Is the Insurance Industry Behind the Times?

[BladeRunner]

The previous career I came from was a technologically savvy industry. Not necessarily inventing technology, but it certainly kept pace with current technological trends, making it easy to do business.

When I entered the insurance business I was amazed at how old-fashioned and clunky this industry is. I discovered many insurance companies to be behemoths, slow to move on the technology bandwagon.

For example; Systems that take twice as long and hard to quote and sell a policy. Web interfaces with common sense features that don't exist. Technology glitches that make agents have to rewrite a policy or start over. My major gripe is issuing a policy after entering in all the client data and printing an application just to find out you still need to manually fill out the application! and on, and on. What's up with this industry?

When it comes to insurance and technology, it feels like I stepped back in time 30 years.

In what ways do you feel technology could be improved in this industry? Why do you think most insurance companies and agencies don't keep pace with current technology?

 

[shepnerd]

Right there with you, man. I've been in for about 2 years and am just amazed at how far behind the times the entire industry is.

Opportunity for the smart folk, though!

 

[Guest]

Oh wow! Am I happy to hear someone echo the thoughts I've had for many years, having come to this biz from selling into the computer services industry.

I have at least one insurance carrier (and I'll bet you have one to) that requires all applications be faxed.

Any sixth grader knows you can scan documents in high-res and get great copy. But when you fax them there is a huge loss of resolution. Do you think this carrier might let us email the PDF application. Not even in your dreams!

And how many carriers still have proprietary desktop software that you have to download, install, crash, re-download, and then update every week, instead of having web-based systems to produce quotes and illustrations?

And then there is that web-based online service (won't mention name as they might sue me but it rhymes with a well-known glass cleaner from S.C. Johnson you probably have in your house) that lots of carriers subscribe to for doing life illustrations which has a user interface requiring a doctorate in quantum physics to figure out!

Then there is the FE carrier still using rate cards... you know... where you have to compute cost per 1000 + rider cost per 1000 times face divided by 1000 plus policy fee times modal factor... as the guys say on ESPN football... C'mon man!

(Thanks for a nice 'vent.' Made my morning!)

 

[BladeRunner]

OMG! Are you kidding me? Faxing an application? Rate cards! Geeze!

Oh, and another odd-ball thing. You call the insurance company and speak to their agency help desk, or talk to the underwriters and they're oblivious to all of this and act as though everything is just fine. Or get this, they send their senior underwriters or district sales managers on a little field trip to various agencies to help motivate and drum up business. I'm thinking to myself, why don't you just make it easier for your agents to do business with you and maybe we would write more business with your company and/or want to be appointed with you. Duh? It's not 'always' about rate. I'm a good salesman and happy to sale the benefits of an insurance company even if their rate is a bit higher. However I'm not going to waste my time if it's going to make my life and my clients life a living hell to quote and issue a policy with them.

It's like that Brady Bunch parody movie they made some years ago where the Brady Bunch is living in modern times but they're oblivious that times have changed and everything in their life is still the 70's and they're walking around still saying "Groovy Man!"

Welcome to insurance.

 

[radiusbob]

My major gripe is issuing a policy after entering in all the client data and printing an application just to find out you still need to manually fill out the application! and on, and on.

We are close to solving this problem to a certain extent. A few of our agency users requested that they be able generate a .PDF Application from the Lead Data within their Radius Account. We have this feature working on our Development Servers for 'Monumental Life' and will be rolling out 10 PDF Application Forms for Life Carriers initially in the next 30 Days while looking to have 20 Total in 60-90 Days.

Granted this is a sliver of help in the overall application process, but help non the less.

More to come...

 

[YouGotMyMoney]

i agree, while i am not a programmer at all, it amazes me still that the carriers dont all have online apps, and the ones that do, the issues that arise (humanaone).

 

[Franz Kafka]

I haven't met a single mega producer griping about home office technology.

 

[Guest]

I haven't met a single mega producer griping about home office technology.

True... to a point. I still hear gripes at NAIFA meetings from some guys who make $300K a year in this biz about HO screw-ups due to antiquated procedures.

In my experience the mega-producers have office staff to deal with all of the inefficiencies of the business.

Perhaps a lesson here?

YMMV.

 

[STIBROKER]

Life Insurance is Still in the Stone Age

 

[BTFuzz]

This is the subject I b1tch about the most in this industry. Daily too...I think the lousy technology gives me more stress than pissed of clients do.

I read the OP's post and I thought I must have typed it awhile back...my thoughts exactly!