Mgmt Systems-Nexsure vs Ebix vs Hawksoft vs OTHER??

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Iowa Guy
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Mgmt Systems-Nexsure vs Ebix vs Hawksoft vs OTHER??

Post by Iowa Guy »

short time lurker, first time poster. Looking for some advise/conversation on mgmt systems for small agents.

I am in a small town and have been a 1 man shop with a PT CSR for about 5 yrs after a 10 year career with a commercial direct writer. I started from zero and have built a decent commercial book for a small town commercial guy. Mainly main street type biz with a majority of those being small contractors. My accounts are pretty spread out geographically (all within an hour and a half of me) partly by plan so as to insulate my self from competition so to speak.

I only have 15-20 personal lines (home/auto) accts. A dozen group health accounts and probably a dozen ind health customers and I usually write 3-5 individual life/DI policies a year.

With my kids about to leave the house, it's about time to ramp up the production again....I have brought on a personal lines producer to help grow the personal lines segment and now the issue of a mgmt system is on my mind again.

I've never had a mgmt system other than CAPDAT for Acord apps and certs but am thinking I am going to need to bite the bullet and get a good system soon but I don't want to bankrupt my self with a mgmt system. I've heard some real horror stories from people going with AMS or Applied years ago and how their up front costs are ridiculous and their monthly fees are crazy as well. Therefore, I'm not really interested in either one of those companies. Partly because of the fact that I think they have taken advantage of agents over the years (I'm stubborn that way!) and partly because they seemed antiquated when I first looked at mgmt systems 6 years ago before I started my own agency.

I've seen older posts on this subject but wanted to get some up to date input and maybe try to keep it on these systems unless there are others that might make sense. (again, I'm not interested in AMS or Applied)

When I first started looking 6 yrs ago and decided just to hold out and see how it went with nothing (it went fine), I felt like Nexsure seemed like the best option from a functionality basis but it was apparent there were some kinks to still work out from seeing online reviews etc.

I looked at all of the following and did a DEMO with every single one.

AMS
Applied
GBS
Quickfile
Agency Software
Special Agent
MI/FSC

Nexsure= at that time, it was still a ridiculous $1,500 per user with a min of 3 users +$100/month (is this still the same? (I understand the concept of getting what you pay for but I can still bitch, right?)

I created a spreadsheet and compared them all. The big pluses to me were:

1] Nexsure seemed to be the only one that was SALES based. you could keep track of prospect information, x-dates, carrier info etc.
All the others were CLIENT based and couldn't easily keep track of prospect information. As an agent in growth mode that was huge.

2] Online system. Can access anywhere.
3] They go direct through Realtime and don't use a 3rd party vendor for it like most others.

Nexsure also seemed to as user friendly as any other system. Much better than the big 2.

Cost is a huge concern. If Nexsure still costs $1,500/user with a minimum of 3 years and then $100/month, I'm not sure how interested I am in paying $4,500 up front.

What are others opinions on Nexsur? On other mgmt systems? Keeping in mind my size etc. Any information or discussion would be great.
CRB
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Re: Mgmt Systems-Nexsure vs Ebix vs Hawksoft vs OTHER??

Post by CRB »

Are you located in Iowa? If not, what state are you in?
Iowa Guy
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Re: Mgmt Systems-Nexsure vs Ebix vs Hawksoft vs OTHER??

Post by Iowa Guy »

CRB wrote:Are you located in Iowa? If not, what state are you in?
Yes. In Iowa
nexsure
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Re: Mgmt Systems-Nexsure vs Ebix vs Hawksoft vs OTHER??

Post by nexsure »

Hello Iowa Guy,

I congratulate your diligence in finding the right fit for your Agency's needs. I work for XDimensional Technologies (the makers of Nexsure) and thus would be happy to address your question of cost, as well as any functionality concerning Nexsure. Feel free to email me when you have a chance so I can provide you with accurate information on Nexsure.

Roger Banks
VP of Sales
roger@xdti.com
XDimensional Technologies, Inc
SteveAnderson
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Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 8:51 am

Re: Mgmt Systems-Nexsure vs Ebix vs Hawksoft vs OTHER??

Post by SteveAnderson »

Choosing the best agency management system for you agency can be a difficult task. At my last count there are 35 agency management system products from 25 different vendors.

You want to choose something adequate for your needs now but also will be able to grow with you. I recommend you take my free email course on How to Select the Very Best Agency Management System. It details the five steps I recommend to make sure you look at all of the options and pick the very best system.

You can sign up for free at: http://steveanderson.com/choosing-the-b ... nt-system/.

There is no cost nor any obligation. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks.

Steve
kbitzer9
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Re: Mgmt Systems-Nexsure vs Ebix vs Hawksoft vs OTHER??

Post by kbitzer9 »

Our agency has been using Nexsure since March of 2005. You are correct - early on we had some challenges as we worked through some growing pains with a new system, but the hard work and perservance has been well worth it. Our agency is considerably larger than yours, but we have been actively involved in the user group since 2005 and there are agencies much smaller and much larger than our agency. Nexsure scales very well and as your agency grows you will be able to implement features that you might not need when you first start using the system.

We write a large book of personal lines business as well as commercial/benefits. I will be glad to talk to you about the system if you need more specific information.

We have a small, but very engaged user group. This group plays an active role with the owners and product developers at Nexsure. Should you decide to go the Nexsure route, I recommend that you participate in the user group - good folks who are always willing to help other users.

The program is feature rich, the technology is state of the art and we consider the people at XDTI as our business partners - not our agency management system vendor. I can't address the questions you have about costs, but I have known Roger Banks for a long time. I'm sure he can give you all of the information you need regarding pricing.

Please feel free to contact me if I can be of further assistance. Good luck!

Karen E. Bitzer, CPCU, ARM
Chief Information Officer
Roach Howard Smith & Barton
8750 N Central Expressway, #500
Dallas, TX 75231
kbitzer@rhsb.com
cyndyryan
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Re: Mgmt Systems-Nexsure vs Ebix vs Hawksoft vs OTHER??

Post by cyndyryan »

Hello Iowa Guy
As you do your research add QQ Solutions to your list of agency management system providers - http://www.qqsolutions.com
We will manage your prospects, clients, images, and forms. X-dates and your expriring book of business are easliy tracked. There are no Set Up fees and we offer a month to month contract.
QQ Solutions offers what you are looking for -an affordable, easy to use, well supported agency management system. Please visit our website for more details. If you have any questions or would like to schedule a demo here is my contact information:

Cyndy Ryan
QQ Solutions
cryan@qqsolutions.com
800-940-6600 x114
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