating now!

These three WinRater integrations are the ones we think will improve your workflow most, but there are lots of other ways too. Just think about all the quote data you have in WinRater and where you might want to send it (Word, Excel, your website or any other vehicle you use to sell and service your book of business).

The possibilities are endless!