Remote access for outside vendors / Good or Bad

[mclureins]

Trust Account service is provided remotely using an Internet connection:

Programs and data reside on the agency computer
Software application and data records are password protected
Remote service providers have no access to the agency data files
Agency personnel are trained to manage source documents
Service providers enter data and manage the trust account process remotely

WOULD AGENCIES FEEL COMFORTABLE ALLOWING AN OUTSIDE VENDOR TO ACCESS THEIR DATA TO INPUT INFORMATION ON THEIR AMS?

[michga11]

nope.

[volstrike3]

What is the benefit?

[mclureins]

Some benefits are quantifiable and some are not.


Quantifiable Financial Benefits:

Payroll cost savings
CSRs … average 30% of current cost
Accounting … average 70% of current cost
Producers and managers … average 5-10% of current cost
Additional interest earnings … up to 100% more interest
Elimination of bad debt losses … 100% eliminated
Use the spreadsheet available from this website page to estimate the potential financial gains of your agency.

Not Quantifiable Financial Benefits

Improved cash flow
Unlimited business expansion potential
Reduced working capital requirements
Better customer service
Higher client retention ratio
Better agency-carrier business relationship
Reduced E&O risk exposure

[michga11]

hey hey hey! you don't need to pitch this thread as well as my PM. It's not like it's hard to keep up in here. I am sure in 3 mos. time, this topic will still be on the first page.

secondly, here is the good ole USA, we do not need to outsource anymore jobs!!! STOP THE INSANITY!!!!

[volstrike3]

Outsourcing is one of those things that sounds great but the actual implementation is something different IMO. The independent agency system is driven by customer relationships and all of my AE's are extremely good at getting personal with our clients. I think if I switched to a system where they reached a random CSR every time they called... I would lose a lot of business. I have great market access for competitive rates and we do a good job of servicing our customers... but so do 30 other agencies within my metro area. The relationship is the reason they stick or give us the last look when Geico or Allstate cut auto rates or when Employers Direct was buying WC business a few years back. Owners make money through high retention and retentionn = relationships. You may save some money by taking certain functions out of the hands of your employees (accounting, etc) but then you are also putting them in a postion to say "I don't know, let me check on that for you" more often than most clients want to hear. When your AE's do it all (sales, service, accounting, etc) then they know what is going on when a customer calls with an issue... in an ideal world they are calling the customer first and warning them of a possible issue.

[mclureins]

I fully understand and agree with you completely. However this information is readily available to every employee the broker wants to have access. The software only manages premiums we never speak to any clients or insureds. Matter of fact the insured doesn't even know we exist. Basically we offer a software that allows agents to be worry free of many problems that currently exist in retail agencies. We do not outsource the work for you. We are located in Orange County , CA. we connect to your server and populate our software and the agent is able to run any report imaginable with a click of a button. We guarantee accuracy, solvency, and savings of at least 30% in labor. You still need an accountant / bookkeeper in your office though but their workload and csr workload are cut down dramatically. We do not do any banking or write checks or anything.

Our mission is to allow you to improve your service and give you better retention and create more sales not take it away from you.

[michga11]

I fully understand and agree with you completely. However this information is readily available to every employee the broker wants to have access. The software only manages premiums we never speak to any clients or insureds. Matter of fact the insured doesn't even know we exist. Basically we offer a software that allows agents to be worry free of many problems that currently exist in retail agencies. We do not outsource the work for you. We are located in Orange County , CA. we connect to your server and populate our software and the agent is able to run any report imaginable with a click of a button. We guarantee accuracy, solvency, and savings of at least 30% in labor. You still need an accountant / bookkeeper in your office though but their workload and csr workload are cut down dramatically. We do not do any banking or write checks or anything.

Our mission is to allow you to improve your service and give you better retention and create more sales not take it away from you.

more details please. i am just not being sold.

[volstrike3]

Might make sense for somebody busting at the seams but if you still need the same number of CSR's and your bookkeeper... I don't see where the significant savings are coming from.

[mclureins]

You don't need the same number of CSR's I meant to address not having to lay anyone off. You can reassign their work into marketing or cross selling. Most of the objetions I see are that brokers do not want to let anyone go. But you are actually correct you would not need as many. You would need one at most where a current agent would currently be using 3-5

[RandyOlson]

With businesses becoming more competitive day by day I don’t think it is a nice idea to allow outside agencies to access your data. These agencies are doing the same kind of work for many Organizations and that is why I find it a risky proposition. It is better to be safe than sorry.

[ForumReader]

I'm confused by your description of a "Trust Account Service." What specific tasks are you handling or relieving the agency staff from? What work is being performed?

[michga11]

With businesses becoming more competitive day by day I don’t think it is a nice idea to allow outside agencies to access your data. These agencies are doing the same kind of work for many Organizations and that is why I find it a risky proposition. It is better to be safe than sorry.

Perhaps they have a hefty E&O policy to go along with the contract for services.

[michga11]

bump. good read.

[taketwo]

Our industry is terribly inefficient. Employee productivity is low relative to other industries.
Differentiation is almost non-existent.
One reason for that is all the back-office processing our staff must do.
CSRs, AEs, AMs spend more than half of their time processing.
As a result, they are not providing innovative, pro-active, fast, differentiating service to clients.
They are not building relationships that create meaningful customer loyalty. The kind of loyalty that puts money in your pocket.
They are always backed up on policy checking - arguably the most important back-office task in an agency.
Real account reviews (the consultative type) are rare.

All this time pushing paper - and doing it efficiently and effectively is not a core competency for an agency.
Nor is it valued by our customers.

Outsourcing parts of our back office is an investment in the ONE THING that stands between our agency and meaningful customer loyalty, competitive advantage, revenue growth and more profits.
TIME!

Time to innovate, service, get proactive, cross sell, support producers to get them out selling more, improve workflows, improve professional skills, etc..

Time to focus on our core competencies - Selling and Servicing.

Outsource the processing and redeploy your staff to the work that matters to your customer.

You'll be surprised at how much better your service gets.
And how much happier your best employees are.
And how much additional profit shows up on your bottom line.

Carriers have been outsourcing work to agents for years.
Carriers have been sending work offshore for years.
Nearly all of the national brokers outsource their back offices.
Many independent agencies are now outsourcing too.

You've outsourced already......
Look at the lables on your clothes, your car, your shoes, your computers.

Keep the client-facing work (your core competency) in house.
Outsource the non-value added work.