Agency Software

Clozer · Post by **Clozer** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 8:02 am

Right now I have A small program called your insurance office. I think I'm going to need something better for the p&c. YIO will only do life and health...thanks

andrewbiz · Post by **andrewbiz** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 12:15 pm

try QuickFile.
It's a rather dinky program too, but it's cheap and it gets the job done for a lot of small agencies.

LCIS · Post by **LCIS** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 12:26 pm

I highly recommend a product called DORIS it is a fully functional agency management program and it is very cost effective as compared to others. take a look at http://www.dorissystems.com

Sundance · Post by **Sundance** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 1:34 pm

To me the best system is Applied however one needs the $$.
For a small agency I also suggest QuickFile. It is $500 a year and the updates are online and they have all the Acord forms and such.

If you want to take a look at them go to http://www.quickfile.net (they have a comparative rating program as well) but just chose the quickfile program for the management system. I don't recall if they have a download to try the software but if not they will send you a disk.

Again, I adore Applied (and Doris is a good one too) but the start up costs and then the annual maintenance are pricy for the smaller agency. I use QuickFile in my agency as I just opened 2 years ago (after 30 years in the business) but if I has my drothers (and money) and when the Agency grows to substantiate the cost I'll be Applied all the way.

DeDe · Post by **DeDe** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 3:11 pm

Have you looked into AgencyPro? It does everything and as for cost is very reasonable. We bought AgencyPro and we got five users for about $2,500.

Clozer · Post by **Clozer** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 9:09 pm

no, I haven't yet. Advanced agent by gbs looks pretty good as well. I want something to take care of all lines of ins., sub agent production, keeps track of state to state sales, and also commissions and renewals. I'll look into that one D. Thanks

1BWJA · Post by **1BWJA** » Fri Oct 22, 2004 7:16 am

One of the best reasons to move off your present system to a new one is to take advantage of the efficiencies that carrier download and upload for your P & C policies provides. I'd suggest taking a look at AMS' Prime product, DORIS, and (depending on if you're in the midwest or not) SIS and MI-Assistant, All of these are downloaded to by the major P & C carriers, and offer an upload to may carriers as well. Good luck! Whoever you chose, get references from the vendor, and make a "field trip" to an agency already on the system for a year or so, to see what their day-to-day use of the system is like, and what weak points have been found in the system, a year into it's use.

sweens22 · Post by **sweens22** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 12:00 pm

you can go cheap and then end up replacing a system in a few short years. You can lease Doris prob for $100 a month (will eventually be over $200) and it is well worth it. The other reply about real time interface is something those small inexpensive systems wont offer (just a guess) and is a key tool for billing and policy servicing.

Good luck :blink:

Cash · Post by **Cash** » Thu Oct 28, 2004 4:19 pm

Applied TAM online is awesome. I chose the online version as I can access it from anywhere that has a DSL connection plus they handle all of the back-ups. The system has been very reliable. If you have a question, you call tech support and usually that goes fairly smoothly. This is one area where they could stand improvement. All around it's a great system and worth every penny.

goredsox · Post by **goredsox** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 7:56 am

AMS 360. Expensive though.

dejuliokeller · Post by **dejuliokeller** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 10:18 am

Quickfile works fine for our agency $600.00 for the year.

<a href='http://www.qqonline.com/' target='_blank'>http://www.qqonline.com/</a>

http://www.classactinsurance.com

DeDe · Post by **DeDe** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 11:12 am

Again, I would sugget AgencyPro. They will send you a sample CD
for a look see. I had Agency One system for 11 years. Even after it was sold. When it was sold it became Prime which I felt was awful, so we just continued on using Agency One. AgencyPro was written by the same people that did Agency One. Just because the cost is
reasonable does not make it bad. I have operated Applied, Care
Evolution to name two. Applied is very costly. AgencyPro seems to do everything one would need and then some. It's also very easy to operate. I personally am not a computer person, so if I can use it, anyone can. I also had looked into the online management systems where you pay monthly. I did not like the idea that once you are locked in, they can raise the fee and then were are you. Besides for the cost of say a $100.00 monthly fee, a system like AgencyPro is paid for in two years. Some online systems charge $200 and $250 per month, in that case your ahead in cost after only one year.

tsorrels · Post by **tsorrels** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 11:31 am

You might try Agency Advantage (http://www.agencyadvantage.com) - they are user friendly, doesn't take a "rocket scientist" to begin learning, you don't have to go to a lot of training, can t-file, scan, download company info, all for about $175 per month. Can't hire a CSR for that!

Wildwillie · Post by **Wildwillie** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 11:38 am

B) You know you should look at a demo of every system you can. Have a friend that tried Applied and AMS then dumped them both for Doris (Just for the Diary system in it). They offer both in house and on line system. If you are going to be a paperless office (if possible) then company downloads, scanning, phone logs, mail, etc. are really important.
Getting to the company web sites from within the system is really a time saver.
Now Doris one big short coming is their lack of personal info - DOB, SS and Drivers license number. Only alows one at this time.
We have had it through all their upgrades and for the flat price they charge you get it all.
Talking to the user groups can be a big help also.
Do not get in a rush to choose but do get it done.

bigwhitedoggy · Post by **bigwhitedoggy** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 1:49 pm

You might check out InStar (http://www.instarcorp.com). They have a Direct Bill version that removes most of the accounting functions. It can be leased for $175 per month plus $25 for each additional workstation. It includes P/L download. If you want the full program including accounting it is only $50 more per month. The thing about InStar is that they have agencies from 1 to 65 users on it. It accommodates commercial lines much better than the cheap systems. Full functionality like Applied and AMS for much less money. It is about the same price as DORIS as they have increased their pricing but has much more functionality. Also you are not locked into a long term so if you don't like it or end up selling or merging you just stop paying. After 90 days it will cease to function.