Agency Advantage

[swest27]

We have been using TAM (not the "online" version) in our agency for years and are looking to make a change. The two we have it narrowed down to are Agency Advantage and Insurance Software Solutions (ISS). Does anyone on here have ANY info regarding these two systems that you would care to pass along? Experiences, etc.?

[kfrasier]

Curious why you are switching from Tam???

[Dcorkins]

We, too, are now looking to change from TAM to either Epic or Agency Management System. TAM just seems to be so antiquated now.

[swest27]

We, too, are now looking to change from TAM to either Epic or Agency Management System. TAM just seems to be so antiquated now.

This is exactly why we are switching. Our computer guy for the agency has been on us for a long time to switch because TAM is not keeping up with the technology and they do not intend to either. Plus we can go to Agency Advantage or ISS for 1/2 the cost and have a true internet based system.

[EarlyB]

I am also looking to upgrade my agency management system. I have looked at TAM, AMS - 360 and Hawk Soft. I have been extremely impressed by Hawk Soft. The TAM system as mentioned earlier seems to be outdated and the AMS-360 is extremely pricey. I like it I just can't seem to justify increasing my monthly fees by over 4 times what they are currently. We are currently on AMS Prime 2000 and feel that it is not meeting our needs for growth or ease of doing business. Every time I have an issue I have to log a code and wait for someone to call me back. If I am not at my desk or on the phone we have to play the phone tag game. Hawk Soft seems to be really agency oriented and the staff has an insurance background. The acquisition cost and the monthly fees are more in line with what my agency budget will accept. I have contacted 3 different agencies that use the Hawk Soft and there is nothing but glowing reviews. If there are any other thought I would like to hear them.

[swest27]

Our agency is part of a nationwide agent group and I have heard many good things about Hawksoft as well. I do not believe they are web based though.

[ngudgell]

Hawksoft is webbased. Hawksoft should be interviewed when you are interviewing management systems. They have great accounting features and download. Best thing to do is make a list of what you want the management system to do for your agency and interview the companies on what will best fit your agency needs.

[GanisConsulting]

Choosing the right agency management system involves much more than analyzing how cutting edge the "technology" is behind that system. You need to have a firm understanding of what is needed in your agency workflow today and what might be needed in the future with growth. For example, both TAM and AMS-360 have fully integrated accounting in their systems. Before you lose interest thinking accounting is not an important aspect of your agency, ask yourself these questions:

1) Do I pay anyone commissions?
2) Do I want to know how much carrier commission I receive each month without manually typing it into Quickbooks or some other 3rd party accounting system?
3) Do I want immediate access to what my monthly cash flow/profit is without needing to send a box full of paperwork to my CPA?

If your agency management has no accounting capabilities, you will be re-entering, transferring, duplicating data from one system to another constantly to get basic information you need for managing your business.

More importantly, you need to make automation decisions based on the size of your agency as well. If you're on TAM now, the only other "peer" agency management system is in the AMS family, so you probably don't want to go down in platforms to the systems you and others have mentioned, which are more suitable to agency's with $500K and less in annual revenue.

Lastly, TAM and 360 are the "Big Dogs" at Applied and AMS respectively. Both companies have other software platforms available which are less expensive and may be a better fit with your needs, but still include accounting modules that will keep track of all the numbers.

As acquisition brokers for insurance agencies, we tell agency owners every day that their most valuable asset is their data and financial records. Insurance agents don't build anything and don't have a warehouse full of widgets, just clients with insurance policies. So the value in your business is in the data about your clients/policies and the financial records of the revenue that comes from those clients/policies. That's why choosing the right agency management system should be about upgrading your business, not upgrading your technology.

[jpmorgan5150]

We went with Nexsure in december 2008. They have a very nice feature set - cheaper than the big two but feature complete and with some outstanding features that exceed both AMS and TAM (for example, ACORD application integration with Microsoft Office). Nexsure was built for the web and is tightly integrated with Microsoft tech (which is both good and bad).

We switched from DORIS and did not have a structured agency workflow (we have 9 employees). It was a disaster - not because Nexsure is bad, but becuase we went to a full featured system with no set workflow. We were not prepared to take advantage of the new features. Now that we are putting workflow in place, I'm gaining a greater appreciation for Nexsure.

That said, you need workflow in place before making ANY significant technology change. If you make a significant tech change and don't have a systematic way of showing people how to work, it will end in CHAOS.

[bbracken]

I have been using Hawksoft for 2 1/2 years now. I moved from AMS 360 online to Hawksoft mainly due to price. I house my own data (scanning is much easier if you house than the online version) Hawksoft is the easiest system to use. It is intuitive, reliable and simple. The download is also very easy. No input of company codes, they take care of it all. The system also uploads and downloads into EZ Lynx for personal lines.

What I did not realize when I bought it was how good the customer service was. No more going online and filing a report and waiting for someone to call you back within the next week. Hawksoft always has someone there to answer your questions on tech issues. It works very well for my agency. If you have a lot of producers and paying out commissions, it may fall short of your expectations. If you are using Quickbooks already, it fits in very well without having to pay for 2 accounting systems. The prospecting side is also not as good as the competition. I am using Salesforce.com for $100/year and very happy with it. Proposals are lacking at this time, but I have been told they will be added with the next release.

[lawssherry]

I'd like to weigh in on two important points.

In September 2007, we migrated from AfW in-house to 360 on-line.

First Point: While it was a real change for us to have faith in our connection and speed over using our own servers, this fit in with our disaster recovery and alternative work arrangement plans. We had to widen our bandwidth and make sure our PC's were plenty speedy, but it is so much easier to work from anywhere while keeping our data safe and secure.

Second Point: Do not shortcut on training or try to do it on the cheap. Every minute and dollar you invest in training your folks to use the system will pay you back many-fold in greater productivity and accuracy. Without exception, the people I've talked to who had migration or conversion horror stories started hemming and hawing when I inquired about their training and implementation plan.

Good luck with whichever system you choose.

[Island Girl Agent]

We did some serious looking at other systems, including Hawksoft (we are currently on TAM) and if I had a mostly personal lines agency and didn't have a lot of producers paid on commission, I think we would have gone with Hawksoft. There are a lot of great features and ease of use nearly sold me...but we had a few hurdles we couldn't overcome due to the size and complexity of our commercial book. I've personally used TAM since 1996 and I like it but it still has some quirks and a few things that are very cumbersome that apparantly aren't being fixed, especially now that EPIC is on the horizon. EPIC has some huge issues for us, would require a purchase of expensive upgrades to software and hardware so I am not ready to go there...I remember TAM/Applied was always referred to as the Cadillac of systems...well I don't see too many Cadillacs on the road any more. I really think they could upgrade some areas a little better to keep us happy. It would be worth it to them in the long run. Good luck...be sure to really do your research...I like the suggestion to make a list of what is important and don't settle!

[aharmon]

You might want to consider QQ Evolution, it is the new system QQ Solutions has released. It has numerous features that an agency needs and uses every day plus low pricing. www.QQSolutions.com

[strangeone]

Yes don't use currently stuck with it for the time being. Very old school look. Contact Victor at AMS (425) 354-6033. Better price and product. Instar version.

[kabutler]

There is a new system called eVo, from Evolution Agency Management, LLC. It offers multi-agency/multi-office capabilities, full general ledger, commissions accounting, commercial lines processing (Account Current), all starting at $200/month for a single office. Hosted on our servers or yours.

See www.my-evo.com or call 678-992-2616.

(I am a representative of the company.)

Ken Butler